So much BS in this article but let's start with these 3:
1) "Products based on disruptive technologies are typically cheaper, simpler, smaller, and more convenient to use." How many more benefits can he put in that sentence? He's basically saying disruptive tech is typically cheaper or better.
2) "Make something the mainstream market doesn’t want now, but will want later." Trying to predict the future is just betting on luck.
3) That random functionality vs time graph. What is 200 Functionality?
Bonus: "If you want to get ideas for your $400 million startup, subscribe to my newsletter."
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Cannot agree more with Tom Friedman and Van Ton-Quinlivan on this subject. Job skills are changing so fast that the only way to stay relevant is to be a continuous learner. I want to add that people need help figuring what to learn. This is why LearnUp.me (I work there) is working with California Community Colleges to help those that are "ready soon" and "far from ready" figure out what they need to learn for open jobs.
I had the same problems with the subject field and send button but it didn't take long for me to figure out the solution. Oddly, it seems very intuitive once I've figured it out.
Kudos to the Outlook design team for the clean UI that doesn't take long to get used to and is intuitive once you are used to it.
Good point about spending $4 at a small business instead. That will help keep existing businesses alive but it will not solve the capital problem to start a small business.
He also follows that sentence with a really good point "You trust your people, you know you could never write the way they do, but it would still be good to be able to read."
What I really like about Roy's post is that he understands that programming is a way of thinking and he acknowledges that it's different than what he's used to. Programming teaches me how to think about abstract problems and to come up with solutions, and a series of steps to implement the solutions. The coding part is mostly boring and mindless typing if you have done the first part well.
I would rather work for a manager that understands this way of thinking over one that doesn't any day.
Being in Temecula doesn't help much since there's hardly any tech companies out there. You are closed enough to LA that it's worth making a drive once a week to go to a tech meetup or work out of CoLoft to expand your network. Surround yourself with other smart people in the industry. The worse thing that can happen is that you learn something.