Letter of the week (and my response) January 24, 2009

I received this email the other day---it illustrates the desire on the part of inexperienced people to learn programming. Check out the email and my response which is quite lengthy

Hello,

I was looking around for C# classes and was wondering what the difference was between Introduction to Visual C#---Any Version (8 weeks) vs. Introduction to C# using the .Net Batch compiler (8 weeks).

Would there be any discounts for students like me?

Do you also have any testimonials that these classes do help?

I really want to learn C# and am looking for something that would help me easily.

I have no prior experience in programming. I'm looking forward to your reply. Thank you.

My Repsonse

Hi J

Thanks for your interest in my classes!

The difference in the two courses is the course textbook I use--both of which I have written.
Intro to C# uses a book I wrote a few years ago which concentrates on learning C# using the C# Batch compiler.

Visual C# uses a book I recently wrote using C# Express, which is a Visual Tool.

Both courses are good, and you'll learn fundamental C# programming, but you'll learn more about creating your own objects (and what that means) in the C# Batch compiler class.

However, learning C# in the batch compiler world is harder than Visual C#.

Why have you chosen C# as your first programming language?

Unfortunately, I don't offer discounts to students, only active duty military.

Somewhere on my website I'm sure I have some accolades about my classes, but those naturally come from happy students, and I can be a bit more objective.

Students who do well in my Internet courses tend to be those who are independent.
As you can imagine, if we met 3 hours per week in a classroom, it would be a bit easier than using my electronic classroom to communicate (although I hope to have Webcam options available soon).

This much I can guarantee you---if you are serious about learning to program, and put in the time (about 10 hours per week for reading, working on assignments, etc), are willing to post questions and comments in my electronic classroom, you will know how to program when you finish the course. That doesn't mean you will be an expert, or will get a job in programming, but it does mean you are on your way.

From that point on, you can continue to learn C# on your own or continue with me in some other courses.

Programming is a big world--depending upon what you want to learn and do, your learning path can be a year or much longer.

On the other hand, if you are an impatient person, one who gets very frustrated when things don't work the first time, then my courses are probably not right for you.

I can't be with you all the time while you are coding your first program---and if you deal with programming errors as a sign that you are a failure, instead of a challenge, the programming world may not be for you.

I still remember my first COBOL programming attempt---over 4,000 errors on my first compile. I felt pretty low.

I corrected a single mispelling on one line of code, and the number went down to 2,000. I thought to myself, this is pretty cool.

I corrected another error---down to 1,000.

You get the point.

Within 10 minutes, I had reduced my errors from over 4,000 to about 28.

Of course, it took me about two days to correct the remaining 28 errors, but I did, and all time I was thinking this is the greatest way to spend my time.

I've been doing that ever since for 32 years.

So, if you are the type of person who sees a challenge in an error message from a computer, and not a reason to smack the keyboard (well, we all do that from time to time) then programming is for you, and my courses may be right for you also.

In an ideal environment, I would be with you in a classroom--but even though my Internet courses are remote, that doesn't mean you are alone.

I hope this helps you with your decision.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Have a great day!

John Smiley

Guitar Hero Drum Console finally arrived

For those of you following the saga of my daughter's Guitar Hero Drum Console (purchased in November of 2008, found defective on December 25th, 2008, and shipped back on December 31st, 2008), I'm happy to report that a working Drum Console arrived at our house yesterday, January 20th.

My daughter is pleased with it--although both my wife and I expected to hear real drum sounds.

It sounds more like beating a wooden spoon on a Tupperware container, but as I said, my daughter is pleased with it, and that's all that matters.

Special Symbols such as °

Ever want to enter the degree symbol in something you're writing and not know how?

The degree symbol (°) can be entered by holding down the ALT key, then typing 0176 on your numeric keypad.

For a full list of additional symbols, check out this link...

http://code.knopok.net/alt-codes.html

Before you lay out big bucks to buy that HDTV set

Check out this Tech article in which it suggests that as much as 70% of the population can't discern the quality difference in HDTV.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/115868

My Computer Programming Internet Courses

A lot of people don't realize that I teach Internet based Computer Programming Courses.

I teach courses in a variety of popular, up-to-date languages such as Visual Basic, C#, C++, Java and HTML.

The courses are convenient, since they are Internet based you don't have to 'be' somewhere at a particular place and time.

Except for 1 hour per week, the course is totally message board based using my Moodle (Open Source) electronic classroom.

1 time per week I host an interactive chat where you can talk with me and the other students in the class.

My courses are not free, but they are cheaper than College Courses---plus, you get the benefit of being taught by a popular author and consultant. Many of my courses use my best selling books at the course textbook.

Each course gives you a chance to practice with programming assignments and quizzes.

You can take my courses when they are scheduled---regularly throughout the year---or self-paced versions of the courses where you work at your own pace.

I also offer a yearly subscription to my courses wherein you can pay a single fee and take as many courses as you want for a full year.

A great feature of my courses is that, unlike other training venues, I never cancel a course---they are always held, regardless of the number of students who sign up. I'll hold a course for a single student, which can be a very intimate learning experience.

For more information on my courses, follow this link.

http://www.johnsmiley.com/main/training.htm

Guitar Hero---Update, January 12, 2009

An update on my daughter's Guitar Hero Drum problem...

Both the Orange and Yellow Cymballs have arrived---the Yellow one arrived on Thursday, January 8th.

I was hoping the drum console would show up on Friday or Saturday.

When it didn't, I tried to look up the RMA on the Activision Website--but basically all it said was that I had a valid RMA number, and there was no tracking number.

I decided to call Activision again.

The helpful customer told me the RMA lookup feature hasn't really been working lately.

He looked up the RMA on his system and reported that they had received the Drum Console from us, but they were out of stock of the Drum Console and he was hopeful they would have them in by the end of the week.

Bottom line---it's now January 12th, we bought the Guitar Hero World tour in November, returned it on December 31st, and won't have it until January 19th at the earliest.

Guitar Hero Drum Set Update---January 8, 2009

Well, the second cymball arrived today via FedEx Express Shipping---still waiting for the Drum Console. Hopefully it will show up on Friday.

If not, I'll probably call on Monday to see where it is.

Guitar Hero Drum Set Update---January 7, 2009

You may recall that I shipped my daughter's defective Guitar Hero Drum Console, Orange Cymbal and Yellow Cymbal back to Activision on December 31, 2008. These were 3 separate shipments that I personally dropped off at the FedEx delivery center in Mt. Laurel.

FedEx tracking immediately showed all 3 items in the system, and as of last Saturday, all 3 were showing up on their system as being in transit.

Interestingly, on Sunday the Drum Console and Yellow Cymbal dropped off the system--only the Orange Cymbal remained, and it finally showed that it was delivered on January 5th.

Where are the other 2 items?

Also interestingly, yesterday the Yellow Cymbal was delivered to our house via FedEx Overnight express. The Yellow Cymbal delivery to Activision still is not showing up in the FedEx system. Hmmm...

Hopefully the Drum Console and Orange Cymbal will show up today or tomorrow or I will need to contact Activision.

By the way, when I go to the Activision website, and enter my email address and RMA numbers, all I get is some vague message that basically says the RMA was issued. It doesn't indicate the status.

Wonderful.

AT&T Cellular in Delran, NJ

Just wanted to say that Garry Pinner, Store manager at the Delran NJ At&T Cell Phone Store is top-notch!

No one provides the personal service that he does---other companies could learn a great deal by observing the way he treats his customers.

Blog Keyword Analysis Reveals a lot

Guitar Hero---Drum Problem---Update January 2, 2009

I just wanted to provide you an update on my Guitar Here Drum Problem.

I contacted the Activision Customer Service department on December 26th and was told that I would receive 'Prepaid Packing Labels' via email within 1 to 2 business days.

These hadn't shown up by December 29th, and I contacted Activision again.

A very helpful Customer Service representative told me that the Holiday slowed things down, and that I should give it another day.

I finally received the email (3 of them actually) with the Prepaid Packing labels.

They were for FedEx. We boxed the items (Drum Console, Yellow cymbal, and Red cymbal) and shipped them on December 31st.

As of this afternoon, FedEx tracking indicates that all 3 packages are in North Carolina, headed to Georgia.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.