The CodeRanch Journal, August 2013 Edition
News from the Ranch
We are delighted to have two new forums and as always, fresh from the barn.
For Big Data enthusiasts, we now have
https://coderanch.com/forums/f-147/big-data.
Want to turn a system upside down, or maybe reinvent it? We knew it!! So we came up with generic Design at
https://coderanch.com/forums/f-146/design.
We are also tinkering with the Private Mooseages at ranch and making them "Purple Mooseages" on August 31 onwards, you will love the new look.
Read the story at
https://coderanch.com/t/618013/Ranch-Office/private-messages-private-purple-august.
Upcoming promos
We have a whole bunch of book promotions coming, including the ones that are already running as you read this.
Take a look at
https://coderanch.com/how-to/java/BookPromotionsSchedule to see how and where you can win a free book or some cool stuff.
Our Trailboss and cool stuff toss
Paul Wheaton has cooked up another idea for card players and
permaculture enthusiasts alike.
You guessed it right, it is the
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/permaculture-playing-cards.
Pack of
playing cards, packed with information. Our inside sources report that the
cards are easiest way to get the perfect "poker face".
If that is not enough, he also has launched
Streaming DVDs at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/3889 Physical DVDs https://www.trepstar.com/purchase.asp?idprod=141800&mode=itemlist
And next winter spend your money on something other than wood, know how at
http://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp.
Staff stuff
Devaka Cooray, the creator of
ExamLab has unleashed the web version of the free and popular SCJP/OCPJP exam simulator. The journal team managed to pick him up for some questions.
Interviewer: Tell us about ExamLab online.
Devaka: Well, finally, now I can die in peace as folks can no longer curse me for not being able to install ExamLab on their PCs!
Since the launch in 2008, ExamLab was free as I intended only to help people prepare. The idea of taking ExamLab to online was borne out of complaints related to incompatibility on Windows and that was the only OS that ExamLab could run on. Launching the web version was way challenging, and the greatest challenge was the server costs which was also the reason for delay in launch. At the end, we made it, mitigating that risk with the assumption that folks will make enough donations as much as ExamLab helps them. So it is still a free for everyone, with the highest quality an exam simulator can have.
Interviewer: What should users expect now that ExamLab has gone online?
Devaka:At least, despite the sad and danged experiences some people had with the desktop version (It's Windows what ruined it, I swear!), everyone can now expect it to 'work'!.
Then it has added more features and also the UI is designed to more closely resemble the real exam. Second, we got more exams. Now we have 6 exams each with 60 questions, answers, and explanation. Third, we got better enhanced explanations which are detailed enough to let people understand what the hell is going on.
Users with limited internet availability can safely close their exam window at anytime and continue from where they left off. Moreover, as all exam sessions are saved in the "Test Results" section, folks can review the exams they took at anytime they please.
Also feature upgrades are easier than ever. As for now, there is an assignment reviewing feature available, where everyone can select one of the assignments listed there and send me to review.
There are more to come, and more will be for free!
Interviewer: That will be all from us, we now leave more questions to our members to ask during the promo on Tuesday Aug 27.
Suggestions/Feedback
If you have any feedback on this month's journal then discuss it in
https://coderanch.com/t/618492/Ranch-Office/August-Javaranch-Journal. Or if you have any general suggestions about the
JavaRanch journal, then feel free to open a new
thread in our Ranch Office forum.
Your editor this month
Amit Ghorpade is a software developer and Javaranch Bartender since 2008. Read more about him and other staffs at
https://coderanch.com/how-to/java/ActiveStaff.
Journal Archive
This and our previously published journals are available at
https://coderanch.com/how-to/java/JavaRanchJournal.
Get much more stuff at
JavaRanch.com
Happy ranching!
