10 Must Have iPhone Apps According to Kai Dupé

The iPhone App Store has over 200,000 apps. There have been over1 billion downloads since the App Store launched. To help you sort through them all, here’s my list of the best apps I’ve found on the iPhone. I find new apps everday, so I am in a few weeks my favorites will change. At that time, I will simply post a new list.

1. Dropbox

Dropbox is a great cloud service that automatically syncs a folder of files between multiple computers (Windows, Mac, or Linux) as well as your iPad. I use it to store all of my research files for my writing.

2. Evernote

The iPhone is a great device for note-taking, and Evernote is a great note-taking app. It is similar to Dropbox in that it saves data locally but syncs it across all your machines and devices. I used this app extensively to take notes while my wife and I were house hunting in Houston.

3. Amazon Kindle

I love my Kindle digital book reader, and I am an even bigger fan of the Kindle iPhone app. Since it was released I’ve read a lot more books simply because my iPhone is always with me and I can pull it and read a few pages anytime I’ve got a couple minutes free. This app is even better on the iPad.

4. Tripit

I am big fan of Tripit. It is the best app I’ve come across for managing travel plans. You simply forward your confirmation emails for your flights, hotels, rental cars, and more to Tripit and it automatically organizes them into trips with all your details and confirmation numbers. Fantastic!

5. TED Mobile

TED is a fascinating event that features a meeting of the minds of some of society’s thought leaders. The folks at TED took the videos from their conference and made them freely available on the Web. This app provides a great way to access the videos.

6. Pandora

Pandora is a streaming “radio station” for the web. You simply search by an artist or song and it will create a mix based on that one piece of information.

7. Toodledo

There are plenty of to-do apps to choose from but I prefer Toodledo because of the solid interface and the fact that it can sync with the online service Toodledo.

8. U-verse TV

U-verse TV allows me to access the guide on my home TV from wherever I am. I can see what is playing, what I have scheduled to record, or decide to schedule a recording. I just used this app yesterday when I found out President Obama was scheduled to appear on The View this Thursday.

9. Recorder

Recorder is a digital voice recorder that it always with you. The great part about this app is that you can download your recordings from an email link that it generates using a wi-fi connection and for a little extra money this app will actually record phone calls. This is great for conducting interviews. Now you have no need to carry around a digital recorder and the sound quality is decent.

10. Sirius XM Online

I love this application. This app gives me access to my XM Radio subscription, no matter where I am, and without having to have another specialized device. I am already paying for an satellite radio account, and this application allows me to listen to XM in my office, while working out or in my wife's van which is not equipped with XM.

How to Choose an Occupation that allows you to work from home

One of the best things about being a software developer these days is the ability to work from home. I absolutely LOVE that aspect of my craft. Companies are beginning to realize that when you are dealing with mature, responsible professionals, this is what is called a win-win situation.

Among the many benefits, costs are lowered for the company and in most cases workers are more productive.  Please understand that the term work from home does not necessarily mean working from your home, it simply means not having to work in an office environment, which is one of the things I hate about jobs in software development.

Ironically, when I set my sights on becoming a professional software developer, working in an office is one of the things I found most attractive. Go figure!

The beautiful thing about working-from-home is that it does not necessarily mean that you are working from your home. You can work from anywhere as long as you have access to the web and are able to connect to your work environment in a fashion that allows you to produce work as if you were in the office. I have found that I am actually more productive working from home than I am in the office. The number one reason: No distractions.

DoNanza, an Israeli company that provides a search engine specific to the work-from-home job market, published a study on July 21, 2010 detailing trends in that market.  The study points out that in terms of work-from-home trends, software development ranked highest in demand worldwide in the second quarter.

What this means that in terms of working from home, the occupation that offers the most opportunities to do so is the field of software development. The report also indicated that the language most in demand is PHP. That is your clue to Google PHP. I keep hearing how the unemployment rate in the black community is hovering around 15%.

I wonder are we applying for the PHP programming jobs? A quick search on Monster.com reveals that a PHP programmer with 2+ years of experience to 5 years of experience can earn $70,000.  I have been programming since 1982. Most of the languages that I have worked with in my career, I taught myself. As of today, I do not have any experience in PHP. But guess what? I am going to get some.

Excuse me while I head over to Amazon.com and order my PHP book.

3 of My Favorite Blogs

As a proponent of life long learning, I believe that knowledge is the key to living a productive and happy life. Learning also allows you to grow. I simply can’t imagine my life without this philosophy. Operating under this philosophy each day is an adventure. The way I see it, once you stop learning, you stop living.

My life and the experiences that have led me to where I am today have to do with trying new things as a result of knowledge that I have gained. There are many ways to learn. I learn by traveling. I learn by taking classes. I learn by joining communities. Lately much of my learning has become digital.

I still travel, but I also experience new places virtually. I still take classes, but several of my classes are now online classes. I still join communities, but many of them are now online communities. I still read books and magazines, but I also read blogs.

For those of you who do not know blog is short for “web log”. According to Wikipedia, a blog is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.
I was thinking about this the other day so I decided to share 3 of my favorite blogs. Below is a description of each blog and a piece of knowledge that I have gleaned from each.

ZenHabits is dedicated to finding the simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. I have learned several tips about such things as how to be more creative, organized and peaceful in my life.

SixMinutes is a blog dedicated to the craft of professional speaking. I am always looking for ways to improve as a speaker. One of my favorite things about this site is the booklist.

BlackDigerati is simply one of my favorite blogs. Founder Michael Lang does an incredible job of bringing African Americans who are making an impact in the digital society to the fore as well as highlighting important research that is helping to bridge the digital divide.

Reading blogs has become one of my favorite ways to learn. Many of the bloggers are experts in their fields and the content is dynamic which is one of the advantages of learning from a book. You are also able to see what others think about the information on the blog. It is a community of learners. I have learned much from my blog subscriptions and so can you. Find a blog in an area of interest and make it to your pool of learning resources.

Hotep,
Kai

How to conduct a job search while getting a great deal on used furniture

I was having a conversation with a colleague recently who is looking for a new position in information technology. His specialty is database administration and he would like to find a position that allows him to work remotely (at home). I mentioned to him that I was surprised that he was having a hard time finding opportunities with his skills and experience.

I also told him that I have seen several of those positions posted over the past few weeks.  His response: “Really, where”. I told him I have seen several over the past few weeks posted on Craigslist. He said "they post jobs on Craigslist?" Why yes they do, I said.

I assumed most people were aware of this. I guess not. If you didn’t know, now you know. Click here to check out one such opportunity.

Extend your search.  Add Craigslist to your list of search sites.

Happy Hunting,

Kai

The #1 Mistake People Make When Choosing an Email Address

I spend a great deal of my time reading. I read everything. I read books. I read online magazines. I read print magazines. I read newspapers. I read blogs and I read websites. And, I read hundreds of emails per week as I subscribe to many newsletters.
This week as I was pouring through my usual stack of messages I noticed something that prompted me to write this piece. Many people are still using email addresses that are not professional. This is a mistake.  I had considered writing on this topic before, but I was certain that it was not needed. I have changed my mind.

I have been under the impression that most people were aware that your email address should not be something silly such as divagirl69@hotmail.com. I was wrong. Back in May, I was part of a panel discussion in San Antonio. We were speaking young African American males who were preparing for college.

One of the panelists (whose name escapes me) was human resources professional and he verified this idea. He even went further and informed the group that when his company receives resumes they use the email address as a first filtering mechanism. Translation: divagirl69@hotmail.com’s resume is promptly deposited into the wastebasket or more apt in this day and age deleted from the inbox. The audience, which included many adults, was shocked.
Poor little diva girl she never had a chance. I was not shocked, although I was not aware of this screening process I certainly would not doubt that it occurs. I assumed this was common knowledge at least among adults. Here is the solution. Get yourself a grown man/woman email address. What does that mean? Have a professional email address.

Here are examples of email addresses that may land your resume in the trash bin or worse give someone a negative impression of who you are:
Iluv2Write@yahoo.com

mathchamp2002@aol.com

progammingskills@yahoo.com

While these are cute and you may think they are cool. They are not professional. Please understand I a not trying to take the fun out of life, so if you must have such an email addresses reserve its use for friends and family. Do not use them when you are sending messages to potential employers or clients.

Your email address should be something simple. Here are a few simple, clean email addresses based on my name Kai Dupe.

kaidupe@gmail.com

kai.dupe@kaidupe.com

kdupe@yahoo.com

kdupe@kaplan.edu

The most professional is probably your name with the last name being separated by the first name by a period. And in case you are wondering, the human resources professional from the panel I mentioned earlier shared these exact same sentiments.

If you wish to be taken seriously and protect your brand (how others see you and what you are about), then an email address is something you should choose wisely and represents you in the light you wish to be seen.

Hotep,
Kai

3 Ways to Become a Professional Software Developer

When I decided to become a software developer after finishing high school in 1982, I was only aware of one road to success, and that was attending college. If I wanted to land a job as a professional software developer I needed to earn a degree in computer science. Things have changed since I graduated in 1986.

Over the course of my 20 years as a software developer I have met many people who have enjoyed successful careers as software developers, however they took a completely different route to reach the same goal. As a teacher and trainer one of the questions I am asked most often is: What is best way to become a software developer? I do not believe there is a best way, but there are ways that may be better suited for your situation. Here are 3 alternative routes to becoming a professional software developer:

1. Trade School – You can earn an Associates degree.  Not everyone wants to or can afford to go to college for four years. I went to college for four years and earned a bachelors degree. During that time, I learned much about other subjects that were not related to my career in software development. But I did not need those courses to be successful in my career. An alternative is to attend a two-year program such as Kaplan University or Devry. These programs focus primarily on the courses you need to be successful in your career. I have several colleagues who went this route and they are doing quite well in their careers.

2. Auto didactic - Teach yourself. This is a great way to learn. One of the things I love about the information technology field is that it is a results-oriented profession. At least in terms of education. What I mean by that is no one cares if you have a degree or not if you have the necessary skills. The degree may help you to get the opportunity in the first place, but that is for another article. You can teach yourself how to be a software developer. There are great books on the subject as well as magazines, online resources, and even free software that a student can use to teach themselves the skills needed to be successful in this field. I have met several colleagues over the years that either have degrees in a field that is not remotely related to computer science or who do not have degrees at all and are very good at developing software. It is a much cheaper route to go and if you can connect with an organization and volunteer to build software for them you can learn as you go, gaining experience and building your resume as you go. Microsoft has self-paced training kits for many of their technologies that usually cost less than $100. You can find these kits on Amazon.com or at any Barnes and Noble store. Microsoft also gives away free software to students who are interested in learning how to use their tools. The free software is available here.

3. Find a mentor – In my opinion entering into an apprentice relationship may be the best way to learn anything. I believe in learning by doing and being mentored not only allows you to learn the craft, but you are also able to avoid many of the traps and pitfalls of a career in software development. You can learn things in minutes that may take years of experience to figure out on your own. If you are thinking about a career in software development, connect with a software developer and ask them to be your mentor.
There are other routes as well to a successful career as a software developer, but these are the 3 routes that I have encountered the most in my 20+ years in the industry. This is a great time to pursue a career in this field if you are interested. There are fewer barriers than there have been in anytime in history to pursue such a rewarding career. Review this list and pick the route that is best for you and make it happen!

Hotep,
Kai Dupé

3 Ways to Save a Young Boy's Life with Technology

I decided to write this article after I reading a post written by Navarro Wright on Black Web 2.0 entitled 7 Ways to Save a Young Boys Life with Technology. This article caught my eye because I have absolutely lived this premise. In fact, I gave a speech at Microsoft in March that I titled:  From a Life of Crime to a Beach Front Home, My Road to Success Using Technology.

I have used my knowledge and love of technology to build several businesses, to create businesses for others, to build a lucrative career, and to teach others about the power of technology as a tool. As I have stated many times in my talks with young people, this is a time when most of the barriers to being anything you wish to be have been removed.

Yet our boys for the most part are not creating. They are not producing. There are many reasons for this situation. Many who have studied the problem, including myself have also published possible solutions to getting our young boys engaged. It is time to implement those solutions.

If you are concerned about what you can do so that your children are not left behind to become what mathematics educator Robert Moses refers to, as the designated serfs of the information age, here are 3 ways to do just that:

1. Expose your children to technology early. My daughter has been using the television remote control since she was 2 years old. Technology has permeated all areas of our lives. The only way your children are not exposed to it is if you are going out of your way to keep it from them. Do not restrict your children from the natural process of exploring technology. By the age of 4 my daughter has typed on my computer, browsed the Internet, made phone calls with a cell phone, taken pictures with a cell phone, paused her cartoons on television, read books on my Kindle, studied flash card on my phone.

2. Make sure your children are exposed to role models in technology. Our children see many exemplars of athletes and entertainers. There is nothing wrong with that. I like Lebron James and Drake too. But can we also see examples of engineers and scientist such as Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel in space, or Mark Dean who holds 3 of the original nine IBM patents upon which the IBM PC personal computers were based.

3. Teach your children about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) the same way you teach them their colors, shapes, and letters. What does that mean? I taught my children about rewinding the television and how I am able to play music in the car using my iPhone. She understands that I do not have my phone with me then we do not have the ability to control the music she is hearing. She understands somewhat the difference between the radio and my iPod. Now of course she cannot write a paper on the subject, the point is her thinking is not restricted from considering aspects of science.

Starting early is the key. If you are already doing these things that is great. If not, please start today. The sooner our children are taught the include technology as part of their social learning the better.

If you questions about how to start or where you can find the information or resources you may need to get started please feel free to contact me at kai.dupe@kaidupe.com

How to Use Coaching to Learn Technology Skills

Coaching has made its way into many areas of business. Coaching as a way to become better at what you do is a technique that many professionals have been using for quite sometime. Actors have coaches. Athletes have coaches. Dancers have coaches? Speakers have coaches. The idea of coaching is for the individual being coached to become better at some activity or skill. What you consider learning or using technology an activity or skill? I would.

Coaching is a better option for some to learn rather than receiving classroom instruction. Recently a friend of mine contacted me about learning to use new technologies on his job. If he takes the time to learn the skills needed there is no limit to how far he can advance with his organization.

His fear that he will not be able to master the technology is already starting to hold him back. He has the interpersonal skills and he has the education level needed to reach the top. But technology has entered into his space. And at some point it will enter your space as well.

He can no longer avoid mastering these skills. Are you uncomfortable learning technology skills from reading a book or taking a class? Maybe you should think about finding a technology coach.  I have begun holding coaching sessions with my friend. Sometimes we do them in person, but as part of my getting him to embrace the power of technology many of our sessions are done remotely using technologies such as Skype, GoToWebinar, and FreeConferenceCall.com.

I once heard one of my favorite coaches, Bill Parcells say, “Confidence is born of demonstrated ability”. Working with a coach is an excellent way to build your confidence using technology.

7 Ways to Find Jobs in the Information Technology Field

The availability of jobs in information technology sector is picking up. Companies are opening their budgets and hiring is taking place again. A couple of months ago I might receive a call about a position every other day. Now I am receiving several emails per day asking if I am available.

There are more jobs in the IT industry than there are qualified applicants to fill them. If you are a qualified IT worker you should not have a problem find opportunities. But what is the best way to do that? I have been conducting job searches in this industry since 1986.

The game has changed quite a bit. The one thing I absolutely warn against is limiting your search to the local newspaper. You may be laughing at that but there are books and articles that still guide folks to using the classifieds, as they preferred method of conducting a job search.

If you are considering a career in information technology and you are unable to conduct a digital search you are in for quite the challenge. At the very least you should be able to go to your local library and use their computers to conduct your search. I have done this. And I have secured employment without having a computer of my own.

1. Use online job boards. Setup profiles and search agents on Monster, Dice, HotJobs, CareerBuilder and AMighterRiver.

2. Additionally you can setup profiles on the career pages of many companies who no longer post their positions on Monster or Dice. Conduct a search for the kind of position you are seeking on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Take those links they are retrieived and follow them to the site of the employer and create profiles on those sites as well.

3. Setup profiles on the job portal of recruiting firms. These are the firms that sit between employee and employer. Some of I have used in the past are Matrix and Teksytems. Setup profiles and upload you resume to as many recruitment firms you are aware. Other include Addecco, BountyJobs, and Indeed. Establish a relationship with the recruiters in these firms.

4. Take advantage of the career placement office at the local community college or university in your area.

5. Locate user groups in your area that specialize in the type of work you are seeking. For example, when I lived in Dallas I was a member of Delphi Developers of Dallas. It is great way to network and sometimes you would hear about job opportunities via word of mouth.

6. Setup a profile on LinkedIn. This is a great way to find out about job opportunities. You can actually search for jobs on the site.

7. The Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) also has a jobs portal. Become a member and take advantage of their site. The good thing about their portal is most of the companies they list have a reputation for supporting diversity in information technology.

The jobs are available for qualified folks. You simply have to know how to find them. Execute these seven steps. They have worked for me and heres hoping they work for you.