IBM developerWorks podcasts

Gary Barnett is a partner and CTO with IT analyst firm, The Bathwick Group, and specializes in software development and middleware. In Part 1, Gary talks about trends, the evolution of collaboration technology, and increasing demand for and importance of soft skills.

Does your language of choice allow you to express yourself more effectively? Dr. Nic Williams believes so, especially when the language is Ruby / JRuby. Listen in as Nic discusses Ruby — its efficiency, syntax, and happiness factor — that makes it such a useful language for web applications and the cloud.

Educator and engineer Jeff Casimir discusses the state of technology education (think: that stack of technology books collecting dust on your bookshelf), where it falls down, and how effective models can make all the difference in the learning experience. Rails for Zombies, the popular guide to learning Rails that was originally created as a proof-of-concept for the Code School approach, builds on the techniques used in the traditional classroom — and at a compelling price point.

Scott Ambler, is chief methodologist for Agile and Lean at IBM Rational, and author of several books on the Unified Process, Agile development, the Unified Modeling Language, and CMM-based development. In this interview he explains LEAN principles as they apply to software development, talks about how governance and a flatter organization are compatible, and describes what IBM has done with these approaches internally.

IBMers Andre Tost (Senior Tecnical Staff Member, SOA Technology and Software Services for WebSphere) and Robert Laird (an IBM Enterprise Architect focused on SOA governance and policy) are co-authors of the new Thomas Erl SOA series book, SOA Governance: Governing Shared Services On-Premise and in the Cloud. They talk about working on a project with such a large pool of contributing authors, the value of this large reference work, the reason for so many early failures in SOA implementations, and how good governance guides and protects the realization of service-oriented computing.

In this engaging discussion, Jon talks about building successful mobile applications and distinguishing yourself among the masses. He dives into the main mobile platforms, discusses native and HTML5 development, the issues that come with porting across platforms and devices, and the differences in the publishing process between Apple (review process) and Android (fragmentation). And if you're interested in how to turn a buck in this competitive market, you'll want to consider Optime's business model.

As PostgreSQL celebrates 15 years, EnterpriseDB's Ed Boyajian and Robin Schumacher talk about this popular open source database, its engaged community, how it differs MySQL, and where it fits in the world of big data.

Kerrie Holley, an IBM Fellow and CTO of IBM's SOA Center for Excellence, and Dr Ali Arsanjani, an IBM Distinguished Engineer and and Chief Architect for the Center join to talk about their book, 100 SOA Questions Asked and Answered. We cover the impetus for the book, how SOA helps businesses align IT and business processes, how SOA methods are fostering new development roles, and the progress that has been made in challenge areas like security and testing.

This Week on developerWorks! dW newsletters editor John Swanson joins me to talk about our planned coverage of Impact 2011, number three of the big five IBM conferences each year and the one centered around WebSphere. Impact starts Sunday in Las Vegas and runs through Thursday, ending with a WebSphere Unconference, hosted by Cloudcamp founder, Dave Nielsen. Dave joins to talk about the latest with cloud and what to expect on Thursday.

Tom's extensive work in the government sector requires a laser focus on security. His framework of choice? Grails. He's put this popular framework through its paces and describes where it excels and how it handles vulnerabilities found in other approaches.

Marketing strategist, author, speaker David Meerman Scott is always perched out there on the leading edge of the web marketing conversations. I love his use analogies, proving again that great story-telling makes for great communication. I caught up with him at SXSWi last week.

IBMers Rawn Shah (Business Transformation Consultant), Ranjun Chahun (Social Intelligence Strategist), and Kate Motzer (Social Business Manager for the IBM Centennial) join me for our closing podcast from SXSWi 2011. All share their chief takeaways from what has become the premier social media conference in the world with over 15,000 in attendance this year. It was crowded. It was crazy. Sometimes it was silly. It does seem to be trending more toward the philosophical, which clearly reflects the maturing of the web into an unavoidable part of our lives. There's the good and the bad and plenty in between, but no denying that the web and, increasingly, social media, are penetrating our DNA.

Rawn Shah put me in touch with Rachael Happe, Principle and Co-Founder of The Community Roundtable, a virtual table where social media, community, and social business practitioners network, learn, and further the discipline of community management. Rachael talks about the art of fostering, encouraging and managing a community, something that is inherently non-hierarchical but which is the lifeblood of a business.

I met Tim Washer when he was a podcaster and corporate communications guy at IBM where he produced the now legendary spoof video series, Mainframe: The Art of the Sale. Now a social media guy at Cisco, Tim's comedy moonlighting has included appearances on The Onion News Network, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and as a writer for David Letterman. My favorite quote from Tim's website - Amy (Poehler of SNL) summed up Tim’s comedic talent: “He should consider a job in corporate communications.” I ran into Tim at SXSWi in Austin and we did a quick interview on the street in front of a sports bar while we waited unsuccessfully for a table. I ended up eating a granola bar. Tim settled for some used chewing gum on the porch railing.

One of the great things about any conference is the networking opportunity. Todd Watson and I met Julia Neznanova during a session on brands and celebrities on the web. Julia is with the Moscow-based marketing agency Digitalizm, and was at SXSWi 2011 soaking up the ideas and looking for potential partnering opportunities. She talked with us about the state of social media and mobile in Russia and how they help international companies market to Russian customers.