Learn good code for a good cause. May 9th to June 4th 2014.

Class Tools

• IRC Chat: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/xchat-azure/id447521961?mt=12
• Editor: www.sublimetext.com
• Terminal: www.iterm2.com

Rules

1. You do not pay for anything. If you are paying to learn something on the internet you (we) are doing something wrong.

2. You will fail if you do not ask questions when you are confused. Perhaps it’s not a rule, it’s just a decision to make.

3. Build dreams not skills. Why waste your life or the life of the machine working on an idea you are not excited about. The idea will not live by itself.

4. The goal is to shift power. Literally, from a small group of individuals to you. This course has succeeded if you are able to make a decision with that power. Not to sound all “SpiderMan” but my goal is to give you the ability. Your responsibility, what you do with it, is up to you. To hack, or provide value.

Projects

Traffic Miracle

• [service] -> Geo-location and public data resources: www.freebase.com
• [service] -> OpenMaps, Mapquest API
• [tool] -> coordinate, address
• [tool] -> Natural Language Processing: npm install natural
• [deploy] -> www.nitrous.io

Miracle Face

• [service] -> Pattern recognition in video and images: npm install opencv
• [service] -> Pattern recognition: http://www.airware.com/
• [service] -> mit media lab "Affect" http://affect.media.mit.edu/areas.php?id=recognizing
• [deploy] -> localhost/www.nitrous.io

Beer Miracle

• [tool] -> Front-End MVC: Ember.js
• [tool] -> Visualization: three.js/D3.js/Google Charts
• [tool] -> Server: npm install express
• [deploy] -> www.nitrous.io

Finance/BasketBall Miracle

• [tool] -> Natural Language Processing: npm install natural
• [service] -> Fitbit API documentation: http://dev.fitbit.com/
• [deploy] -> localhost

Education Miracle

• [service] -> Knollup.com/Noodle.org/MIT OpenCourseware
• [service] -> Moodle CMS/Lore
• [service] -> Teach for America public API
• [deploy] -> www.nitrous.io

Good Mashape Miracle

• [service] -> Mashape Developer API
• [tool] -> Elastic Search/Mongoose Full-Text Search
• [tool] -> Server: npm install express
• [deploy] -> localhost

Resources

• www.nitrous.io [tool]
• www.stackoverflow.com [learn]
• www.npmjs.org [tool]
• www.howtonode.org [learn]
• www.runnable.com [tool]
• www.parse.io [tool]
• www.blockchain.info [tool]
• www.learnxinyminutes.com [learn]

Schedule

• Friday: May 9th 11:00 11:30AM PST - Introduction
• Monday: May 12th 10:00 11:30AM PST - Functions & Variables
• Tuesday: May 13th 10:00 11:30AM PST - Ember.js = Home
• Thursday: May 15th 10:00 11:30AM PST - MITM Attacks, DDOS
• Monday: May 19th 10:00 11:30AM PST - Callbacks & Performance
• Tuesday: May 20th 10:00 11:30AM PST - Ember.js Magic Tricks
• Thursday: May 22nd 10:00 11:30AM PST - JavaScript & Haskell

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.