by Alex Funkhouser
Happy New Year South Florida!
As we say goodbye to 2018 and welcome 2019, I’m reminded that we are living in the future. It’s 20 years ago that the millennium bug was big news across the IT world. Looking back, the millennium bug was a bit of a non-event compared to the real issues we are facing today like massive security breaches and hacks involving hundreds of millions of private data records.
But with the future comes some really cool tech – Cloud computing, AI augmented apps, voice assistants, wearable tech, the blockchain, 5G networks and more.
All this splendiferous technology will need great talent to design and implement it successfully. Email me at Alex@SherlockTalent.com for the tech talent of today and beyond.
Think Electric Vehicles Are Great Now? Just Wait…
Originally published in the WSJ, Dec. 26, 2018
AT YEAR’S END it seems appropriate to give thanks for the wonders of the automotive world. So I’m waiting. Waiting to choose one of the scores of electric vehicle models that I know are coming down the pipeline in the next 18 to 36 months—the exact timing of my purchase depends on whether it’s possible to paint the whole van with rattle-cans. In any event, I’m waiting, because internal-combustion (IC) just doesn’t work for me anymore. In the car market, I am a human headwind.
This is above all a pocketbook issue for me. A gas-powered vehicle would be too expensive. I plan to keep my next vehicle for 10 years, at least. Over that time the cost of ownership for an EV, including fuel (on the order of a penny a mile for the electricity), repairs and maintenance would be considerably lower than comparable costs of an IC car.
My other big worry: resale value. In case you haven’t been following the news from the Paris climate talks, most nations of the world have put the IC vehicle under a death sentence. Post-Paris, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that there will be between 125 and 220 million EVs on the road by 2030.
We are living through the S-curve of EV adoption. The total number of EVs on global roads surpassed 3 million in 2018, a 50% increase over 2016, according to the IEA. In November Tesla Model 3 was the best-selling small/midsize luxury sedan in the U.S; and Model S sales (26,700, year to date) outsold Mercedes-Benz S Class, BMW 6- and 7-Series, and Audi A8 combined, according to industry-tracker goodcarbadcar.net.
During the reasonable service life of any vehicle I buy today, I expect the demand for IC-powered vehicles will drop to practically zero, equivalent to the current market penetration of flip phones. No one will want them and there will be nowhere to get them fixed; by that time widespread fleet electrification will have cratered traditional dealerships that depend on service dollars to survive.
I’m not missing anything staying out of the car market. The twilight of the IC engine is pretty awful, actually. All the technical gymnastics to reduce consumption and emissions from IC engines—stop-start, cylinder deactivation, CVT transmissions, high-strung turbos hooked up to small displacement motors—it all feels junky and compromising.
The greatest offenders are also the most complex, like Volvo’s T8 plug-in hybrid powertrain, with electric motors, CVT, batteries, power inverter and a supercharged/turbocharged 2.0-liter engine thrashing away at one another, all so it can eke out a few miles of EV range. The steady improvement in lithium-ion batteries’ energy and power-density over cost will render the latest plug-in hybrids comically superfluous in a matter of years.
Internal combustion isn’t going to get any better. Last year the chief financial officer for Continental, the Tier 1 global automotive supplier, lit up the chat rooms with his prediction that IC development at the German carmakers will effectively end by 2023.
Meanwhile, EVs just keep evolving. The Tesla Model 3 is amaze-balls, crazy good. But I’ve got hauling and choring to do, so I’m going to wait and kick the tires on the Rivian R1T pickup, due in about two years. Rivian, with offices in California and Michigan, last year acquired the former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Ill., to build what it calls “electric adventure vehicles.” Its makers claim the R1T will have 400-plus miles of range. Its four electric motors inboard of the four wheels will together produce 750 hp and 14,000 Newton-meters of torque at the wheel.
Here a yoking of unlikely attributes: The R1T will accelerate to 60 mph in 3 seconds and have a wading depth of 3 feet. In it you could jump over the woods and through the river to grandmother’s house.
Don’t agree? Fine, fine. You go ahead and finance that $70,000 pickup with V8 power for 60 months. It’ll be a two-ton albatross around your financial neck before it’s over. Gasoline could be free and you would still hate it. Better cars are just around the corner.
Read the complete article by Dan Neil in the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/think-electric-vehicles-are-great-now-just-wait-11545838139
by SherlockTalent
Apply to this job
The Senior Java Developer will participate in all aspects of the software development process including, requirements gathering, designing, coding, unit testing, integration testing, and deployment documentation. The candidate is expected to work well within a collaborative team of software professionals, have a passion for relentless research and have technical group leadership abilities with the capability of acting as a technical leader across multiple projects.
Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with team members to solve tough engineering issues
- Participate in code reviews and training of team members
- Develop leading-edge solutions to maximize performance and scalability
- Participate in team improvement activities
- Implement agile software development methods
- Recommend product improvements
- Produce technical documentation and communicate concepts to the team
- Interact with the security team to ensure methods are compliant with security standards
Requirements:
- Developed for all application tiers (presentation, business, and database)
- Ten or more years of development experience with Java SE and EE
- Comprehensive SDLC experience (requirements, architecture, design, testing and deployment)
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related discipline
Technical Skills:
- Java SE, EE
- OO design and design patterns
- Version control tools and methods: Git/GitFlow
- Experience with Spring Framework, Spring MVC REST, ORM/Hibernate and JDBC
- SQL including PostgreSQL and SQL Server
- JavaScript, AJAX, HTML5, CSS3 and JSON/XML
- jUnit, Spring testing, and mock testing frameworks
- Agile methodologies (Kanban/Scrum)
- Debugging web applications (Firebug, etc.)
- Web testing automation (Selenium WebDriver) a plus
- Cloud computing (AWS) and NoSQL databases a plus
- React, Angular, Bootstrap, Sass, and jQuery a big plus
- Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery methods
- Continuous Integration servers (Jenkins, TeamCity, Bamboo etc.)
- Binary software repositories (Nexus and/or Artifactory) a plus
- Linux and Windows administration a plus
- Nginx and/or Windows IIS a plus
- Cloud computing (AWS, Azure or similar)
- Micro-services architecture a plus
- Excellent verbal and written communications
by SherlockTalent
The SunshinePHP Developer Conference is hosted by the South Florida PHP community (SoFloPHP) in Miami, Florida from February 7th – 9th, 2019, and you’re invited! We’ll host some of the best speakers, awesome talk topics, latest technologies, and up to date news in PHP. And don’t forget our Hack-a-thon and Uncon’ference, as well as a great hallway track!
The conference has something for every level of PHP developer. We start on February 7th with a full day of 8 PHP related tutorials and workshops that are each 3 hours of in-depth information. Next, we follow that with 2 days on February 8th and 9th containing 5 keynotes and 30 PHP talks over 3 tracks.
So come and warm up for a while in February and meet other PHP developers to see what others are doing, and share your experience as well. Then relax or have some fun at the evening events with plenty of fun for everyone!
by SherlockTalent
Gary Shapiro is CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, the trade group that puts on tech’s biggest trade show: CES. Another big show is coming in a couple of weeks, and for the third time Shapiro is showing up with a new book, this one dubbed Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation.
Shapiro’s view of the tech landscape inspired him to write about how companies need to move fast, spot trends, embrace diversity, and deal with rapid changes and disruptions. He teamed up with CTA communications director to write a guide to help executives and government leaders navigate the future. The book outlines strategies for success and gave us a jumping off point for talking about technology, CES, and our own personal interests in what the future will bring.
Read an edited transcript of the interview here: https://venturebeat.com/2018/12/23/ces-chief-gary-shapiro-how-to-navigate-the-tech-industry-of-the-future/
by SherlockTalent
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SherlockTalent is actively looking for a bilingual Marketing/Communications Coordinator for an exciting opportunity in Miami. The ideal candidate will be able to produce written, digital, and video content across multiple channels, and be an accomplished presenter. Experience or interest in cybersecurity issues preferred, however, we will also consider a candidate with proven ability to reduce complex topics into concise and easy-to-understand articles, presentations, and or educational content. Candidate will work closely with the Managing Director of Communications
Responsibilities
- Responsible for assisting the development and editing of cyber content in multiple formats for distribution across multiple channels
- Create and present webinars and live presentations in English and Spanish, working with SMEs
- Conceptualize and coordinate speaking opportunities for company executives in the cyber, legal, financial and other industries
- Research and edit articles, speeches and presentations in English and Spanish
- Supervise production of Spanish-language product including management of translators, voice-over and video production vendors
- Build relationships with associations in our target markets to promote the company and seek out speaking/webinar opportunities
- Serve as an on-air spokesperson and presenter in English and Spanish
- Organize and manage all marketing events and presentations
- Increase audiences for content across multiple channels in the U.S. and Latin America through diverse and creative ways
Requirements
- A degree in marketing or journalism and
- 3 years of experience preferred
- Entry-level candidates that demonstrate excellence in the competencies required will be considered
- Provide at least 5 writing and or presentation examples and a one-page summary of why you should be hired
- Experience with CLE events preferred
SherlockTalent loves to share a $500 referral bonus!
“U.S. Citizens and those authorized to work in the U.S. are encouraged to apply. We are unable to sponsor at this time.”
