Hey! November was filled with important news and exciting content, and now, we're back to bring you some crème de la crème of the IT world.

Big News About Big Tech

Last month, OpenAI was at the epicenter of a huge scandal. Just two weeks ago, everything seemed perfect: the company hit 100 million weekly users and was preparing for a massive capital raise (approximately $80B). But then the board of directors suddenly fired OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman over Google Meet without even explaining why (except for "he had not been consistently candid"). It led to a series of dramatic events. For example, 95% of employees signed a letter threatening to quit and join Microsoft (Altman was invited to Microsoft, too). OpenAI's position in the market began to destabilize, and many people were guessing if the business could survive after such a disaster. But just a few days later, Sam Altman reached an agreement with the board and returned as the CEO of OpenAI. If you want to learn more about this story and what’s behind its surface, there’s an interesting Wall Street Journal piece you may read in your spare time. Another fascinating fact: despite all the drama, OpenAI could present a new feature. Customers on iOS and Android can try “ChatGPT with voice,” which is a much-expected feature. It was launched for paying users in September, and now it’s available for free users, too. So, look for a “headphones” button in your ChatGPT app and give it a go. And finally, some news from Microsoft. By the most metrics, Windows 10 is still the most-used version of Windows on the planet. Still, Windows 11 gets updates much more often. For example, over the last few years, there were significant updates for most built-in apps, Start menu, Settings app, taskbar, etc. So, eventually, Microsoft decided to make an exception and backport its new AI-powered Windows Copilot feature from Windows 11 to Windows 10. The feature will roll out to North American users first, and the rest of us will have to wait.

Learning Programming

Debugging in Java is efficient thanks to many tools designed to assist developers in identifying and resolving issues. Programmers can enhance productivity and write higher-quality code by selecting the right Java debugging tool. The article 3 Top Java Debugging Tools for 2023 aims to help choose. Learning by doing is always the best way to study; that's why you should practice as much as possible to become a good developer. But it’s better to practice wisely. The article 10 Projects to skyrocket your coding skills presents projects that can help you acquire lots of knowledge and skills every successful developer needs. As Pablo Picasso once said, “Good artists copy; Great artists steal”. Is the same true for developers? Or, more importantly, can you even call using open-source code stealing? After all, maybe its purpose is to help people learn. It’s the topic of the article Is copying from open source projects stealing?.

Building A Developer’s Career

Becoming a developer isn't just about the money but about enjoying daily work and fulfilling your potential. Still, many programmers fail to recognize their own talents, especially at the beginning of a career. Actually, most of us gradually discover our potential while working on different projects. But failing to recognize it is one of the worst mistakes a developer can make. In the article Career Mistakes to Avoid as a Developer, you’ll find a description of the most common errors and ways to overcome them. Every developer possesses a particular mental model, a personalized representation of how they interpret the structure and behavior of the software they are constructing. Understanding how to refine these models can result in faster and more efficient problem-solving. Hence, psychology can be really helpful in a developer's work. More on this topic – in the article Integrating Psychology into Software Development.

What’s New at CodeGym Blog?

November brought a lot of interesting content to our blog. For example, junior developers can find helpful information in the post Tech Starter Pack for Junior: Spring MVC — a Robust Java Framework for Web Applications. It’s the next article in the series about additional Java tools to climb the career ladder successfully. Also, we at CodeGym conducted a study on the most efficient ways to learn Java and collected our students’ answers. Take a look, you may find some insights here: What Are the Best Ways to Learn Java? CodeGym’s Study and Tips! If you're curious about a developer's job market, there are two articles you may find interesting. First, Top 7 Industries That Hire Software Developers in the US in 2023, will give you some perspective on the current situation. And the second, What a Technical Lead Does and How Perspective This Role Is: A Quick Guide to the Profession, describes one of the possible career paths you may choose to pursue in the future. And last but not least, the article How to Learn Anything Faster with AI’s Help is filled with practical tips on how to use AI to learn better. For instance, beat procrastination, create a personalized learning plan, and more. Stay with us, we’ll bring you more good stuff next month! And don’t forget to visit CodeGym’s blog, there’s so much more to discover!