235 karma · joined November 19, 2011
From my experience, developing a project (regardless of scale) is a better form of learning than reading about it. You get instant gratification when you see your project render/compile without error. You're learning in real time, seeing your project work, and learning from trial and error.
Having a side project doesn't imply you're trying to create a startup. What happened to just creating for fun/enjoyment? Reconstruct your sandbox and play.
2. Getting a client and working on a paid project gives me plenty of direction as to what to build in my spare time.
3. What?
4. You're only getting money if they think your idea is best. One person/group wins, not everyone. You could have been doing something with guaranteed pay, not spec work.
5. Sure, you get new ideas on the table, but that doesn't mean they're good ideas. Not to mention you're giving away free ideas.
6. You're not really getting feedback from the community. You're getting it from the corporate sponsor.
7. No. They'll simply award the winner(s) $10k for IP and off they go. A win for the company.
EDIT: Yeah, the site is getting hammered right now.
What Kenneth is offering is obviously a guide with recommendations and not requiring you to use them for your projects. It's ultimately up to the developer to decide what to use.
https://github.com/donnen/TaxCloud/blob/b036594969f045660a79... vs https://github.com/donnen/TaxCloud/blob/b036594969f045660a79...
1 - https://github.com/donnen/TaxCloud/blob/b036594969f045660a79...
Color scheme is Tomorrow Night.
I'd also recommend looking into using role based authorization (ACL) by using cancan, acl9, or other gems.