How to: Aug 9, 2024
1. A vast majority of servers these days run Linux as their operating system. And a lot of developers run Linux on their laptops as well. It's safe to say that Linux is one of the most useful skills you can learn working in tech. freeCodeCamp just published this comprehensive book that will teach you how to install Linux and work with its file system and many packages. You'll learn about shell scripting, networking, command line automation, security, and more. You can read this right in your browser and bookmark it for future reference. (full-length book): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-linux-for-beginners-book-basic-to-advanced/

2. And while you're learning Linux, why not learn how operating systems work in more detail? This massive course will teach you about Kernels, von Neumann Architecture, Multitasking, API Calls, Interrupts, CPU Scheduling, Disk Structure, and more. (25 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-about-operating-systems-in-depth/

3. Did you know that Babe Ruth – the most famous home-run-hitting baseball player of all time – was blind in one eye? He made up for this by being extremely good at predictive analytics – honing his instincts for what type of pitch is coming across home plate. I learned this during my insight-filled conversation with Ken Jee. He's a golfer turned data scientist who works closely with professional athletes. During my podcast interview, Ken shares a ton of tips for folks interested in getting into data science and machine learning, and for athletes who want to gain a quantitative edge on their competitors. (2 hour watch or listen in your favorite podcast app): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/where-data-science-meets-sports-analytics-with-ken-jee-podcast-interview-135/

4. One of the most exciting areas of AI at the moment is Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). This freeCodeCamp Python course will teach you how to combine your own custom data with the power of Large Language Models (LLMs). You'll code your own AI system that can summarize documents for you and even have conversations with you to answer your questions about those documents. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-rag-fundamentals-and-advanced-techniques/

5. Learn how to use JavaScript to code a desktop PC game. That's right – you don't necessarily need a full-blown GameDev framework like Unity or Unreal to build games. You can code along at home and build your own Flappy Bird-like game, step-by-step. You'll load sprite assets, implement collision detection, and code the menu and score-keeping logic. Enjoy. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/create-a-pc-game-using-javascript/

Quote of the Week: *"I often compare open source to science. Science took this whole notion of developing ideas in the open and improving on other peoples' ideas – making it into what science is today and the incredible advances that we have had. And I compare that to witchcraft and alchemy, where openness was something you didn't do."* — Linus Torvalds, programmer, creator of Linux, and open source advocate