Forem: Aarush Bhat

How to build an effective portfolio?

Aarush Bhat — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 11:02:36 +0000

Every developer must have a portfolio website; it gives them a platform for themselves where they can post all their work in one place and shows their general skills.

So, I am a junior developer, two weeks back; I was wondering that everyone seems to have a portfolio while I don't. So I researched about building and designing the perfect portfolio. You can check it out at r-ush.tech

Give the perfect amount of information

It is essential to give the optimum amount of information. A lack of information would make a wrong impression, and the reviewer might reject you. On the other hand, giving too much information would not leave you with any additional information to give in the interview. Also, overwhelming the reviewer with information might lead to the reviewer rejecting you before interviewing. So the amount of information you provide has to be very well curated.

Display Picture

In the US, people don't post their pictures, because people might prejudice and form unnecessary opinions about you based on your looks. Everywhere else, it is not that serious an issue. In my personal opinion, adding a picture adds to the UI.

Social Links

Never include your Facebook or Reddit or any other social media account details where you post about your personal life or anything that does not concern the recruiter.

Post all your work

It would be best if you had a projects section which must have the GitHub or the code somewhere. If the project has a live version to try it out, it is beneficial for the recruiter.

Posting your work in one single place gives the recruiter a ground to judge you based on all your projects, and it is the projects that give you the recognition. It also lets the recruiter see a more wholesome look of your working style and your skills.

Blog

Having a personal blog or a collection of personal blogs posted on various blogging sites is considered a plus point. Tech blogging is considered a good practice by the community.

What tools you use

It would be best if you mentioned all the tools and technologies you use to dev. That gives recruiters an idea on the knowledge and skills you possess.

Design

The design of the portfolio should be engaging and should please anyone looking at it within 5 seconds so that you have their attention to show what you have made. Look up to Behance or portfolios of other devs you follow on Twitter, dev.to or Github. Check what features they have in their portfolios, modify them, improve them make the best out of it.

Resume

You must add your resume to your portfolio. A resume is a one-page gist of you. Every job needs a resume, and having a downloadable resume on your portfolio website is required.

Easy Contact

Make a Contact-Me form using NodeMailer or Email.js or maybe just an HTML form that submits data. You would ask that you already have all your social media listed the reviewer can quickly contact you through Email or LinkedIn, but people usually don't take the pain, they need to log in to LinkedIn or Twitter to send you a message.

Having a contact form makes it 200% convenient for the reviewer.

Responsivity

It should unmistakably be responsive; a reviewer might open it in a mobile, a laptop or even a tablet or an IPad, you have to prepare for every case that might come!

Domain

The domain name adds to the branding of the website. The domain name must be related to your name and catchy and easy to remember and maybe witty. You can host it using GitHub pages. GitHub student pack gives you a free .tech domain for one year. You also can get a free domain from Freenom.

Some Examples

These are some godly examples; you sure don't need to make something this attractive. A classy and straightforward portfolio should be the best

check this amazing GitHub repository for many amazing portfolios Here
Bruno Simon has made a real game out of a portfolio
Robby Leonardi has made it with a story
Leg Work Studio has made incredible use of animations
Your Inspiration here

All the devs have time due to the pandemic and can focus on a portfolio of theirs. Also, I would appreciate it if you share some great portfolio ideas!

MERN, MEAN OR FERN stack?

Aarush Bhat — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 21:04:16 +0000

What is the best web development stack for which job? Is FERN stack taking over?

Linux to bring a laptop back from the dead

Aarush Bhat — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 07:44:11 +0000

So, recently, mostly because of the quarantine, i started of a 10 year old Sony Viao (i3, 4Gb ram). It had a windows 7 but since the past 4 years, nobody had even touched the lid of the laptop.

so it was in this state when it booted up:

So, to give it a new life i was searching for linux systems that run on slow spec old laptops, and give the best results. I personally used lubuntu for my laptop.

1. Linux Lite

Support for 32-bit systems: Yes (older versions)

As the name suggests Linux Lite is a lightweight Linux distro that does not need high-end hardware to run it. Even a beginner will be able to use it on older computers easily. Linux Lite is based on Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) releases.

Even though it’s a lightweight distro – it comes baked with some essential tools.

For instance, you may find Firefox for web browsing, Thunderbird for emails, Dropbox for Cloud storage, VLC Media Player for Music, LibreOffice for office, Gimp for image editing and Lite tweaks to tweak your desktop. (this can change depending what version you’re using).

Considering that it is based on Ubuntu, you’ll have plenty of support and resources available online as you can follow the Ubuntu tutorials.

Minimum hardware requirements for Linux Lite:

RAM: 768 MB RAM (recommended 1 GB)
CPU: 1Ghz processor
Display: VGA screen 1024×768 resolution (recommended VGA, DVI or HDMI screen 1366×768)
Disk space: At least 8 GB free disk space

2. Lubuntu

Support for 32-bit systems: Yes (older versions)

Next on our list of best lightweight Linux distributions is Lubuntu. As the name suggests, a member of the Ubuntu family but it utilizes either LXDE/LXQT desktop environment. From Ubuntu 18.10 and above, you will find LXQT as the default desktop environment and could find LXDE as the default in its previous releases.

In fact, it is one of the official flavors of Ubuntu.

Lubuntu supports older computers that have been buried (Just kidding! You can also use Lubuntu on modern hardware). Lubuntu is one of the lightest derivatives of Ubuntu so it specializes in speed and the support for older hardware.

Lubuntu has fewer packages pre-installed consisting mostly of lightweight Linux applications.

Minimum hardware requirements for Lubuntu:

RAM: 1 GB of RAM
CPU: Pentium 4 or Pentium M or AMD K8 or higher

3. Arch Linux

Support for 32-bit systems: Yes (older versions)

I would recommend Arch only to those who are professional enough to handle CLI and big documentation to handle issues

Arch Linux can be as compact and speedy as you want. In fact, some Arch Linux users have replaced all graphical applications with their CLI equivalents to prove to themselves that pretty icons and visual effects are overrated. Needless to say that an operating system without any graphical applications can run on virtually anything, including your old laptop.

With Arch Linux, you have the freedom to create the operating system that best fits your needs, but you should be ready to work for it. The Arch Linux Wiki is your best friend as it explains everything from the installation of the distribution to its configuration.

4. Linux Mint

It has an interface mostly like windows it it would be easier for people not used to linux environments to shift to it.

Linux Mint is a popular distribution of the Linux operating system that is based on both Ubuntu and Debian, aiming to be a simple-to-use operating system for regular users. Linux Mint is available in several editions, with an edition featuring the Cinnamon desktop being considered standard.

We, however, recommend the Xfce edition, which offers a nice middle-ground between the performance of Lubuntu and the polish and features of Cinnamon or Gnome. Linux Mint’s configuration of Xfce is especially skillfully made, featuring sane defaults in combination with a well-rounded selection of applications and third-party drivers and codecs, provided you choose to install them.

5. Ubuntu MATE

Support for 32-bit systems: Yes

Ubuntu MATE is an impressive lightweight Linux distro that runs fast enough on older computers. It features the MATE desktop – so the user interface might seem a little different at first but it’s easy to use as well.

In addition to the desktop support, you can also try it on a Raspberry Pi or Jetson Nano.

Minimum system requirements for Ubuntu MATE:

RAM: 1 GB
CPU: Pentium M 1.0 GHz
Disk Space: 9 GB
Display Resolution: 1024 x 768

Conclusion

Choosing a linux distro is mostly a personal choice that for the work you need to do. I use Manjaro as a daily driver, it is arch based and has a good enough user community. Also, it is always good to use opensource! :)