ClobberXD

Somebody mail this kid some solder.

A lot of my learning was reading other people's code and figuring out what was going on. If you can compile, run, and debug their code, even better, because you can start studying how the code works and why things are the way they are. To that end, you could probably lurk around places like GitHub or https://openuserjs.org/ to see what they do. Otherwise scouring the internet (stack exchange is best) and documentation are the two biggest resources I've found.
 
Though to answer this question since it's bothering me...
The best you can do is ping the OS for system information. However, this information is more or less useless for applications. Spawn as many threads as you think you need. The OS will schedule them accordingly. Don't think "Oh, there's only four cores, so I should only spawn three more threads". For instance, Explorer at the moment on my computer has 77 threads spawned. Firefox has 88.

Also start with simple projects. Even if it's something that appears to be done a million times over, do it anyway. Like find a simple game (simple as in you can do it with a piece of paper and a pen) to program. Look on Wikipedia for a random sorting algorithm or something and implement it based on the design. 
 
Sometimes when I get bored I go find a random problem to "solve"

Introduction
Some of you guys might now Zonked thread with the exact name. He started the topic to gather our knowledge of the best programming stuff you can find.
So first, a thank you for Zonked who started this work!
Since he is unable to update the thread regularly, I will, with the consensus of alpenwasser, continue his thread.
 
Zonkeds intro
I decided it would be a good idea to have a thread that is a complete collection of helpful programming resources and tutorials. This will be an going, frequently updated post that will require input from you guys also. So help me build the ultimate programming resources thread. Simply leave them in the comments and I will add them.

General Programming Resources
Stack Overflow -A forum inhabited by professional developers. You can also ask questions and will receive help.
MIT Open Courseware -Online Computer Science lectures from MIT University. Features lectures, resources and handouts
The New Boston - Video tutorials of lots of languages, also entertaining.
Code Cademy - Interactive learning with rewards in a variety of languages
Code School - Interactive Tutorials in a variety of languages
TopCoder - Programming competitions
Google Code Jam - Archived Google Jam contests and exercises
USACO Training Gateway - Programming problems
Tutorials Point - Extensive written tutorials about a variety of languages
Tutorialized - Tutorial Site with the code embedded next to the tutorials
Educator - Tutorial site on a variety of languages

Python
Learn Python The Hard Way - Extensive HTML book on the basic of Python
Dive Into Python - Same concept as the above resource, but slightly more advanced
PyGame - Features tutorials for Python game development.
Python.Org - Official Python website. Includes tutorials and documentation.
Invent With Python - Online tutorials of actual programs and games (very good!)

C
Live Gnome - Variety of C resources and projects
Learn C The Hard Way - Learn C the Hard way (Work In Progress)
C Programming WikiBook - C programming Wiki
Tutorials Point - Lots of C resources
Learn C.org - Interactive C resources
[bOOK] C Programming in Easy Steps -  Mike McGrath (isbn 978-1840785449)

C#
MSDN - Official Site for C#
Home and Learn - Beginner C# Tutorials
C# Crash Course

C++
C++ Reference - C++ reference
C Plus Plus - Official C++ reference
Tutorials Point - C++ tutorials
C Programming - In depth tutorials on C++
MSDN Visual C++ - Visual C++ tutorials
Stephan T. Lavavej Video Tutorials: Core C++
Stephan T. Lavavej Video Tutorials: STL
Stephan T. Lavavej Video Tutorials: Advanced STL

Visual Basic
VB Code - VB tutorials
Home and Learn - Basic Visual Basic tutorials
Tutorials Point - Loads of great VB tutorials
Tutorialized - Even more Visual Basic tutorials

Java
Oracle Docs - Official Java documents
Code Ranch - Great Java forum
Tutorials Point - Lots of Java Tutorials
Learn Java Online - Lots of Java resources and interactive learning
Programcreek Great Java Tutorial Site

HTML/CSS/Javascript
W3 Schools - Good starting point for html/css/javascript
Mozilla Developers - Web development tutorials
HTML Dog - HTML, CSS and JavaScript tutorials
CSS Tricks - CSS Tutorials
JsFiddle - Javascript Collab Tool

PHP
Better PHP - PHP Video tutorials of code snippets
PHP Academy - PHP videos and tutorials
PHP.Net - Useful PHP documentation

SQL
Learn SQL the hard Way - Learn SQL the Hard Way

Perl
Perl.Org - Official Perl website.
Perl Meme - Perl Tutorials.
Perl Begin - Perl for beginners.
Modern Perl Books - Book on Pearl
High Order Perl Book - High Order Pearl Book

Ruby
Try Ruby - Ruby interactive resources.
Learn Ruby The Hard Way - Learn Ruby the Hard Way

Android Development
Android Developers - Official Google docs, tutorials, guides, tips and tricks
Google Developers - News and guides for a variety of languages including Android development
XDA Developers - #1 Android dev forum. Includes tutorials, ROMS, news, tips, techniques and much more!!!

iOS Development
Apple Documentation - Official Apple Documentation
Apps A Muck - Lots of iOS development tutorials
App Coda - More iOS application development

3D Programming
OpenGL Tutorials
Learning Modern 3D Graphics Programming

Books
Free Programming Book List on Github
Stackoverflow C++ Book Guide
Think Python -Allen Downey
Design for the non Designer -Robin WIlliams
The Pragmatic Programmer -Dave Thomas
Javascript: The Good Parts -Douglas Crockford
Code Complete -Steve McConnell
The Art of Computer Programming -Donald Knuth
Discrete Mathematics for Computer Scientists -John Truss
The art of Unix Programming -Eric S. Raymond
Head First Java and Design Patterns -Eric Freeman
C Programming Language -Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie
Computers as Components -Wayne Wolf
Operating Systems Concepts with Java -Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Galvin, Greg Gagne
Higher Order Perl - Mark Jason Dominus
Perls of Wisdom - Steve Litt
The C++ Programming Language -Bjarne Stroustrup
Game Coding Complete -Mike McShaffry
Introduction to Algorithms -Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson and Ronald L. Riverst
Computer Organisation and Architecture -Linda Null and Julia Lobur
The Mythical Man-Month -Frederick P. Brooks JR
Computer Organisation and Design -David A. Patterson and John L. Hennesy
Architecture of Open Source Applications
Modern C++ Design -Andrei Alexandrescu
Computer Networking: A top-down approach featuring the internet -
Database System Concepts -Abraham Silberschatz, Henry F. Korth, S. Sudarshan
Artificial Intelligence, A Modern Approach -Stuart Russel, Peter Norvig
Concepts in Programming Languages -John C. Mitchell
The Art of Prolog -Leon Sterling, Ehud Shapiro
Elements of the Theory of Computation -Papadimitriou
Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice -Hughes, van Dam, McGuire, Sklart
Java - How to Program -Harvey & Paul Deitel
Thinking in Java -Bruce Eckel
C++ Primer Plus (6th Edition) (Developer's Library)-Stephen Prata


Compilers/IDE's
Microsoft Visual Studio - Microsoft Visual Studio (C, C#, C++)
Eclipse - Eclipse (Java/Android)
Netbeans (Java)
Code Blocks - Code Blocks (C++)
Bloodshed (C++)
Android Studio
Jetbrains - Several IDE's and/or plugins that make C#/Python/Java/Php etc easier to code

Text Editors
Notepad++(Windows)
Text Mate (Mac)
Sublime Text(Windows/Linux)
Brackets
Aptana -Open source web development tool
Qt Project - C++/QML IDE
VIM -Advanced (!) Text Editor (small tutorial[/url)
Emacs -Advanced (!) Text Editor

Other
Gamedev.net - A forum full of professional game developers
DBforums - Database Forums
Codingbat - Java & Python Challenges
Bitbucket - Source Control Provider like github, but then Private
Sourcetreeapp - Tool to manage github/bitbucket
OverAPI - Cheatsheets for several languages
Regexr - Regular Expressioin Tester
Project Euler - Programming and math exercises (Can get quite advanced)

Contributors So far...
Darkfeign
alpenwasser
WanderingFool
majorawsome
pzyko103
WhatARoaster
crocski
Flojer0
MikeD
wolfsinner
hAxx
colonel_mortis
lord4163
Getov
TSegers
Hikaru12
fletch to 99
Nuluvius
forbsie1888
Robi_g

Quick glance: Main problem -> getchar only returns when you hit enter, not after every character you type.

The first thing I'm seeing is that the while loop will never exit, because the implicit evaluation requires 0, which as far as I know, a person cannot input NUL or \0 or whatever. Unless it's your intention to make the user force-quit the program.
 
Terminals will usually echo what you typed, but this isn't normally accessible to the program you're running. So if you were expecting printf("\b"); reducing your spaces of what you typed in the terminal, this won't work. This will print a backspace key, but it only affects the string in which you gave printf. So it prints nothing. But if you did printf("Hello\b world!\n"); it would print "Hell world!"
 
EDIT: So some further investigation showed me that most terminals use buffered inputs. Meaning you must press enter to actually input the thing to the program. You can disable this, if you really want: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1798511/how-to-avoid-press-enter-with-any-getchar

My dad says:
 
'Resolution' is the "amount of detail in a display", 
1920 x 1080 is the "number of pixels in a display",
and that they are completely different from each other.  
 
He gets furious when I tell him the truth. Once, I showed him one of Linus's videos - he was quiet for a couple of seconds, and suddenly proclaimed the obvious: "This Linus guy is a crazy lunatic!" I immediately retaliated:

 
"That's kinda true..."

My dad says:
 
'Resolution' is the "amount of detail in a display", 
1920 x 1080 is the "number of pixels in a display",
and that they are completely different from each other.  
 
He gets furious when I tell him the truth. Once, I showed him one of Linus's videos - he was quiet for a couple of seconds, and suddenly proclaimed the obvious: "This Linus guy is a crazy lunatic!" I immediately retaliated:

 
"That's kinda true..."

My dad says:
 
'Resolution' is the "amount of detail in a display", 
1920 x 1080 is the "number of pixels in a display",
and that they are completely different from each other.  
 
He gets furious when I tell him the truth. Once, I showed him one of Linus's videos - he was quiet for a couple of seconds, and suddenly proclaimed the obvious: "This Linus guy is a crazy lunatic!" I immediately retaliated:

 
"That's kinda true..."

Yep, you got it! One of the weird things that you don't really learn anywhere is why the "this" keyword is available in every member function, and it's because when you have a class member like:
class MyClass { public: void Func(); }; The ACTUAL signature to the member, generated by the compiler is
class MyClass { public: void Func(MyClass *this); }; And any time you call from any other class method, the compiler automatically adds the "this" pointer, so you don't have to:
 
void MyClass { public: void OtherFunc() { this->Func(); //Notice I don't need to include "this" when calling Func() } void Func() { } }; And indeed, you can't include the "this" pointer even if you wanted to, as it is implicit the the compiler.

And the reason, should anyone be interested, is that a instance of a class only contains the class's data (*). You can test this:
class Foo { int bar; public: // Add as much member functions as you like ... }; //You'll always get this... sizeof(Foo) == sizeof(int) If you have a million instances of this class you'll have a million int's, but the code for the member functions will exist only once, because it is always the same, only the data of a class changes.
That means, under the hood, this code must always receive a pointer to the instance data to work on.
 
(*) With some possible exceptions, such as a polymorphic class, which will probably also contain a vtable or some other extra data for the runtime dispatch mechanism.

STOP USING FKIN CAPS DUDE THE BUTTON HAS FEELINGS ... IT GETS HURT MAN

Review your employees.

Personally not a fan of cross platform app dev. It's alright for basic apps but when you need to use more of the low level components of the os it gets a little messy. Games are a bit of an exception here, with game engines like Unity3D being very versatile. 
 
For iOS the common practice is Swift with apples Xcode IDE and For Android Java in Android Studio or Eclipse (Eclipse being not so common these days).
If you were looking at developing basic mobile apps that don't use features like camera/storage/accelerometer etc then you could use cross platforms like Cordova or PhoneGap to quickly whip up an app using HTML/CSS/JS.
 
Note: Development of a backend would be required if you intend to persist/process data online (food for thought).
 
I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with too much info, it's not as scary as it sounds and the majority of tools out there have grate support communities to assist you.

A Gigabyte is 1000MB, while a Gibibyte is 1024 mebibytes.

I bought my parents a 1TB portable HDD to store all their pictures in. I was like, here ya go, you can backup all of your pictures and stuff here. My dad looks at it and is like, you usually buy me a little small thing. I'm like, yeah well that flash drive only has 16GB of storage while this thing has 50 times more. Then he says, so I can delete all the pictures from the laptop right? I look at the desktop, and icons of random pictures are everywhere. Some are atleast in a folder for that certain date. I look into My Pictures, and it's empty....

Another quick one from my Intro to Info Tech Class.
On the first day this girl sits down next to me. I knew who she was, but I never really talked to her.
I open up my school issued Chromebook (ugggghhh) I use CTRL+T to open a new tab. I type in "mail" then hit enter (Omnibox completes mail.google.com). I check my email quickly for new messages then use CTRL+W to close the window. All said and done it took me maybe 15 seconds.
The girl turns to me and says "Let me guess, you know how to hack stuff"
I laughed so hard and said.. yeah sure

It's just the most convenient place most of the time.  Difference is, when I do it, it's for temporary storage (like 10 mins or less) and I actually delete or move it somewhere else when I'm done

Yeah.  Then, talking bits vs bytes, bytes are supposed to be "B" and bits "b", so that at least is actually defined properly, but out of laziness or what I don't even know, many people will write "Mb" for Megabytes from time to time, and usually it's still obvious what is meant, but sometimes it isn't and that's why I always try to be very specific.

I had a tech guy that worked for me that plugged a printer USB into the Ethernet port and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't work. He never lived that down. A USB cable should not fit so well into an Ethernet port. 

My dad says:
 
'Resolution' is the "amount of detail in a display", 
1920 x 1080 is the "number of pixels in a display",
and that they are completely different from each other.  
 
He gets furious when I tell him the truth. Once, I showed him one of Linus's videos - he was quiet for a couple of seconds, and suddenly proclaimed the obvious: "This Linus guy is a crazy lunatic!" I immediately retaliated:

 
"That's kinda true..."

My dad says:
 
'Resolution' is the "amount of detail in a display", 
1920 x 1080 is the "number of pixels in a display",
and that they are completely different from each other.  
 
He gets furious when I tell him the truth. Once, I showed him one of Linus's videos - he was quiet for a couple of seconds, and suddenly proclaimed the obvious: "This Linus guy is a crazy lunatic!" I immediately retaliated:

 
"That's kinda true..."

My dad says:
 
'Resolution' is the "amount of detail in a display", 
1920 x 1080 is the "number of pixels in a display",
and that they are completely different from each other.  
 
He gets furious when I tell him the truth. Once, I showed him one of Linus's videos - he was quiet for a couple of seconds, and suddenly proclaimed the obvious: "This Linus guy is a crazy lunatic!" I immediately retaliated:

 
"That's kinda true..."

Self-shame:
Before I got into pc building I attempted to clean the dust out of our fairly old desktop. I did so successfully, but after reassembling and turning it on it would boot but crash after a minute or two of use. I thought the gpu (which had a broken fan) was the problem, and sent it to a more techy friend. 
Turns out, that gross gray stuff I wiped off the CPU was important. I still have the pc minus the gpu sitting in my closet waiting for thermal paste.

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