Homeless 'Journeyman Hacker' Launches Eco-Friendly Mobile App

Leo Grand, by his own admission, didn't know the first thing about computer programming four months ago. The 37-year-old man was living on the streets of New York City in late August, when a complete stranger approached, offering a choice between two months of coding lessons and $100 in cash.

Grand opted for the lessons, and 3,621 lines of code later, he has released his first mobile app. The app — an environmentally conscious carpool organizer called "Trees for Cars" — went live on the App Store just after 12:00 a.m. ET Tuesday.

We caught up with Grand and his teacher, 23-year-old programmer Patrick McConlogue, on the night Trees for Cars launched, and waited with the duo until after midnight in an otherwise empty New York City office. Read more...