It's simply not important which languages you learn - virtually any language can be learned in a few weeks at most. Even more of a waste of time is to focus on 'practical' things like 'database programming' or 'web development'. Those skills can also be learnt passably well in a few days or so.
Your goal, and the CS program that you choose, should really be to teach the theoretical aspects of CS more than anything else. Or if you don't want to physically go to school, start with SICP and do the MIT online CS courses. The more abstract your knowledge the better - specific technologies can and will be learned throughout your career.
Really, if you can say you're an expert Java programmer when you graduate, you and your school have done something seriously wrong with your 4 years - first for choosing Java in the first place, but mainly because your time should have been spent doing better things.
I have to agree 100%. Combined with virtualization, it's only a matter of time (and not much at that IMHO). Here are some examples of companies that don't have a server, much less an IT department (read the comments for more).
http://scobleizer.com/2007/11/16/the-serverless-internet-company/
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Your goal, and the CS program that you choose, should really be to teach the theoretical aspects of CS more than anything else. Or if you don't want to physically go to school, start with SICP and do the MIT online CS courses. The more abstract your knowledge the better - specific technologies can and will be learned throughout your career.
Really, if you can say you're an expert Java programmer when you graduate, you and your school have done something seriously wrong with your 4 years - first for choosing Java in the first place, but mainly because your time should have been spent doing better things.
I have to agree 100%. Combined with virtualization, it's only a matter of time (and not much at that IMHO). Here are some examples of companies that don't have a server, much less an IT department (read the comments for more). http://scobleizer.com/2007/11/16/the-serverless-internet-company/