Vista + SP1: If you put whipped cream on a turd, it's still a turd.
Do you use vista? used vista SP1?
I've used vista for about 8 months now, on my primary pc, which I watch video on, web, IRC,encode video, play games, and use as my primary work pc... which I generally run 4+ VMs at the same time. I have 90% of the time LOVED vista, that's right loved! the other 10% of the time I was unhappy with file management, EX: file copy/move/browse/cancel. I installed SP1 on Tuesday, and all of my issues are fixed. They also fixed / improved many things that were not an issue for me. My machine plays every game I've tried to play on it, and I've tested it a bit. It has crashed maybe twice, both times I did something bad and it should have crashed. I can run 6 VM full screen machines on this pc, and every VM and the main OS VISTA, has been very responsive, and I can do other CPU intensive things at the same time. Part of that is the Q6600 + 4GB ram... but part of it is an underlying OS that can handle all those requests and run smoothly.
I'm sick of people putting M$ down because they have their own agendas. Sure their products have bugs / issues / security holes, but so does any other respectable OS. The more people use a certain OS, the more script kiddies are going to try and attack it and find obscure bugs and exploit them. Is MS entirely original? Not on a regular basis, but being a programmer myself, while creating 100% original code can be the best way to create a program, sometimes you need to know when to re-use someone else's ideas / code snippets.
Have I loved all their products? NO. Do I condemn things before I try them? Not when it comes to software.
I've been in IT for 12 years now. Before I started in IT I wrote a program for my high school that was then used for 8 years. I also taught C++ and pascal in summer school for two years. I went to College, dropped out after a semester and then started working. I've been working as a consultant for 90% of my working life now. I've worked for a number of different types of companies, ranging from pharmaceutical to Oil companies, to IT companies. I've never gotten a Cert in anything, never taken a single MSCSE test, and never been out of work for more then 6 months. With every time I've switched jobs taken less then two weeks except one time where I decided to take a 6 month vacation. At most places I've worked we've talked about hiring me full time, and only once has this actually occurred. That being said, I'm currently in the process of switching from consultant to FTE. The shortest period I've been at a job was 1 year, which was a horrid job with unthinkable work conditions, with an inexperienced manager. My average stay has been about 3 years.
Half of my jobs I've gotten the opportunity to work there because I've known someone at the company from previous work experience. The other half I've looked on Monster.com almost exclusively, and while many of the jobs there are crap / big-pimpin, there are lots of good jobs there too. Sometimes companies are unable to find people in their normal ways and Monster and other online job sites offer a great way to reach out to the world or just locally of an open position. But most of the time I just turn on my availability in monster, update my last job(or current), and wait for phone calls.
Now, I don't want to sound conceded, but I'm a damm good IT employee(or contractor most times:)). I'm very good at what I do. I've been the technical lead 90% of all jobs I've had. My resume generally speaks for itself, but I give a good interview too(I've been told). I understand the politics within business and able to translate extremely technical issues to non technical project managers and management. I'm always learning the newest tech in my field. I ALWAYS look for ways to improve the process I'm involved in, whether I'm asked to or not. I've only had one manager that was unhappy that I'd found a way to save time for myself any others by a process improvement. When I find things in my daily job that could be done better by a little script or are tedious, I write a VBS script, test it, and then bring it up with my manager and share with my co-workers. Troubleshooting and problem solving are my favorite parts of working. And finally, I have a good understanding of the entire process surrounding the portion I'm involved with on a daily basis.
In my years in the IT field I've seen many "skilled" workers, mostly only a handful at each company I've worked for. It might surprised you to hear how few there are at some 200k+ ppl companies. The majority of ppl I see are anywhere from "oh my G-D, I can't believe this person working here, who did they sleep with", to "They're ok, but I don't want to put too much pressure on them or give them anything really important to work on". I've only met like 1-3 "superstars" at any one company I've worked for.
I would think it stands to reason that 70-90% of the time the best employees are currently employed. I know I generally don't spent too long looking for a job.
my 2 cents.
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Vista + SP1: If you put whipped cream on a turd, it's still a turd.
Do you use vista? used vista SP1?
I've used vista for about 8 months now, on my primary pc, which I watch video on, web, IRC,encode video, play games, and use as my primary work pc... which I generally run 4+ VMs at the same time. I have 90% of the time LOVED vista, that's right loved! the other 10% of the time I was unhappy with file management, EX: file copy/move/browse/cancel. I installed SP1 on Tuesday, and all of my issues are fixed. They also fixed / improved many things that were not an issue for me. My machine plays every game I've tried to play on it, and I've tested it a bit. It has crashed maybe twice, both times I did something bad and it should have crashed. I can run 6 VM full screen machines on this pc, and every VM and the main OS VISTA, has been very responsive, and I can do other CPU intensive things at the same time. Part of that is the Q6600 + 4GB ram... but part of it is an underlying OS that can handle all those requests and run smoothly.
I'm sick of people putting M$ down because they have their own agendas. Sure their products have bugs / issues / security holes, but so does any other respectable OS. The more people use a certain OS, the more script kiddies are going to try and attack it and find obscure bugs and exploit them. Is MS entirely original? Not on a regular basis, but being a programmer myself, while creating 100% original code can be the best way to create a program, sometimes you need to know when to re-use someone else's ideas / code snippets.
Have I loved all their products? NO. Do I condemn things before I try them? Not when it comes to software.
I've been in IT for 12 years now. Before I started in IT I wrote a program for my high school that was then used for 8 years. I also taught C++ and pascal in summer school for two years. I went to College, dropped out after a semester and then started working. I've been working as a consultant for 90% of my working life now. I've worked for a number of different types of companies, ranging from pharmaceutical to Oil companies, to IT companies. I've never gotten a Cert in anything, never taken a single MSCSE test, and never been out of work for more then 6 months. With every time I've switched jobs taken less then two weeks except one time where I decided to take a 6 month vacation. At most places I've worked we've talked about hiring me full time, and only once has this actually occurred. That being said, I'm currently in the process of switching from consultant to FTE. The shortest period I've been at a job was 1 year, which was a horrid job with unthinkable work conditions, with an inexperienced manager. My average stay has been about 3 years. Half of my jobs I've gotten the opportunity to work there because I've known someone at the company from previous work experience. The other half I've looked on Monster.com almost exclusively, and while many of the jobs there are crap / big-pimpin, there are lots of good jobs there too. Sometimes companies are unable to find people in their normal ways and Monster and other online job sites offer a great way to reach out to the world or just locally of an open position. But most of the time I just turn on my availability in monster, update my last job(or current), and wait for phone calls. Now, I don't want to sound conceded, but I'm a damm good IT employee(or contractor most times:)). I'm very good at what I do. I've been the technical lead 90% of all jobs I've had. My resume generally speaks for itself, but I give a good interview too(I've been told). I understand the politics within business and able to translate extremely technical issues to non technical project managers and management. I'm always learning the newest tech in my field. I ALWAYS look for ways to improve the process I'm involved in, whether I'm asked to or not. I've only had one manager that was unhappy that I'd found a way to save time for myself any others by a process improvement. When I find things in my daily job that could be done better by a little script or are tedious, I write a VBS script, test it, and then bring it up with my manager and share with my co-workers. Troubleshooting and problem solving are my favorite parts of working. And finally, I have a good understanding of the entire process surrounding the portion I'm involved with on a daily basis. In my years in the IT field I've seen many "skilled" workers, mostly only a handful at each company I've worked for. It might surprised you to hear how few there are at some 200k+ ppl companies. The majority of ppl I see are anywhere from "oh my G-D, I can't believe this person working here, who did they sleep with", to "They're ok, but I don't want to put too much pressure on them or give them anything really important to work on". I've only met like 1-3 "superstars" at any one company I've worked for. I would think it stands to reason that 70-90% of the time the best employees are currently employed. I know I generally don't spent too long looking for a job. my 2 cents.