I had an HP DV6707US that I'd had for around year when I dropped it and shattered the LCD. HP wanted $400 for the screen, so I got a 22" Dell Ultrasharp and made it into a desktop for my office.
My considerations for when I use it for something else are currently:
Carputer
Media controller box for my home theatre
Server
You could do pretty much anything you want with it really, aside from the mobile computing work it was designed for. Hook it to an external display for initial setup, then remote into it when you need to alter anything.
I didn't read the list of replies. The follow is all my personal experience.
In my senior year of high school I was hired by the BOE as a student worker doing IT. From there the next IT job I got was for a consulting firm doing general tech/setup/cabling/etc..
From there I was hired as an admin for a medical office who was a previous client of the consulting firm. I am currently a co-sys admin for a company that does IT and telecom, and am in a position to eventually run the IT side. We do installs, admin, tech support, cabling etc..
I will say that I have, however, been extremely lucky. The BOE job was on a recommendation of a teacher (who was the tech guy at that school) who saw that I knew PCs and got me in. The consulting firm job was from a chance encounter while I was working retail (at radioshack) discussing VPN to the owner. The admin position at the medical firm was because they knew me from the consulting firm and knew I could handle it.
Finally, the current position was a lucky encounter with the IT admin (and partner) of the company. I had just started my own business doing IT, and was looking at taking a client in a building where he was doing IT for another company.
I'm 27, and had one year of college. It IS entirely possible to get a good IT job, and a position such as sysadmin without a degree, it just takes some luck, skills, knowledge, and a few connections.
Slashdot Mirror
I had an HP DV6707US that I'd had for around year when I dropped it and shattered the LCD. HP wanted $400 for the screen, so I got a 22" Dell Ultrasharp and made it into a desktop for my office. My considerations for when I use it for something else are currently: Carputer Media controller box for my home theatre Server You could do pretty much anything you want with it really, aside from the mobile computing work it was designed for. Hook it to an external display for initial setup, then remote into it when you need to alter anything.
I didn't read the list of replies. The follow is all my personal experience. In my senior year of high school I was hired by the BOE as a student worker doing IT. From there the next IT job I got was for a consulting firm doing general tech/setup/cabling/etc.. From there I was hired as an admin for a medical office who was a previous client of the consulting firm. I am currently a co-sys admin for a company that does IT and telecom, and am in a position to eventually run the IT side. We do installs, admin, tech support, cabling etc.. I will say that I have, however, been extremely lucky. The BOE job was on a recommendation of a teacher (who was the tech guy at that school) who saw that I knew PCs and got me in. The consulting firm job was from a chance encounter while I was working retail (at radioshack) discussing VPN to the owner. The admin position at the medical firm was because they knew me from the consulting firm and knew I could handle it. Finally, the current position was a lucky encounter with the IT admin (and partner) of the company. I had just started my own business doing IT, and was looking at taking a client in a building where he was doing IT for another company. I'm 27, and had one year of college. It IS entirely possible to get a good IT job, and a position such as sysadmin without a degree, it just takes some luck, skills, knowledge, and a few connections.