As much as I like Linux, I'd have to say that, in truth, Red Hat and VA Research are *way* overvalued. Caldera seems to be taking a much more prudent path. The real problem with the market right now is day trading and buying on margin. Buying stock in a corporation is supposed to be a long-term investment in a business the investor believes in, not a way to turn a quick buck.
After a number of years as a roadie and househusband, I returned to the local community college 4 years ago to get a degree in networking (my original degree is in history). The reason was that I was, and am, fascinated with networking-- it's like, way, way, cool! Most of the folks I went to school with were strictly in it for the money. Most of them are looking for work. I think the deal is that you just can't do this work consistently unless you are in it for more than money. Sure, the money's nice, and, yeah, I'm studying for Cisco certification, but I'm doing it because *I think that designing networks is FUN*. Lots of folx are doing the 2-week certification boot camps, which IMO are strictly BS. My employer sent me to several of the MCSE classes at New Horizons and they were a big waste of my time. Well, NT Core Technologies did finally convince me to replace our NT server with Linux, so it wasn't a *total* waste;) . Unfortunately most HR people don't know their butts from a hole in the ground about IT. As most of them have management degrees, they unfortunately have about the same quality of knowledge about anything else. So, they use the certification as some sort of benchmark, even though, for instance, having a CCNA doesn't tell the employer whether the prospective employee did it in a boot camp that teaches you how to pass the test, or in a 2-year long class with labs, etc., that delves very deeply into what makes a network work. The thing that need to change is that someone needs to start requiring labs and/or OJT for these certifications. Also, a certain amount of class hours or web-based training. Hiring an MSCE with no experience who took their classes from some place like New Horizons or MicroAge is about as smart as hiring Uncle Duke to perform brain surgery.
I used to work for a school district that had 2 high schools and about 12K students. There was 1 teacher in the entire district who knew his head from his asshole about programming. In fact, as a group, the only teaching-type staff who were more clueless about computers were (as you would probably expect) the guidance counselors. The problem is this: In the public school system, most of the folx that are any good at what they do get sick of dealing with the bureaucracy and overpaid-and-underworked adminstrative-types and so they go where they can make real money and not have to deal with this sort of crap. This is especially true of computer-types.
I live in Eugene, Oregon, where Symantec's biggest call center is located. They located here because the local community college started a supposedly "excellent" end-user support program-- so they say. They also hire workers for $8.00 an hour and force them to work as temp slaves for up to 15 months before they get benefits (this in the 3rd most expensive housing market in the U$). Then they can people at the least change in the software market, and if they want to go back to work there, often make them go through the probationary BS again. And what do they make-- for the most part crummy fixes for a certain crummy OS or add-ons which should be free (as in beer) for that certain crappy OS. Personally, with the exception of Norton Antivirus, which I use because we have a site license, I just say no to Symantec.
My 11-year-old is getting quite good at linux. She wanted koules, so I downloaded the tarball and with a tab bit of help, edited the config file and had a working game in 5 minutes. The problem with linux is that it *looks* intimidating. IMO, linux is *much* easier to use than Winblows, it's just that it takes some time to learn. And, unfortunately, we live in a culture of instant self-gratification.
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As much as I like Linux, I'd have to say that, in truth, Red Hat and VA Research are *way* overvalued. Caldera seems to be taking a much more prudent path. The real problem with the market right now is day trading and buying on margin. Buying stock in a corporation is supposed to be a long-term investment in a business the investor believes in, not a way to turn a quick buck.
When I graduated with my history degree, I was offered a full ride to law school. Fortunately, my parents raised me to have morals....
After a number of years as a roadie and househusband, I returned to the local community college 4 years ago to get a degree in networking (my original degree is in history). The reason was that I was, and am, fascinated with networking-- it's like, way, way, cool! Most of the folks I went to school with were strictly in it for the money. Most of them are looking for work. I think the deal is that you just can't do this work consistently unless you are in it for more than money. Sure, the money's nice, and, yeah, I'm studying for Cisco certification, but I'm doing it because *I think that designing networks is FUN*. Lots of folx are doing the 2-week certification boot camps, which IMO are strictly BS. My employer sent me to several of the MCSE classes at New Horizons and they were a big waste of my time. Well, NT Core Technologies did finally convince me to replace our NT server with Linux, so it wasn't a *total* waste ;) . Unfortunately most HR people don't know their butts from a hole in the ground about IT. As most of them have management degrees, they unfortunately have about the same quality of knowledge about anything else. So, they use the certification as some sort of benchmark, even though, for instance, having a CCNA doesn't tell the employer whether the prospective employee did it in a boot camp that teaches you how to pass the test, or in a 2-year long class with labs, etc., that delves very deeply into what makes a network work. The thing that need to change is that someone needs to start requiring labs and/or OJT for these certifications. Also, a certain amount of class hours or web-based training. Hiring an MSCE with no experience who took their classes from some place like New Horizons or MicroAge is about as smart as hiring Uncle Duke to perform brain surgery.
I used to work for a school district that had 2 high schools and about 12K students. There was 1 teacher in the entire district who knew his head from his asshole about programming. In fact, as a group, the only teaching-type staff who were more clueless about computers were (as you would probably expect) the guidance counselors. The problem is this: In the public school system, most of the folx that are any good at what they do get sick of dealing with the bureaucracy and overpaid-and-underworked adminstrative-types and so they go where they can make real money and not have to deal with this sort of crap. This is especially true of computer-types.
I live in Eugene, Oregon, where Symantec's biggest call center is located. They located here because the local community college started a supposedly "excellent" end-user support program-- so they say. They also hire workers for $8.00 an hour and force them to work as temp slaves for up to 15 months before they get benefits (this in the 3rd most expensive housing market in the U$). Then they can people at the least change in the software market, and if they want to go back to work there, often make them go through the probationary BS again. And what do they make-- for the most part crummy fixes for a certain crummy OS or add-ons which should be free (as in beer) for that certain crappy OS. Personally, with the exception of Norton Antivirus, which I use because we have a site license, I just say no to Symantec.
That explains EVERYTHING! ;)
My 11-year-old is getting quite good at linux. She wanted koules, so I downloaded the tarball and with a tab bit of help, edited the config file and had a working game in 5 minutes. The problem with linux is that it *looks* intimidating. IMO, linux is *much* easier to use than Winblows, it's just that it takes some time to learn. And, unfortunately, we live in a culture of instant self-gratification.
Who do these guys think they are, anyway-- Steve Jobs????