I have been *working* in IT for over 15 years. Started with computers LONG before that. I am probably one of the best computer technicians I know (and have trained a good many as well) and can honestly say that experience will KEEP that perfect job, but not land it. I am very good at what I do, and others (customers and other IT people) recognize it when I am working on their gear. But without a doubt, 15+ years experience may look great on a resume, but you MUST have the paper just to get your foot in the door. I have applied to so many places, I've lost count. I have gone in to interview and sounded better than 95% of all the other candidates. But I don't have a degree. And I have been told by many employers that they would hire me in a second if I did. I figured this much experience would speak for itself. I even have 21 Brainbench certs and am Toshiba certified to work on their servers and laptops. But I don't have A+. I don't have MCSE. I don't have several hundred dollars to get them, although I probably know more about networking and computer repair than 90% of them. And THAT is the name of the game. Buy your "brand name" certs, cause out here in the real world, you can be a certified dumbass and get the job you want.
By the way, I'm still looking for that perfect job...
You cannot stop kids from viewing porn with a law. Porn is not necessarily a bad thing. You cannot tax free.
And for those people that think the question "what would you think if your daughter was a porn star? etc. etc is a valid question, Let me ask you a question of my own. Can't you just watch your own damn kids instead of having the gov't do it? If you are a good parent, spend time with your kids, and be exposed to the same things as them (you know, so you can explain things as they come along)... Do you honestly think your kid would become a porn star? I have four daughters. I try to be involved in their lives. I don't put viewing restrictions on them. The world is a big, scary place. And shielding them from it is only gonna make it worse for them when they "hit the streets" at 18 or whatever "magical age" you idiots put on adulthood. WE encounter things in our daily lives and WE discuss why it may be good or bad. I believe that I am having a positive effect on my daughters moral behavior.
And guess what... If, after all the things WE talk and learn about, they decide they want to be porn stars... then I stand behind them. They are my daughters. I believe in their right to choose as well. But at least it will be a choice that is based on knowledge, not ignorance.
And besides, how is putting a tax on porn gonna lessen it. If anything, it will make it bigger. Haven't you noticed when someone makes something forbidden, it makes it all that more appealing to others? Let me give you an example... There was a movie that came out (more than) a few years ago called "The Last Temptation of Christ". I was a teenager at the time and lived in the middle of the "bible belt". The churches were up in arms about the release of such filth. They threatened to burn down the theaters that played it. Does this sound like "good Christian behavior"? I had to see it while visiting in another state. And you know what? It sucked. I rented it a couple of years ago too, just to give it another chance from an adult point of view. It still sucked. If people would have just let it be, it would have gotten a shitty review and would have disappeared off the map. Instead, they gave it free publicity.
Now, I don't necessarily condone porn. I think it is an evil that will NEVER GO AWAY. I don't care how much you try to get rid of it, there are people all over the world that have "tits and ass" under their clothes. And some of those people are willing to share it with others. It is called "Freedom of Expression". Maybe you have heard of it... It is one of the things your religion is trying to take away from you.
Oh pu-leaze.... If MS had made the system hooks restricted, programmers would have been climbing the walls over how MS locked everyone out of the OS and slashdotters doing the same "MS sucks and this is why *nix rules". Complain about one or the other, but MS got it right on this decision.
And just to keep on topic, I wish everyone would get off this "IE sucks" trip. IE is part of the OS now... this crap doesn't infect IE anymore, it infects Windows. Now, lets change all these little rants I see all over this post. User goes to a webpage. Firefox gets to a Java applet and passes control to the JRE. JRE asks 3 times if they want to continue, and the user clicks "Yes" (because that is what they have been trained to do) and Windows gets infected. This isn't a software exploit. This is a user (ie. idiot) exploit that was not anticipated by Sun. If Sun would change their warning dialog to make someone put a checkmark in a box to accept instead of just clicking "Yes", this wouldn't happen. But again, not Sun's fault, but something that could easily be fixed by them.
If I'm not mistaken, most of what I hear on slashdot and elsewhere is people complaining about Windows and how Linux is such a better OS and they can't figure out why everyone doesn't change because it's free and better and could be easier to use and a LOT more powerful. Then, we get you, who says go find something else to do.
As far as the learning curve, I'm ready for it. But you can't get ALL your answers from the book. Just like with everything else, sometimes you need an experts (experienced person) opinion on a new/better/easier/real way to do something.
I WANT to use my gentoo box in a USEFUL way... I want to be able to do all of the things I do on my windows box and more. I want to study and research how to use this exciting OS. But face it, when it comes to getting a straightforward answer to something that just stumps the shit out of you, sometimes the books just don't cut it.
I have a $2000 Dell Inspiron laptop that came preinstalled with WinXP Pro. I have reinstalled that OS God know how many times, and I have never had a problem with any devices working afterward. And I spent maybe an hour installing each time.
I decide I want to use linux, so I wipe XP and load Gentoo. After much typing and reading manuals and researching on gentoo.org, two days later I have a working OS. Nevermind that I can't use my USB mouse and nevermind that my sound doesn't work and nevermind that my docing station goodies don't work, except the network card that is named eth1 (You know, a second NIC) that I have to DHCPCD everytime I decide to use it instead of the one in the side of the laptop.
This all sounds like a resounding Hey, WinDOS is less user hostile to me...
Well, unfortunately, I don't know any local linux people... I happen to live in a "computer illiterate" area of the US. The only avenues I have for immediate answers is either IRC or usenet. I am just finding out about sites like linuxquestions.org, so I don't have any experience there. And just about everywhere I go, there are people that are just plain rude. And yeah, I know someone is gonna say "that's everywhere, not just linux", but truth of the matter is, in a world of people, the asshole population (I'm guessing) is 20%. The linux community is a much smaller group, and it seems most of them are in that 20%. There are a lot of people who would help, but they don't hang out where you can get help. They are busy working or playing with their own systems... or hanging out on slashdot... grin)
I agree with you, and thank you for making my point. You are right, but USB and audio are easy to deal with... for someone who understands linux. But someone that is just coming onto the scene is likely to leave just as quick due to the crappy attitude they get by asking about such things.
Not to mention that that this is the whole reason why linux will never be a mainstream desktop operating system... people that like the idea of an open source operating system, can do some minor programming and want to use something a little "out of the ordinary" and a bit more powerful than the "standard" OS (I'm talking about me here) can't seem to get simple little things to work like sound, a USB mouse or the extras in my docking station. And I like Gentoo. The OS seems fantastic. But god forbid I ask a question on IRC or anywhere that someone knows anything about linux. I have been flamed and ridiculed tirelessly over "n00b" questions.
You know what? I will figure this stuff out. And yeah, I probably will have an elitist attitude when I'm through... but guess what. It will be against all the inconsiderate pricks that wouldn't take the time to help me with some "n00b" questions that I am sure they had at one time too.
And back to my original point... if someone just coming into linux gets attitude from "the gang", they will probably get tired of it and switch back to what everyone else is using... cause I don't know about you guys, but who the hell needs another hassle in their life than to learn all of this stuff when all they want to do is just USE THE COMPUTER.
I agree with your statement of a conflict of morals. The fact that the goverment concerns itself with moral (religious) issues aside, I do not understand how one can condone ending an unborn baby's life in an abortion (which yields another full plastic ziplock bag in the trash) and condemns ending an unborn baby's life to help mankind progress in science.
This may end up being flamebait instead of interesting and thought-provokative, but if you are going to end a life, there should at least be a "good" reason.
I am so tired of this crap. Someone ran a test and IE came out on top. Now we have people ranting that IE is a more mature product and has had a lot of stuff fixed over time (which is true). And all the open source products are still young and bugs are still being found and fixed by all the coders out there.
If this test had come out showing IE as the worst and all the others passed, there would be an MS bashing frenzy going on now talking about how all of the open source products are so much better and that is what MS gets for keeping closed source and how Billie Gates deserves herpes... etc, etc, etc.
I say it is about time that MS finally got their crap together and started making their product more secure. I say it is about time someone at MS got a fscking clue. And I also say it is about time MS started getting credit for trying to do so.
Uh... believe it or not, some of us don't like having to switch through several discs during a restore operation because someone thought of the "great" idea of incremental backups. As little as this stuff costs nowdays, it's easier to use a bigger medium. I do a full data backup once a week. And it does take a DVD.
What we need is a vigilante group to track down spammers and spyware writers, because you know all these laws aren't going to do a damn thing. All this talk about charging postage for sending email isn't going to stop it. It will only stop grandma from sending pictures to family. The people who send spam make enough money to keep sending. They are making it from the spyware writers... and those bastards need to die.
Does anyone remember a blue plastic robot that had an LCD face and a cassette player in it's chest? I remember playing with one as a kid, but everyone I've ever asked about it just remembers the Alphie. I have been looking for one of these for a long time...
Right or wrong? Definitely wrong. If the GPU is a 9000, why not just say it's the 9000. If it has the same specs, but doesn't support 8X just as the chipset on the motherboard doesn't, then why try to mislead people. The stupid masses don't even know the difference between the 9000 and the 9200... Those of us who do are thinking they must be incredibly dumb.
As a matter of fact, we did explain the reasoning behind these rules. But when you are young, you don't like to think about your own mortality. When I was young, and I got the "Don't hang out in places by yourself, you'll get snatched up" routine and I didn't really think about it either. "I would never happen to me."
They got the reasoning, but having it hit home really makes one understand.
You sound like you did come out pretty good with a "relaxed" atmosphere. But I don't just make rules just to make them... I have reasons. I issue the rules and if someone wants to question them, that is fine. I can take constructive critisism. But usually, when one of the kids wants to "bend" one of the rules, we discuss why they should or shouldn't. And if they can give me a good reason, then I can bend too.
It may be easier to ask forgiveness instead of permission. And my kids know this. But they also know that it is easier to take a yes-or-no answer from me with an explanation than it is to take the punishment and/or consequences.
Kids, learn from your parents mistakes when you can. Some parents might be really crappy, but most have felt the same way you have at one point or another. Just ask... most of us are more than willing to help out.
I think you give people too much credit. I have four daughters and I set up a computer for them with internet access a couple of years ago. (they were between 15 and 10 at the time) We set down a couple of rules... the biggest being "Do NOT give out any personal info over the web." I told them they could tell their first name, but if someone insists on the last, make something up. But no other info at all...
That being said, three days later, they were all over the chat rooms and the IMs. I decided to test them. We were away from the house and I created a fake AOL instant messenger screen name. I impersonated Justin Timberlake as I knew they were all fond of that crap back then. I initiated a conversation with them and within 5 minutes... 5 MINUTES, I had all their names, address, ages, and phone number. Since they didn't listen, I decided to teach them why I make the rules I make. Some may think it was a bad thing to do, but it worked for me. I "let them in" on the fact that I wasn't Justin Timberlake. I started talking about the clothes they were wearing, as I remembered what clothes they had on from earlier. I made them think that I was some kind of stalker and was watching them. They were scared shitless. They called within seconds and said that someone was outside watching them. I asked how they knew this and they tried to cover it all up. They finally told the truth and I explained what happened. They were mad at first, but a few days later, the oldest told me that they understand why I did it and the purpose for the rule. They don't give out personal info anymore.
People learn by making mistakes because there is a consequence to the mistake that they don't like. But do you want that consequence to be being raped or even killed because they told the wrong person who and where they were?? Paranoid or not, I believe that a safe child is a happy child. And no matter what you think, there are some really sick people out there.
Slashdot Mirror
As a co-worker and I were just discussing, the radio in your car is also a communications device.
Normally, I would agree with you...
I bought in to the whole Sirius/XM model of subscription-based radio with no ads... look where that got me.
I have been *working* in IT for over 15 years. Started with computers LONG before that. I am probably one of the best computer technicians I know (and have trained a good many as well) and can honestly say that experience will KEEP that perfect job, but not land it. I am very good at what I do, and others (customers and other IT people) recognize it when I am working on their gear. But without a doubt, 15+ years experience may look great on a resume, but you MUST have the paper just to get your foot in the door. I have applied to so many places, I've lost count. I have gone in to interview and sounded better than 95% of all the other candidates. But I don't have a degree. And I have been told by many employers that they would hire me in a second if I did. I figured this much experience would speak for itself. I even have 21 Brainbench certs and am Toshiba certified to work on their servers and laptops. But I don't have A+. I don't have MCSE. I don't have several hundred dollars to get them, although I probably know more about networking and computer repair than 90% of them. And THAT is the name of the game. Buy your "brand name" certs, cause out here in the real world, you can be a certified dumbass and get the job you want.
By the way, I'm still looking for that perfect job...
Blah blah, blah blah, fuckin blah...
When are these people ever gonna learn...
You cannot stop kids from viewing porn with a law.
Porn is not necessarily a bad thing.
You cannot tax free.
And for those people that think the question "what would you think if your daughter was a porn star? etc. etc is a valid question, Let me ask you a question of my own. Can't you just watch your own damn kids instead of having the gov't do it? If you are a good parent, spend time with your kids, and be exposed to the same things as them (you know, so you can explain things as they come along)... Do you honestly think your kid would become a porn star? I have four daughters. I try to be involved in their lives. I don't put viewing restrictions on them. The world is a big, scary place. And shielding them from it is only gonna make it worse for them when they "hit the streets" at 18 or whatever "magical age" you idiots put on adulthood. WE encounter things in our daily lives and WE discuss why it may be good or bad. I believe that I am having a positive effect on my daughters moral behavior.
And guess what... If, after all the things WE talk and learn about, they decide they want to be porn stars... then I stand behind them. They are my daughters. I believe in their right to choose as well. But at least it will be a choice that is based on knowledge, not ignorance.
And besides, how is putting a tax on porn gonna lessen it. If anything, it will make it bigger. Haven't you noticed when someone makes something forbidden, it makes it all that more appealing to others? Let me give you an example... There was a movie that came out (more than) a few years ago called "The Last Temptation of Christ". I was a teenager at the time and lived in the middle of the "bible belt". The churches were up in arms about the release of such filth. They threatened to burn down the theaters that played it. Does this sound like "good Christian behavior"? I had to see it while visiting in another state. And you know what? It sucked. I rented it a couple of years ago too, just to give it another chance from an adult point of view. It still sucked. If people would have just let it be, it would have gotten a shitty review and would have disappeared off the map. Instead, they gave it free publicity.
Now, I don't necessarily condone porn. I think it is an evil that will NEVER GO AWAY. I don't care how much you try to get rid of it, there are people all over the world that have "tits and ass" under their clothes. And some of those people are willing to share it with others. It is called "Freedom of Expression". Maybe you have heard of it... It is one of the things your religion is trying to take away from you.
For some morbid reason, I find this to be extremely hilarious...
Oh pu-leaze.... If MS had made the system hooks restricted, programmers would have been climbing the walls over how MS locked everyone out of the OS and slashdotters doing the same "MS sucks and this is why *nix rules". Complain about one or the other, but MS got it right on this decision.
And just to keep on topic, I wish everyone would get off this "IE sucks" trip. IE is part of the OS now... this crap doesn't infect IE anymore, it infects Windows. Now, lets change all these little rants I see all over this post. User goes to a webpage. Firefox gets to a Java applet and passes control to the JRE. JRE asks 3 times if they want to continue, and the user clicks "Yes" (because that is what they have been trained to do) and Windows gets infected. This isn't a software exploit. This is a user (ie. idiot) exploit that was not anticipated by Sun. If Sun would change their warning dialog to make someone put a checkmark in a box to accept instead of just clicking "Yes", this wouldn't happen. But again, not Sun's fault, but something that could easily be fixed by them.
If I'm not mistaken, most of what I hear on slashdot and elsewhere is people complaining about Windows and how Linux is such a better OS and they can't figure out why everyone doesn't change because it's free and better and could be easier to use and a LOT more powerful. Then, we get you, who says go find something else to do.
As far as the learning curve, I'm ready for it. But you can't get ALL your answers from the book. Just like with everything else, sometimes you need an experts (experienced person) opinion on a new/better/easier/real way to do something.
I WANT to use my gentoo box in a USEFUL way... I want to be able to do all of the things I do on my windows box and more. I want to study and research how to use this exciting OS. But face it, when it comes to getting a straightforward answer to something that just stumps the shit out of you, sometimes the books just don't cut it.
So you're saying that I have to be a prick to get answers...
I think I learned something like that in the Navy too...
Oh, another wise guy... Let's see... can we say "elitist prick"? Ahh... I thought so.
Ok, lets review...
I have a $2000 Dell Inspiron laptop that came preinstalled with WinXP Pro. I have reinstalled that OS God know how many times, and I have never had a problem with any devices working afterward. And I spent maybe an hour installing each time.
I decide I want to use linux, so I wipe XP and load Gentoo. After much typing and reading manuals and researching on gentoo.org, two days later I have a working OS. Nevermind that I can't use my USB mouse and nevermind that my sound doesn't work and nevermind that my docing station goodies don't work, except the network card that is named eth1 (You know, a second NIC) that I have to DHCPCD everytime I decide to use it instead of the one in the side of the laptop.
This all sounds like a resounding Hey, WinDOS is less user hostile to me...
Well, unfortunately, I don't know any local linux people... I happen to live in a "computer illiterate" area of the US. The only avenues I have for immediate answers is either IRC or usenet. I am just finding out about sites like linuxquestions.org, so I don't have any experience there. And just about everywhere I go, there are people that are just plain rude. And yeah, I know someone is gonna say "that's everywhere, not just linux", but truth of the matter is, in a world of people, the asshole population (I'm guessing) is 20%. The linux community is a much smaller group, and it seems most of them are in that 20%. There are a lot of people who would help, but they don't hang out where you can get help. They are busy working or playing with their own systems... or hanging out on slashdot... grin)
I agree with you, and thank you for making my point. You are right, but USB and audio are easy to deal with... for someone who understands linux. But someone that is just coming onto the scene is likely to leave just as quick due to the crappy attitude they get by asking about such things.
A true slashdotting would turn your G3 into a smoking hole.
I just can't help but laugh my ass off over that...
Not to mention that that this is the whole reason why linux will never be a mainstream desktop operating system... people that like the idea of an open source operating system, can do some minor programming and want to use something a little "out of the ordinary" and a bit more powerful than the "standard" OS (I'm talking about me here) can't seem to get simple little things to work like sound, a USB mouse or the extras in my docking station. And I like Gentoo. The OS seems fantastic. But god forbid I ask a question on IRC or anywhere that someone knows anything about linux. I have been flamed and ridiculed tirelessly over "n00b" questions.
You know what? I will figure this stuff out. And yeah, I probably will have an elitist attitude when I'm through... but guess what. It will be against all the inconsiderate pricks that wouldn't take the time to help me with some "n00b" questions that I am sure they had at one time too.
And back to my original point... if someone just coming into linux gets attitude from "the gang", they will probably get tired of it and switch back to what everyone else is using... cause I don't know about you guys, but who the hell needs another hassle in their life than to learn all of this stuff when all they want to do is just USE THE COMPUTER.
I agree with your statement of a conflict of morals. The fact that the goverment concerns itself with moral (religious) issues aside, I do not understand how one can condone ending an unborn baby's life in an abortion (which yields another full plastic ziplock bag in the trash) and condemns ending an unborn baby's life to help mankind progress in science.
This may end up being flamebait instead of interesting and thought-provokative, but if you are going to end a life, there should at least be a "good" reason.
Oh please...
I am so tired of this crap. Someone ran a test and IE came out on top. Now we have people ranting that IE is a more mature product and has had a lot of stuff fixed over time (which is true). And all the open source products are still young and bugs are still being found and fixed by all the coders out there.
If this test had come out showing IE as the worst and all the others passed, there would be an MS bashing frenzy going on now talking about how all of the open source products are so much better and that is what MS gets for keeping closed source and how Billie Gates deserves herpes... etc, etc, etc.
I say it is about time that MS finally got their crap together and started making their product more secure. I say it is about time someone at MS got a fscking clue. And I also say it is about time MS started getting credit for trying to do so.
Just MHO.
Uh... believe it or not, some of us don't like having to switch through several discs during a restore operation because someone thought of the "great" idea of incremental backups. As little as this stuff costs nowdays, it's easier to use a bigger medium. I do a full data backup once a week. And it does take a DVD.
What we need is a vigilante group to track down spammers and spyware writers, because you know all these laws aren't going to do a damn thing. All this talk about charging postage for sending email isn't going to stop it. It will only stop grandma from sending pictures to family. The people who send spam make enough money to keep sending. They are making it from the spyware writers... and those bastards need to die.
Oh, the thing I forgot is when you played a tape (It came with learning tapes I think) the mouth on the LCD moved with the sound...
Does anyone remember a blue plastic robot that had an LCD face and a cassette player in it's chest? I remember playing with one as a kid, but everyone I've ever asked about it just remembers the Alphie. I have been looking for one of these for a long time...
Right or wrong? Definitely wrong. If the GPU is a 9000, why not just say it's the 9000. If it has the same specs, but doesn't support 8X just as the chipset on the motherboard doesn't, then why try to mislead people. The stupid masses don't even know the difference between the 9000 and the 9200... Those of us who do are thinking they must be incredibly dumb.
Not one I know was ever a slave... Why is it people still take offense to the term?
Well, we could always change the pictures...
One stick figure with a hole in the crotch and one with a rod.
Let these morons spend their time worrying about their kids eyes instead of stupid ass issues.
As a matter of fact, we did explain the reasoning behind these rules. But when you are young, you don't like to think about your own mortality. When I was young, and I got the "Don't hang out in places by yourself, you'll get snatched up" routine and I didn't really think about it either. "I would never happen to me."
They got the reasoning, but having it hit home really makes one understand.
You sound like you did come out pretty good with a "relaxed" atmosphere. But I don't just make rules just to make them... I have reasons. I issue the rules and if someone wants to question them, that is fine. I can take constructive critisism. But usually, when one of the kids wants to "bend" one of the rules, we discuss why they should or shouldn't. And if they can give me a good reason, then I can bend too.
It may be easier to ask forgiveness instead of permission. And my kids know this. But they also know that it is easier to take a yes-or-no answer from me with an explanation than it is to take the punishment and/or consequences.
Kids, learn from your parents mistakes when you can. Some parents might be really crappy, but most have felt the same way you have at one point or another. Just ask... most of us are more than willing to help out.
I think you give people too much credit. I have four daughters and I set up a computer for them with internet access a couple of years ago. (they were between 15 and 10 at the time) We set down a couple of rules... the biggest being "Do NOT give out any personal info over the web." I told them they could tell their first name, but if someone insists on the last, make something up. But no other info at all...
That being said, three days later, they were all over the chat rooms and the IMs. I decided to test them. We were away from the house and I created a fake AOL instant messenger screen name. I impersonated Justin Timberlake as I knew they were all fond of that crap back then. I initiated a conversation with them and within 5 minutes... 5 MINUTES, I had all their names, address, ages, and phone number. Since they didn't listen, I decided to teach them why I make the rules I make. Some may think it was a bad thing to do, but it worked for me. I "let them in" on the fact that I wasn't Justin Timberlake. I started talking about the clothes they were wearing, as I remembered what clothes they had on from earlier. I made them think that I was some kind of stalker and was watching them. They were scared shitless. They called within seconds and said that someone was outside watching them. I asked how they knew this and they tried to cover it all up. They finally told the truth and I explained what happened. They were mad at first, but a few days later, the oldest told me that they understand why I did it and the purpose for the rule. They don't give out personal info anymore.
People learn by making mistakes because there is a consequence to the mistake that they don't like. But do you want that consequence to be being raped or even killed because they told the wrong person who and where they were?? Paranoid or not, I believe that a safe child is a happy child. And no matter what you think, there are some really sick people out there.