Seconded here. I actually took a linux class last semester just to get some formal training and they were still using an old version of Novell's SUSE that couldn't be updated without going through a pile of hoops so I asked if could be guinea pig and gave OpenSUSE a try to see if it'd be compatible with the material. Worked out just fine if not better.
I started off with Linxu on Mandrake a while back too, go figure.:) Then went to Ubuntu and Mint for a bit which aren't bad, but so far OpenSUSE has been my personal fave. And this is coming from a guy who's primarily doing Windows support and runs Windows at home. If I was to ever switch formally I'd most likely go the OpenSUSE route./advertisement
As for other suggestions - I'd definitely recommend taking a course at your local community college if you can find such. That did wonders for my understanding of how the system is put together and how to wrap my head around navigating and operating within command line.
Now as for LAMP I've never really don't much with that other than some minor tinkering. Definitely sounds like the way to go though.
If you're sole demand is monetary, that is. Which isn't unreasonable - but the person is still stuck because they choose to be.
I find career paths wind more than go in straight lines.
I started out building cabling then shifted to routing the cabling then shifted to installing equipment the cabling went to then shifted to installing the equipment at client sites from there I got drafted into the IT section doing helpdesk support (after they realized I was decent w/ computers at the previous task) and from there I got into server admin.
So - was I destined to be just some assembler? You can migrate your career where you want - most of this advances/shifts were my choosing. To be pigeon-holed into "IT" is pretty tough. If you're doing help desk work but want to be a programmer - start coding some projects to help help desk out. Often you'll find once you build up your little market and can show the value your work is adding your boss will let you run with some of your ideas and even start your own projects.
The caveat, however, is a situation I've managed to create is that I've ended up making myself too valuable in a way that's specific to just this organization so now my pay exceeds what I can find elsewhere in the market if I took a similar job title with only the experience that would carry over. Tragic, I know, but it does suck when you're trying to relocate to be closer to the wife's family. What's likely going to have to happen is that I'll simply have to "downgrade" for a bit, take a paycut, and shift gears in the industry to get more transferable experience.
In the end - you're still in control of your paths even once you set sail. And yes, sometimes you do have to backtrack a bit to get back on the path you want. But that's life. And I like being able to pay my bills.
That's essentially what I got out of it. There's no way consumers will win from this deal.
I wrote my congressmen when this first came to news and got a reply recently:
Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. I always appreciate your input and the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.
As you may know, on August 31, 2011 the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T placing the matter before a United States District Court. A hearing has been set for September 21, 2011 in the federal court to discuss the status of the case. While I am not aware of legislation having been introduced that confronts this issue, I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind should there be any relevant bills proposed in the future.
Again, thank you for writing me on this important issue. If I can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of my staff.
I have actually heard of this happening at some stores and have heard of it happening in a lot of the big box places that aren't Walmart. It's more of a problem with American retail culture, IMO, and seems like something that SHOULD be addressed by labor laws.
On the flipside - the stores that I do know people working at don't have this problem. They make them full time if they're worth a shit and can actually work the hours. With that said - my money is that it's your DM that's fucking you, not Walmart corporate.
You definitely nailed it there. There are some things that I can get from Walmart for a lot cheaper, sure, but it's often nice being able to get a quality product from someone damned knowledgable.
While my original post does support Walmart to some degree - I'd still rather shop elsewhere. However, it's not a political issue for me - it's simply that shopping at Walmart stresses me the hell out unless I'm doing it at non-peak hours.
Sure must suck having a job that: -pays above minimum wage -has benefits -helps keep the cost of goods from rising insanely -is damned efficient at what it does
Mind you - I'm not going to disagree that there are some socio-economic issues with how walmart does business - but they aren't the only ones playing that game and they're not 100% evil. If you're a business owner - you're pretty much guaranteed to do very well if you can get in the same shopping center as a walmart as long as you're not in the business of selling the same goods walmart does for the same demographics. I've seen cities blossom around such shopping centers and a large portion of the stores nearby have been there for years as a result.
Ok, so I was starting to write a rant disagreeing with you and pointing out some links so where I've seen Dell offer a Linux machine for cheaper...then I proved myself wrong. They give you the choice of two computers with lame specs for maybe 50 bucks cheaper than their Windows counterpart. WTF.
Same thing I thought. This guy is thinking too much like a businessman and not enough like a customer. The price hikes I can understand. Content isn't free and we as consumers are demanding newer releases. Ok, fine, I get that.
But we're not getting that. Not yet anyway. Plus there's the recent news that Starz was pulling their content. DVD was pretty much our way of patching up the holes in what Netflix has to offer via streaming (which is a lot).
And for adding a game rental portion - fine. But leave it all with Netflix. Having to jump around different sites and maintain different queues is a waste of time. The advantage Netflix had is being removed with this latest maneuver from Reed.
"I never understood the rich/poor school district thing. "
I'm pretty sure the difference isn't in the school itself but in the culture that ends up occupying it. Kind of like how you can take the kid out of the X but not take the X out of the kid. At least in my region I see a lot of shit given to other kids by the "cool" kids for being smart with the accusation of "acting white". I know it's a favorite past time to make fun of nerds but this just seems like a new low. Or hell, maybe I'm just getting old.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe we should just define competency differently then...
Holey sheet?!
I'm not sure myself but the proton said he was positive.
Seconded here. I actually took a linux class last semester just to get some formal training and they were still using an old version of Novell's SUSE that couldn't be updated without going through a pile of hoops so I asked if could be guinea pig and gave OpenSUSE a try to see if it'd be compatible with the material. Worked out just fine if not better.
I started off with Linxu on Mandrake a while back too, go figure. :) Then went to Ubuntu and Mint for a bit which aren't bad, but so far OpenSUSE has been my personal fave. And this is coming from a guy who's primarily doing Windows support and runs Windows at home. If I was to ever switch formally I'd most likely go the OpenSUSE route. /advertisement
As for other suggestions - I'd definitely recommend taking a course at your local community college if you can find such. That did wonders for my understanding of how the system is put together and how to wrap my head around navigating and operating within command line.
Now as for LAMP I've never really don't much with that other than some minor tinkering. Definitely sounds like the way to go though.
If you're sole demand is monetary, that is. Which isn't unreasonable - but the person is still stuck because they choose to be.
I find career paths wind more than go in straight lines.
I started out building cabling
then shifted to routing the cabling
then shifted to installing equipment the cabling went to
then shifted to installing the equipment at client sites
from there I got drafted into the IT section doing helpdesk support (after they realized I was decent w/ computers at the previous task)
and from there I got into server admin.
So - was I destined to be just some assembler? You can migrate your career where you want - most of this advances/shifts were my choosing. To be pigeon-holed into "IT" is pretty tough. If you're doing help desk work but want to be a programmer - start coding some projects to help help desk out. Often you'll find once you build up your little market and can show the value your work is adding your boss will let you run with some of your ideas and even start your own projects.
The caveat, however, is a situation I've managed to create is that I've ended up making myself too valuable in a way that's specific to just this organization so now my pay exceeds what I can find elsewhere in the market if I took a similar job title with only the experience that would carry over. Tragic, I know, but it does suck when you're trying to relocate to be closer to the wife's family. What's likely going to have to happen is that I'll simply have to "downgrade" for a bit, take a paycut, and shift gears in the industry to get more transferable experience.
In the end - you're still in control of your paths even once you set sail. And yes, sometimes you do have to backtrack a bit to get back on the path you want. But that's life. And I like being able to pay my bills.
I love you all. Seriously. This made me laugh tears.
I have to know what amazing company you work for. And then I also want to make a movie about this.
Never trust industries to regulate themselves when it comes to anything.
FTFY
GOOD CALL.
That's essentially what I got out of it. There's no way consumers will win from this deal.
I wrote my congressmen when this first came to news and got a reply recently:
Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. I always appreciate your input and the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.
As you may know, on August 31, 2011 the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T placing the matter before a United States District Court. A hearing has been set for September 21, 2011 in the federal court to discuss the status of the case. While I am not aware of legislation having been introduced that confronts this issue, I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind should there be any relevant bills proposed in the future.
Again, thank you for writing me on this important issue. If I can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of my staff.
I have actually heard of this happening at some stores and have heard of it happening in a lot of the big box places that aren't Walmart. It's more of a problem with American retail culture, IMO, and seems like something that SHOULD be addressed by labor laws.
On the flipside - the stores that I do know people working at don't have this problem. They make them full time if they're worth a shit and can actually work the hours. With that said - my money is that it's your DM that's fucking you, not Walmart corporate.
You definitely nailed it there. There are some things that I can get from Walmart for a lot cheaper, sure, but it's often nice being able to get a quality product from someone damned knowledgable.
While my original post does support Walmart to some degree - I'd still rather shop elsewhere. However, it's not a political issue for me - it's simply that shopping at Walmart stresses me the hell out unless I'm doing it at non-peak hours.
I'll counter with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-o1fj1rX7A (Penn and Teller's take on the issue).
If that's the case then I suppose I'll stop being okay with wars when I'm drafted into one then. Or have a bomb dropped on me.
Sure must suck having a job that:
-pays above minimum wage
-has benefits
-helps keep the cost of goods from rising insanely
-is damned efficient at what it does
Mind you - I'm not going to disagree that there are some socio-economic issues with how walmart does business - but they aren't the only ones playing that game and they're not 100% evil. If you're a business owner - you're pretty much guaranteed to do very well if you can get in the same shopping center as a walmart as long as you're not in the business of selling the same goods walmart does for the same demographics. I've seen cities blossom around such shopping centers and a large portion of the stores nearby have been there for years as a result.
Ok, so I was starting to write a rant disagreeing with you and pointing out some links so where I've seen Dell offer a Linux machine for cheaper...then I proved myself wrong. They give you the choice of two computers with lame specs for maybe 50 bucks cheaper than their Windows counterpart. WTF.
Same thing I thought. This guy is thinking too much like a businessman and not enough like a customer. The price hikes I can understand. Content isn't free and we as consumers are demanding newer releases. Ok, fine, I get that.
But we're not getting that. Not yet anyway. Plus there's the recent news that Starz was pulling their content. DVD was pretty much our way of patching up the holes in what Netflix has to offer via streaming (which is a lot).
And for adding a game rental portion - fine. But leave it all with Netflix. Having to jump around different sites and maintain different queues is a waste of time. The advantage Netflix had is being removed with this latest maneuver from Reed.
Great tip with the plant ties!
Curious but what is the punishment for non-payment?
"I never understood the rich/poor school district thing. "
I'm pretty sure the difference isn't in the school itself but in the culture that ends up occupying it. Kind of like how you can take the kid out of the X but not take the X out of the kid. At least in my region I see a lot of shit given to other kids by the "cool" kids for being smart with the accusation of "acting white". I know it's a favorite past time to make fun of nerds but this just seems like a new low. Or hell, maybe I'm just getting old.
Imagine everything you've done in the last 5 years. Then imagine just filing bankruptcy. There you go.
Well I'll be... http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn117/mtn117p10.shtml
Be more specific. :)
I guess haircuts are out of the question then, eh?
Wont disagree in the slightest.
I'm half curious if they're keeping the troops active as a way to keep more people employed.