A couple of points: the first-generation MacBook didn't fare well with reviewers and plenty of users alike.
My 2006 Black MacBook was useful for eight years until developers followed Apple's lead and started dropping support for 32-bit programs. Never mind that it runs 32-bit Windows 10 and Mint Linux without problems. I have yet to find a true successor to this great laptop.
I had three manual typewriters during my pre-teen and teen years before I got an electronic typewriter. Never mastered touch typing on a manual, but I did use more than two fingers on it at a time.
There is a big difference between investing yourself and working your life away.
My employment contracts for the last 10+ years have prohibited me from working more than 40 hours a week. None of the Fortune 500 companies want to pay overtime anymore.
People say that, but look around, nobody is spending money on security. Job openings are slim compared to other IT positions.
According to Forbes, computer security was $75B in 2015 and expected to be $170B in 2020.
Worldwide spending on information security will reach $75 billion for 2015, an increase of 4.7â%â over 2014, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc. The global cybersecurity market is expected to be worth $170 billion by 2020, according to Hemanshu âoeHemuâ Nigam, founder of security advisory firm SSP Blue, and an expert in online safety and privacy who has led security efforts at Microsoft and News Corporation. The cyber security market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8â% from 2015 to 2020, according to a report from Markets and Markets.
Not to mention the fact...how many instances have you ever seen in your IT career where someone was hired on the basis of some technology s/he picked up in their own spare time?
I've seen the opposite happen. An IT manager who worked for the company for 15 years threw a fit because a brand new Dell laptop didn't have a traditional 2.5" bay for a hard drive that needed replacement. We told him that it was a solid state drive on a card. He claimed it was wireless card and got mad when we pointed out the wireless card with connected antenna wires. The laptop sat in his office for six months before another manager arranged for a Dell tech to repair it under warranty. Because computer hardware had static for the last decade, he felt no need to stay current in his chosen field.
Yet the mantra that we all should be spending every last waking non-working hour chasing after every fad-of-the-week language/framework seems to be pervasive around here, even as it flies in the face of economic reality, not to mention basic human nature and behaved badly when exposed to new technology.
God forbid if you might enjoy technology as a hobby. I program in Python, design electronic circuits using "old school" DIP electronics, and build new computers to stay current in PC hardware. What has this got to do with my current job as a computer security technician? Not much.
Is that today's typewriters are pure crap in comparison to the typewriters made 30 years ago. I couldn't have gotten through college in the early 1990's without my electronic typewriter. Many instructors didn't accept Near Letter Quality (NLQ) printouts from a dot matrix printer, and some didn't even accept print outs from laser printers. If it wasn't typewritten, you haven't done the work.
The multi-hatters are not paid as well, but seem less likely to be offshored or outsourced because they know the company in and out.
If you want make money as a multi-hatter IT worker, you need to do contract work. I often make 40% more money than someone who spent 5+ years collecting 2% raises for being a loyal worker. The downside is that my jobs are often last anywhere from one day to one year. The upside is that I can't adapt to any corporate environment.
If I have to spend all my personal time learning things for the next job then there isn't much point being in technology at all.
That's the decision my friends made and they're still working as drug store clerks 15 years later, throwing away a BS in Computer Science degree because investing in themselves and their future was too much work.
Four out of how many successes? What's your average?
OP mentioned that Donald Trump knows how to avoid unprofitable ventures. Four business bankruptcies later means that Trump is no better or no worse than any other entrepreneur. Even Abe Lincoln had to file for bankruptcy when his partners abandoned him and left him stuck with a grocery store.
Many of the workers, about 200 they estimate, are older, with 15-plus-year tenures. This means a hard job search for them.
As an IT support contractor who works one day to one year per assignment, I hate dealing with people who has been around forever in the IT department. They think that being a contractor is a novelty, joke about getting laid off and taking a six-month vacation on unemployment benefits, and have no clue what they're worth in the job market. The worst part is that all their knowledge is inside their heads and not documented anywhere else. I had two friends who ended up working at drug stores because they fell into this trap, took a six-month vacation and discovered that no wanted to hire them with obsolete job skills. Because they stopped learning after they got out of school, they couldn't change their circumstances and settled for less.
Why do you think the government needs to fix this by spending taxpayer dollars on R&D?
Where in my comment did I advocate this position? I pointed out that the corporations used to have R&D centers, but the bean counters came and the Wall Street short term mentality became the norm.
If you're not using your own money for business, that's called serfdom.
Serfdom is what happens when you out of your own money, shut down the business, and blame others for your failure as an entrepreneur. People who are afraid of risks in using OPM shouldn't be in business.
Microsoft for example has a very well regarded pure resarch division.
Microsoft closed the R&D center they had in Silicon Valley. I had a job interview at their campus several years. It was dead, dead, dead. Walk a couple of blocks away, all the Googlers were dancing in the street, chasing after unicorns and looking for lunch.
Corporations used to have R&D centers. In fact, I work down the street from a rather famous one in Palo Alto that the corporate owners had no clue what to do with. But the bean counters from Wall Street ruled that R&D was an expense that added nothing to the bottom line. God forbid if you reduce today's profits for a future cow cash that might revolutionize the industry and make even more money.
Slashdot Mirror
I was almost sold on a Mac Mini until I found out that you cannot upgrade the RAM in the newer models.
Buy and upgrade an older model from OWC.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Apple_Systems/Used/Macs_and_Tablets
A couple of points: the first-generation MacBook didn't fare well with reviewers and plenty of users alike.
My 2006 Black MacBook was useful for eight years until developers followed Apple's lead and started dropping support for 32-bit programs. Never mind that it runs 32-bit Windows 10 and Mint Linux without problems. I have yet to find a true successor to this great laptop.
Manual typewriters FTW.
I had three manual typewriters during my pre-teen and teen years before I got an electronic typewriter. Never mastered touch typing on a manual, but I did use more than two fingers on it at a time.
There is a big difference between investing yourself and working your life away.
My employment contracts for the last 10+ years have prohibited me from working more than 40 hours a week. None of the Fortune 500 companies want to pay overtime anymore.
People say that, but look around, nobody is spending money on security. Job openings are slim compared to other IT positions.
According to Forbes, computer security was $75B in 2015 and expected to be $170B in 2020.
Worldwide spending on information security will reach $75 billion for 2015, an increase of 4.7â%â over 2014, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc. The global cybersecurity market is expected to be worth $170 billion by 2020, according to Hemanshu âoeHemuâ Nigam, founder of security advisory firm SSP Blue, and an expert in online safety and privacy who has led security efforts at Microsoft and News Corporation. The cyber security market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8â% from 2015 to 2020, according to a report from Markets and Markets.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevemorgan/2015/12/20/cybersecurity%E2%80%8B-%E2%80%8Bmarket-reaches-75-billion-in-2015%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B-%E2%80%8Bexpected-to-reach-170-billion-by-2020/
Not to mention the fact...how many instances have you ever seen in your IT career where someone was hired on the basis of some technology s/he picked up in their own spare time?
I've seen the opposite happen. An IT manager who worked for the company for 15 years threw a fit because a brand new Dell laptop didn't have a traditional 2.5" bay for a hard drive that needed replacement. We told him that it was a solid state drive on a card. He claimed it was wireless card and got mad when we pointed out the wireless card with connected antenna wires. The laptop sat in his office for six months before another manager arranged for a Dell tech to repair it under warranty. Because computer hardware had static for the last decade, he felt no need to stay current in his chosen field.
Yet the mantra that we all should be spending every last waking non-working hour chasing after every fad-of-the-week language/framework seems to be pervasive around here, even as it flies in the face of economic reality, not to mention basic human nature and behaved badly when exposed to new technology.
God forbid if you might enjoy technology as a hobby. I program in Python, design electronic circuits using "old school" DIP electronics, and build new computers to stay current in PC hardware. What has this got to do with my current job as a computer security technician? Not much.
Is that today's typewriters are pure crap in comparison to the typewriters made 30 years ago. I couldn't have gotten through college in the early 1990's without my electronic typewriter. Many instructors didn't accept Near Letter Quality (NLQ) printouts from a dot matrix printer, and some didn't even accept print outs from laser printers. If it wasn't typewritten, you haven't done the work.
The multi-hatters are not paid as well, but seem less likely to be offshored or outsourced because they know the company in and out.
If you want make money as a multi-hatter IT worker, you need to do contract work. I often make 40% more money than someone who spent 5+ years collecting 2% raises for being a loyal worker. The downside is that my jobs are often last anywhere from one day to one year. The upside is that I can't adapt to any corporate environment.
LinkedIn has been bugging me for about two months trying to get me to go for a third round of interviewing.
LinkedIn is spamming you and you can't ignore it? Turn in your geek cred and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. :P
My thought, on the IT infrastructure side, Cloud, WiFi, and IT project management.
Computer security is a good option for a veteran IT worker.
Ahh the wet behind the ears kiddies that cant do basic jobs thinking their Microsoft Cert is worth something.
If you're referring to me, I'm 20+ years into my career and MS Cert was 15 years ago.
If I have to spend all my personal time learning things for the next job then there isn't much point being in technology at all.
That's the decision my friends made and they're still working as drug store clerks 15 years later, throwing away a BS in Computer Science degree because investing in themselves and their future was too much work .
Four out of how many successes? What's your average?
OP mentioned that Donald Trump knows how to avoid unprofitable ventures. Four business bankruptcies later means that Trump is no better or no worse than any other entrepreneur. Even Abe Lincoln had to file for bankruptcy when his partners abandoned him and left him stuck with a grocery store.
Trump is a businessman, that means he steer clear of unprofitable ventures.
Four business bankruptcies later...
Many of the workers, about 200 they estimate, are older, with 15-plus-year tenures. This means a hard job search for them.
As an IT support contractor who works one day to one year per assignment, I hate dealing with people who has been around forever in the IT department. They think that being a contractor is a novelty, joke about getting laid off and taking a six-month vacation on unemployment benefits, and have no clue what they're worth in the job market. The worst part is that all their knowledge is inside their heads and not documented anywhere else. I had two friends who ended up working at drug stores because they fell into this trap, took a six-month vacation and discovered that no wanted to hire them with obsolete job skills. Because they stopped learning after they got out of school, they couldn't change their circumstances and settled for less.
Let's recap-
You forgot to check the Post Anonymously box.
Who do you think you are, Trump?!
Trump is a great example of using OPM. Banks still loan him money for his businesses despite having four business bankruptcies on record.
Ever hear of a census? Surveying? Nah, nah.. that's just more capitalism right?
Let me guess... you're one of those people who still complain about the 1803 Louisiana Purchase for $68M francs as a government boondoggle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase
Using your own money *IS* the definition of capitalism.
Only if you want to remain a small time entrepreneur.
BULLSHIT - That's NOT capitalism.
I guess you don't invest in real estate, where OPM is used all the time.
Unless you want to say that federal funding of climate research is nothing more than cronyism, do you?
Interesting straw man argument that you got there. Where in my comment did I advocate funding for federal R&D?
Why do you think the government needs to fix this by spending taxpayer dollars on R&D?
Where in my comment did I advocate this position? I pointed out that the corporations used to have R&D centers, but the bean counters came and the Wall Street short term mentality became the norm.
If you're not using your own money for business, that's called serfdom.
Serfdom is what happens when you out of your own money, shut down the business, and blame others for your failure as an entrepreneur. People who are afraid of risks in using OPM shouldn't be in business.
Microsoft for example has a very well regarded pure resarch division.
Microsoft closed the R&D center they had in Silicon Valley. I had a job interview at their campus several years. It was dead, dead, dead. Walk a couple of blocks away, all the Googlers were dancing in the street, chasing after unicorns and looking for lunch.
Gee, I wonder why they do that?
Corporations used to have R&D centers. In fact, I work down the street from a rather famous one in Palo Alto that the corporate owners had no clue what to do with. But the bean counters from Wall Street ruled that R&D was an expense that added nothing to the bottom line. God forbid if you reduce today's profits for a future cow cash that might revolutionize the industry and make even more money.
Always easier to spend other people's money than it is to spend your own, eh Billy?
It's called capitalism. If you're using your own money for business, you're doing it wrong.