shesulsa said:
So back in 1986, I was the tech geek in the Accounting dept. Other departments actually called me in to unpackage and set up their Compaq computers and install their Lotus 123 and Multimate software.
Remember when we wrote macros? I wrote them for the hot shot CPAs.
Those days are long gone and my focus has pointed elsewhere and I've missed A LOT. I really, really, really, really ........... reallyreally HATE relyling on other people to fix my PC, which I unfortunately now must do.
How do ya catch up?????
Shesulsa, welcome back to the Geekhood. Lots of things have changed since last you graced our halls but I am sure you will quickly find your way about.. *smile* no, no.. pocket protectors are out... Laser pointers and sandals are in... and try not to tell too many people about any Dungeons and Dragons playing you used to do.. it still scares them.. But umm.,.. we do have a game here every Friday night...Shhh keep it a secret... *smile*
Well setting up PC's has become easier..and harder than ever, mostly due to the range of choices one has. Fixing PC's has become an art really given the number of possible combinations of stuff that can trip one ip, but the Intenet does provide a vast array of resources for you to tap into..well like now! *smile*
First of all you are going to need a beachead from which to stage your triumphrant return to Geekland. Here are a couple of good locations:
http://www.tomshardware.com/
http://www.anandtech.com/
These sites are all about the hardware but are excellent because they have lots of well-written articles about how things work and explain different technologies and features. The PC Hardware world has exploded especially in the area of Graphics Cards and Performance. There are more choices for CPUs, chipsets, motherboards, memory, you name it. These sites will help you understand the basics as well as get a grip on what is upcoming. the good news is that it can be fun to tweak and tune your PC as well as customize it's look. Boring old boxes are a thing of the past.
Ok.. Now you have to delve into the world of Operating Systems. This can be hard or this can be really hard. Really hard is that you want to dive into Linux and play in that world. It's cool, it's amazing, and it's heavy lifting to learn. Windows is easier to learn and use but there are now many more things to tweak and twiddle with so diagnosing a problem and solving it can be hard. Again, the Internet to the Rescue.
www.google.com
Seriously.. Google knows just about everything. Get a copy of Google Hacks. It's a geeks best friend!
Oh and Networking. It's gotten Huge. REALLY Huge. Separate Thread Huge. Wifi, Ethernet, Intranets, VPN's, etc. Know This and you are a God among Insects... And possibly a Meglomaniac... *grin*
Programming. Oh boy. Ok... Some stuff has changed. Basic, Fortran, Cobol, C and other procedural programming languages were assaulted by two elements, Windows, Event Driven Programming and Object Oriented Programming. New languages and new hybrid languages emerged. Large holy wars were started and many lines of code were lost. Just as it seemed like a new, fragile peace might be in painful reach (CORBA - Common Object Request Brokering Architecture), the Web Came along and changed everything. Giant Comet Hitting the Programming World Style. Slow moving Cobol programmers dying and falling into pits to decay into oil, dark sky's, cataclysm, blah blah blah... Now we had applications written in bits and pieces everywhere. Some was on the client, some was on the Application Server, some was on the DB Server. And languages, lots of languages, php, pearl, cold-fusion, HTML, CSS, ASP, JSP, Javascript, Java (Not related), VBScript, it goes on...
Have I scared you yet? Ok.. the Good News is that programming is far more democratic now. tools and technologies are widely available and there are lots of cool resources to help you out. You don't need to buy expensive compilers or software to put together interesting and useful applicaitons. The bad news is that there are more moving pieces to worry about now. I would recommend a couple of different things to try. One is .Net Programming. It is where Microsoft took all it's technology and it tries to bring together all it's various elements (client programming, web programming, application server programming, web services, etc.) into one unified approach. They even offer a free version of their DEvelopment Tools called Visual Studio Express:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/default.aspx
If you are really adventurous you may want to look into something called Ruby on Rails. It's the hot new thing but it's still in it'as early stages. You can find it here:
http://www.rubyonrails.org/
Good Luck. Ask lot's of questions, we do... *smile*
Rob "Professional Geek"
