How computer literate are YOU?

[Wisp]

...*phail*...

 

[Jesin]

Ooh! Another link!
http://letoverlambda.com/

 

[vic]

I develop software for a living and build my own computers... that's how computer literate i am :P

 

[cohlinn]

Build my own computer, write softwares and telling people how to write softwares for a living. And telling ppl how to fix their !$#%(&* M$ office or M$ windows at social functions. Uh ... right ... I have two very good reasons for avoiding social functions.

 

[arkityp]

i'm a programmer, if that answers your question. i can't take credit for inventing the internet, but i would like to think i at least liberate it

plus i can take a computer apart and put it back together, and beat anyone's ass at tekken at the same time!

 

[Kumori]

I'm a professional gamer, the go-to-guy for computer help among the people I converse with online, and a game programmer, I've been building computers since I was 8, I think that answers your question.

 

[Wisp]

Cool. If only I didn't suck at the only lucrative genres: RTS and Shooters...

 

[Agent Intellect]

i've always been interested in technology (i've done a bit of reading on AI, nanotechnology, biotechnology) but i don't have much knowledge about a computer lol. i usually have to run to my brother for help if hitting reset doesn't fix the problem.

 

[icywindow]

Eh. Informally, you're right. Technically, my logic is infallible. I have no faith in typings on the interwebs...

Our logic is undeniable. You will be assimilated.

I'm trying to get a job programming in C# or Java or one of those other fun languages. Recently, I've picked up Python because it's REALLY COOL. The indentation thing just makes me <3 because I program structuredly all the time (I english well too).

I also have been supporting computers at home, work, etc since i broke the compy at age 9. That was fun getting win 95 back up after a repair install. A couple of those intern type positions have since come my way, and I'm convinced that after you're in the business for a year, there's nothing you haven't seen that you don't have an inkling of how to fix.

 

[Jesin]

C# and Java not fun. Python fun, apparently Ruby fun, Lisp fun.

 

[Wisp]

Ewww... 95? And I thought ME was bad...

 

[icywindow]

I didn't like Java at first, only because I grew up in C++ and it was limited by a few things. However, after the advent of the Scanner class in v.5, I started disliking it less.

Python is <3<3, Lisp is confusing, but still fun. Python and Ruby have their roots in Lisp, you know :3

And Windows 95, more like Ohnoes 95. I thought Me was a good idea at the wrong time. It wouldn't have been so bad if you didn't NEED to use the System Restore function all the time.

 

[Raku]

I would say I'm pretty computer literate. I'm really interested in how the entire system works, from CPU architecture to user program execution. I'm currently following courses in operating system design and implementation and compiler construction. I prefer to program in C since its simple and it has really efficient compilers. It stays close to how the hardware operates, without needing too many details.

I did some projects in Java and liked it cause of the clean syntax which is easy to understand, even for novice programmers. And off course the time to develop something is small compared to C. I don't really like C# as it doesn't really work well with my operating system (Linux). I have been trying to learn Haskell for some time, but can't really put it to use in the projects I'm doing right now. I really like the ideas behind functional programming and the neat code it produces.

I'm a real geek when it comes to my own computer. I like efficiency which you can see in the way my entire computer is organized and how I use it.

 

[*Stabbity*]

Very?

I've been using computers on a daily basis since Windows 3.11 w/networking. Hello there TCP/IP.

Yea Yea, I know some of you are going to say "Well, i had a TRS(Trash)80, or I had a C64/128. Yea, and I had a XT or AT, 8080....." Blah, Blah. Hehe.

I have only experience as a teacher. I had a class in High School that sort of taught us Windows 3.1. It was lame. I slept through it and probably could have taught it better myself.

I took some college classes on programming and networking, but taught myself more by doing. My mind is a sponge. It's a curse sometimes.

I did 7 yrs of desktop/laptop/printer hardware support and have had enough of that grind. You can have it!

Now I am a network security admin/researcher. I get paid to break stuff and do a wide variety of tasks from user account creation to vulnerability assessment and some penetration testing too. I run the gamut of networking. Last week I got to break into a rouge wifi access point (had wep, simple to break) and cracked it, then blacklisted(turned off DHCP, turned on mac filtering to this one device that I own) all connections coming into it. We got a helpdesk call soon afterwords. Damn doctor brought his home router to work and was using a personal laptop on out network. That's a no-no.

Programming: I love C. Fuggin' luv it! Python comes in second, easily. At work, I use Linux as a primary OS with two Virtual machines. One Xp, and one Vista. At home it is all Arch Linux. Okay, I have one Mythbuntu box for a DVR.

I am constantly on top of the latest and greatest hardware being released, with my current fetish being Nvidia's new CUDA software that is going to make my world so much easier soon. Offloading tasks to the GPU to do its work? Yes please!!!!

 

[Wisp]

Oh, giving the massive power sucker something to do other than just run aero/compiz while not gaming? =P

 

[EloquentBohemian]

I think my computer literacy stalled somewhere just after the UNIVAC I.


...I may have a bit of catching-up to do.

 

[Melkor]

I'm sort of in the middle.

I'm not a fantastic wiz kid, but I can pretty much do anything i need to do with a computer...

Things I don't need to do may include corrupting the world or creating a rocot.

I can make websites/forums and use email and the web and all that crap.

So, I'm not brilliant, but I'm not terrible either...

 

[*Stabbity*]

I think my computer literacy stalled somewhere just after the UNIVAC I.


...I may have a bit of catching-up to do.

Say hi to ENIAC for me.

 

[didyouknow]

you lost me at "computers" lol

Unfortunately for me, my big brother gets to handle all the technology around here. It's really annoying, I never get trusted to do anything because I'm the youngest.

 

[Perseus]

I have a useless degree in Computer Science. I could put a computer together, but don't really have a desire to do so, since you'd have to pay more to buy everything separately, then make sure that everything is compatible, which probably something won't be! It's quite a pain.

I do webdesign, currently. I know html inside and out, which is completely useless now that cms is the way to go. I've learned flash and a teeny bit of psp. I only know enough to edit cms templates. I know css, which is also vital to cms. I *should* learn both flash and psp inside and out if I want to continue in webdesign. I'm just really getting tired of something new that comes around the corner, upsets the apple cart, and then, we have to learn something brand new! We then have to spend loads of money for new software, while kids in college are learning it faster than I am and do the same thing I do as their side job. It just is not worth it for me!

I really enjoy editing/making DVD slideshows and videos. I use Adobe Premiere elements. I only do that as a hobby, though.

We could a web designer on the Small Publisher forum to exchange technical stuff when I/we have forgotten how to do it.

http://publisher.jiglu.com/

Most of the members have not progressed to Flash or even CSS. Started early and have not kept up.

Can any money be made out of web pages (from genuine experience please)? I have got lots of visitors, but I am maybe not taking advantage of a well visited web presence.

Too much competition to hawk around as a web designer.

 

[NoID10ts]

So by "computer literate", do you mean we can read the words on the screen? If so I suppose my literacy depends on how big the words are and what language I am viewing them in.

 

[Jesin]

Can you read Python?

 

[Decaf]

Can you read Python?

http://www.poemofquotes.com/funny-quotes/monty-python.php

Sure, but what does that prove?

 

[NoID10ts]

Yes, to Decaf's Python (as long as the words aren't to complicated ).

No, to Jesin's Python ( I assume you mean the programming language). All my programming experience is in the form of PHP/MySQL, primarily.

Do we have many web developers here? Eventually, I will be redesigning my website for work and could probably use some coding advice.

 

[Linsejko]

I'm a bit late, but porps on using Shibboleth accurately. Unless you lifted that straight from a perl quote, I definitely give kudos for the use of an obscure word so fluidly, so accurately. I haven't had to use my knowledge of that word for some time.

I have no idea why I know the etymological origins of that word, but for some reason I do.

This word is pretty obscure, right? I've never heard it actually used in real speech before, I think.

L.

 

[EloquentBohemian]

Do we have many web developers here? Eventually, I will be redesigning my website for work and could probably use some coding advice.

Depends on what you want for a site. I write Strict CSS3 and XHTML1 and do graphics, but shy away from the higher programming languages because I prefer fast-loading simple sites which work cross-browser. Don't do Flash either.
Do you have a link to your present site?

 

[NoID10ts]

Depends on what you want for a site. I write Strict CSS3 and XHTML1 and do graphics, but shy away from the higher programming languages because I prefer fast-loading simple sites which work cross-browser. Don't do Flash either.
Do you have a link to your present site?

The website we have now was created by someone else, so I just maintain it, but we are a school for the performing and visual arts so they want the website to really reflect that. The current site uses CSS and I want to continue that, so maybe I will have some questions as I create new elements. I will (and already do) have flash elements in it, but that's not too difficult.

The part I built from the ground up is a subdomain using PHP/MySQL that is an in-house portal (you have to have a username and password) for our staff and admins to use. I designed database systems so that we have a streamlined place to manage inventory, in-house bulletins, resources, computer lab scheduling, testing schedules, form downloads, etc. The school was an absolute mess when I came there so I wanted to streamline everything, so I taught myself PHP/MySQl and just did it. It's been pretty successful, so now I just want to redo the public site as well.

 

[EloquentBohemian]

I'd have to see the original CSS to evaluate.
Are you using a CMS?
Is your Flash just small imbedded Flash?
Is the HTML built in Tables or a more updated structure?

 

[Jesin]

I will be redesigning my website for work and could probably use some coding advice.

I can do that!

I redesigned my church's website over the summer, with the result that I learned a lot of XHTML and CSS tricks.

(Writing something that conforms to standards and will be rendered correctly by most browers is relatively easy. The hard part is writing something that's standards compliant and works in most browsers including MSIE.)

(I don't like MSIE.)

 

[NoID10ts]

I'm probably a few months away from beginning any work on the new website. I'm still not even sure what exactly I want to do with it. I will have some Flash embeds of movies our broadcast journalism classes do and some photo galleries, but not much else. The current site was created about 4 years ago, but at the time I think it was pretty current in the coding (CSS, some java, etc.) It's kind of a mish mash now, since there have been multiple contributors.

As for MSIE, I don't like it much, either. Unfortunately, I have to develop for it specifically, because it is the only browser our district supports. I am aware that many of the visitors to our website are not on district computers and may not use MSIE, so I have all the major browsers installed and try to preview it all thouroughly.

Anyone have experience with PHP/MySQL? I am self taught and have become pretty good at it, but sometimes I get stumped on a problem.

 

[the other one]

personally i think the easiest way to become computer literate is to just have a go i learnt by just taking things apart and putting them back together again and tried writing programmes eventually you will get it

 

[Juno]

personally i think the easiest way to become computer literate is to just have a go i learnt by just taking things apart and putting them back together again and tried writing programmes eventually you will get it

Ditto. This is how I learned to use computers. Then every single person that I know who had a computer pestered me into fixing their machines.

Then I learned to tell them that I don't do that stuff anymore and I bug them into telling me what to do with my computer when they call. Needless to say, the inquiries into when I would be able to take a look at their machines stopped pretty damn quick

 

[Atriamax]

As a junior in high school with no training whatsoever, and only using a 10$ java book, ive made some pretty nifty java applications, i think its just a way to use my logic and problem solving (which i Love doing). Ive only made little pointless games and tools (nothing useful) but the logics i used to make the games is so satisfying!

 

[PhillyFanWA]

I've used to secretly open my parents' $2000 486x66 apart back in '96. Didn't successfully build my own machine until Jr year in high school...

Took three semesters of computer science in college. So I'm quite fluent in C++, Java, and VB.

But now mostly I work on statistics stuff and research, go figure :P

 

[Trayal]

Is this the thread where we get to show off? j/k

Anyway, computers were my second love (after the natural world/universe) so I have spent quite some time dabbling and putzing around with them.

In elementary school I briefly started out with an Atari 400 with a tape drive, but had to discard that when one of the pins on the tape port fell out. Oops.

Then, I graduated to a Commodore 64 with both a tape and disk drive, which I used through middle school. I wrote my own data program in basic to keep track of stuff I owned that was of interest to me - model rockets, etc.

With high school came my first "PC" - a classic IBM 8088 with two floppy drives. From this point forward a continual upgrade process started and has never really stopped, so that the original IBM is now a generic PC with an overclocked C2Q.

From the software side, I actually make a living from troubleshooting and correcting Windows OS issues, though I also have dabbled with Unix/Linux and Mac OSX from time to time. My current machine is multiboot Windows 2008 Server (converted to workstation use), Ubuntu, and "hackintosh" OSX 10.5.

I've also played around with visual basic, C/C++, and i386 assembly, though those were quite some time ago, and I haven't felt the pull towards programming languages for several years.

Aaaand, that's all I can remember.

 

[zephryi]

How computer literate? Well, erm...

I can do some things with Alice. ((... >> Look here: www.alice.org))

 

[Tyria]

I love how a program can be written in such a way as to be compiled into different programs. For example, you write a program in C++ a certain way and compile it. It is program A. If you compile it after writing the same program with whitespace, it becomes a different program. Fascinating stuff.

I find computer literacy to comprise of two things: a power cord and a tennis racket. The power cord is your control q in windows and the tennis racket is great for solving any computer related problem. You might have to replace your computer every one in a while from the damage, but I find it keeps technology in its place.

 

[Felan]

I'm a software programmer. When things are good the code is like poetry and sings, usually its a spaghetti monster threatening to entangle me into immobility. Older programs written by lousey coders is usually the spaghetti-sort and the amount of effort to get them to sing is staggering and getting business to buy off on it even more so.

I often dream of plugging my head directly in the computer and dispensing with the crippling slowness of the keyboard. That and I want to actually experience feeling code in a more immersive fashion.

 

[Tyria]

You mean to actually feel and see it? Interaction between human and machine?

 

[Felan]

You mean to actually feel and see it? Interaction between human and machine?

Yeah. I look at a section of code and it associate a feeling, smell, taste, and so on to it. Its part of an internal framework I use to categorize and organize the code. Then I can process through the code in a way that allows me to think in terms of sense and emotion to form relationships and todo lists. With a keyboard in the way this is very weak connection though. I often wonder if I could more fully exploit this by interfacing my mind to the machine in the most direct manner possible.

I might end up weeping too often over the code of some of my colleagues though.

 

[ChristopherL]

My backing in computers is fairly short, chronologically, but I obtained (freely) an archaic PII computer over last summer, and I spent my break upgrading it. I now have a C2D. I also intern at a computer shop. As such I am quite knowledgable about computers, but I can't seem to get people to believe the actual amount of time I've spent with them. THis time last year, well, I was pretty ignorant. I blame the INTP appetite for knowledge.... (I'm reading a book on Perl right now... -_-')

Anyways, I'm interested in other INTP's knowledge of this field, and this board is a little dead as of now, with the exception of the 1337-speak post... pure golden, that one...

I currently work as a network consultant, but dabble in programming, system building, and database work.

All with little to no formal training.
So I guess I am fairly literate.

 

[zephryi]

Yeah. I look at a section of code and it associate a feeling, smell, taste, and so on to it. Its part of an internal framework I use to categorize and organize the code. Then I can process through the code in a way that allows me to think in terms of sense and emotion to form relationships and todo lists.

Reading this post makes me think of synesthesia, though it seems you decide the associations, so I assume it's not that. But I'm curious; how exactly are these bits of associations organized in your head? Is there any kind of order, or perhaps categories, or is it more like an abstraction that you just attach that allows you to juggle the parts easier, rather than a strict, organized "sense/feeling" structure? And how do you decide the associations, or how much of it is conscious thinking about it?

Sorry if I'm overly curious, but I'm intrigued.

 

[XIII]

=

 

[Felan]

Reading this post makes me think of synesthesia, though it seems you decide the associations, so I assume it's not that. But I'm curious; how exactly are these bits of associations organized in your head? Is there any kind of order, or perhaps categories, or is it more like an abstraction that you just attach that allows you to juggle the parts easier, rather than a strict, organized "sense/feeling" structure? And how do you decide the associations, or how much of it is conscious thinking about it?

Sorry if I'm overly curious, but I'm intrigued.

I flavor most things though it isn't synestthesia, which I think would be interesting. I didn't set out to consciously create this framework. I would say it started with English.

I've always felt a discontentment at picking a synonym at random. As a human I have a lot of machinery for processing emotions and senses and I found myself tapping into this machinery more and more as a parallel process. My reason choose what concept I wanted and my emotions/senses choose the particular word. Eventually the sophiscation increased and now I flavor sentences and I start a new sentence I still have the flavor of the previous sentence on my tongue and it guides my writing. If a paragraph doesn't sing or feel right, even if technically it is logically sound, I rewrite parts till I get something that sings.

I use the same process in programming but I think its effects are more pronounced there.

 

[XIII]

=

 

[RubberDucky451]

I know more about computers then most people my age (17). I would love to learn CSS eventually. Hopefully i can take a college class during the summer and learn at least the basics of 1 language.

 

[Adamastor]

Although I have been in touch with computers since I was born, which is not uncommon nowadays, I began learning real things last year, my first year in a tech highschool.

Truth be told I feel like I have yet to dive in an unknown world, every time I learn new things I get overhelmed by the things I don't know, so whenever I start some "little project" I get 'distracted', rather interested, by other things and so on (well, If not focusing in anything particular is the way of a typical INTP, I think this is not strange...)

Before entering this school, I have learned a little of nothing about C, through an brief article, which was not good since I had no idea what programming was and how a computer worked physically.

THE HISTORY
In the first year of highschool, there was a subject called "Computional Systems". In spite of most of the class was not interested in listening to it (the teacher was quite blind, old and did not match the ideal image of teacher for a brat, sorry teenager not interested in learning), this subject told what is, was and is suposed to be computing:
- The inventions (history), how each component of a computer was thought, developed, by who and for wich purpose.
- The theory behind each component, its history (I was delighed by how simple a printer, scanner can be, since I have never thought about it!)
- We learned a bit of theory behing operating systems (processor, memory management etc, some really technical/archaic/didatic vocabulary)
- One thing that was easy to figure out, but in my opnion is one of the most important things, is what programming is, how does a typical compiler, interpreter works, keeping it in mind you can learn any programming language (by learning I mean, know the general sintax etc)

Another subject was "logic of programming" (basically programming in pseudo code). This one was quite fun, in the first bimester I had a zero, because I was too arrogant and answered the test in a pure logical way, ignoring some basic concepts such as "You can't read the same file twice, without...".

Thanks to both subjects, I dare to say I have a solid base knowledge about computing. This type o knowledge is handy because now I can learn most of the things without problems at all, If by chance I don't know the meaning of something, a concept, a peculiarity of a particular language I can guess where to reasearch, to who ask etc...

WHAT I KNOW SO FAR...
Programming languages:
- Java is ridiculous easy language (My first p language was C, the second pseudocode and the third was java, at this point I laughed of how clear it was, perhaps because I had now a real background...);

- I am improving my C because I am going to compete at a programming olympiad (C, C++ and Pascal), now I am really familiar with it.

- I read a book about Html, xhtml and css (written by Laura Lamey) so I am familiar with the sintax (can read source codes), did a few minor things but am far from an expert.

- Learning perl, is an amazing book. Perl is an amazing language, a REALLY amazing language because it was designed for programmers and has nearly everything a programmer could dream of, and it is fast (Some modified quote "If you are lacking memory, you can buy more, if you are lacking time because your program is slow, you are screwed.".)

- I am studying assembly, since one of my topics of interest is dissembling programs, hooking and manipulating the computer memory (in another words preparing for game cracking)

Hardware
- I never read a whole book of hardware, because it is frightening... I know the most famous processors, the difereces between them (really important for assembly), the logic behing a typical component such as memory, the most common types and its uses.
- I know nearly nothing about eletronics. But I intend to read a introduction book this semester... Maybe someday I can build a (hand)computer by myself (*dreaming*).

Network
- One of my favorites subjects. I never read a whole bible of networks (Tanembaum *cough* *cough*), but I like sigh reading bit by bit and I know fairly well about the physical and logical structure of a network.
- So far the deepest I went was programming raw Sockets with C and getting familiar with the most famous protocols (IP, TCP and ICMP).
- I am thinking of asking my father to buy a few old computers (2,3), something like 486, PII would be cool, and had a dedicated network lab.

Operating Systems
- Unfortunately this is probably one of the most important topics and the one a know the least. I know how to use, how tehorically it works, I have already seen diagrams about the architecture of Windows NT, Windows 9x and Unix-like O.S, but that is it, never tried anything, never read a whole source of linux kernel etc... I know this is a really extense subject and will take much time so I am not sure how long it will take to me reasearch seriously about it.

P.S:
1) Sorry for the crap english =(
2) I wouldn't read this huge text, but it was fun to remember and think about what I have learned so far.

 

[walfin]

Ah, so this is a "I've been there before" thread?

I think I've pretty much lost touch now after years of not doing stuff. Imagine a guy who still swears by C++ and DirectDraw (fine, so I use SDL on Linux), finds that all the SSE2 stuff he learnt years ago is kinda old school now with the prevailing amd64 arch, and still remembers a time when motherboards had p8 & p9 power connectors. I know no python, no ruby, none of the newfangled stuff that has appeared in java in recent times (save for generics since C++ has had that for donkey's years in the form of templates), little VB.NET, was lost on network administration ever since windows sysops talked of Active Directory and linux sysops talked of OpenLDAP, and haven't written a single useful piece of commercial software in my life (and I can't say I wasn't given the opportunity to; I was given the opportunity to work on a project to develop a game when I was 14, and I squandered it and didn't make a single cent). No SVG and no graphics stuff either. Nowadays I see all the new content management frameworks like Joomla etc. which I never heard of years ago, all we used then was ftp (and I'm still doing that).

And the stuff that was in use then that's still in use now? Bash perhaps? Well, I suck at that. HTML? I know very little about Ajax, apart from the fact that it uses XMLHttpRequest. CSS? Suck at that too. Flash? The last version I used was Flash MX. Nobody uses Director now and all the Shockwave 3D Lingo I learnt is useless. And my art sucks so even when I was playing with 3DSMax I was hopeless at it. Now I use K-3D, which is hopelessly incomplete but I find Blender a complete bear. And, philistine that I am, I've taken to using kate instead of emacs!

So yes, I'm effectively computer illiterate now, to my chagrin, even though I wasn't at one point in time, and I'll have to start from scratch but I'm too lazy to do so. Considering I run a company which does something to do with computers, it's pretty sad, although actually I only have to know the bare minimum (and I have to use Windows at work anyway).

And for the record, I hate perl and its convoluted one-liners. If there's one language that can allow you to squeeze even more crap into one statement than C (or C++), it's perl.

 

[Ghost1986]

computer? what the hell is that? can i eat it?

 

[Seducer of the Homeless]

yeah, i am as a dislexic to a book