Funny Stuff!

http://xkcd.com/

Linux/Windows - TCO

Alright, if I get forced to read another one sided Total Cost of Ownership study with Linux and Windows on there I am going to be sick.

Linux users commonly play down the retraining of staff at all levels. I’ve seen some that actually claim there will be less hardware failures on Linux! Yes your hard drive won’t develop bad sectors because it’s using Ext3. Laughable!

On the Windows side, you have them claiming Linux has no hardware support and a lesser number of admins means massive increase in cost. While it is true Linux has less hardware support and the admins are fewer, you could not go out and servers that don’t support your OS, right?! So how is this a major factor for a shop just starting out? Same thing with your admins, why would you hire someone who doesn’t know what they are doing?

There is a study that proves anything someone wants to push.

Ultimately, the business units needs to evaluate their current staff and systems then compare those needs against the case studies provided by the major vendors. Factor out the things that are not factors for you, then run your numbers!

Linux - Some Randomness

Alright, so I am goofing with Xubuntu as you know. They call services daemons for some reason. None of the sites have explained the name. But they really got to rebrand that if they want to win over the religious crowd! Anyhow, according to the videos I was watching at www.vtc.com you need to memorize these daemons.

Ipchains – sets up and maintains a firewall

Syslogs – used to log system logs

Portmap – manages RPC

NFS – two daemons of the Network File system

Lpd – printer daemon

Apache – web server

Samba – file and print server for Windows

Crond – schedual daemon

Autofs – waits for a floppy or cd to be insert, automounts them

Sendmani – transfer mail from one linux to another

Mysql – database stuff

 

 

Xubuntu - Day 2

Wow! And it’s free!

What can I say, this is by no means my “second” day with Linux or Xubuntu but it is my second post. I’ve been running it or about a week and what can I say. This great operating system.

The hurdles of DVD and Wifi were a pain but once I worked past those I’ve since been one happy camper. I’ve always been a Firefox/OpenOffice.org fan, so no loss there. With Wine’s help I was playing Starcraft in no time! If there is a Windows function there is a way to do it Linux.

Ultimately, even once I learn the way to do something it’s still a little complicated, clearly written by techie people and not by a focus group, so I couldn’t wish this on my users at work. But certainly anyone with a good solid computer background will do just fine. It also helped that I finished the Ubuntu class at www.vtc.com.

Ultimately a better experience than my attempts with Fedora, PCLinuxOS 07 and CentOS.

My XP still boots, runs OpenOffice.org and Firefox faster so I don’t think I am cold-turkey convert.

Anyway, the smart money is on integration for now…

 

Programming - Day 5, C

Alright, so I moved forward in this assembly programming book a little. I must admin it was a tough read but I was following along. My goals were light anyway, no ETAs just someday get it done!

But the author is now mixing C programming code in! So, I guess I need to know C first inside and out. So I’ve started the www.vtc.com training in C programming. It’s not comprehensive, but hopefully enough input there for me start in a programming book in C. Again, I’ve taken C++ in my youth so none of this is foreign. I just need a solid review in data structures I think,

I read a couple interesting articles on learning to program recently. One that was really interesting was a guy completely destroying those “Lean C in 24 days” style books. He called them incomplete and misleading. Rather he focused on learning C in a year, then learning C++ the next year and in about 5 years being able to call yourself a programmer. I must say giving myself a 5 year timeline sounds a lot more possible than 24 days!

Overall I’d like to be working on projects in Linux within 2 years if possible. Thoughts?

 

Resumes!

Alright, I am not a professional resume writer, but I have seen some bad ones over the last couple of years. Couple that with my computer knowledge people really need to consider improving their reumes WHEN YOU DON’T need a job. Your resume should be ready to go the day you job closes up. I update mine monthly. Anyhow, I have been stressing keywords to a number of friends and family with no luck. I thought this article from yahoo.com by Gail Warden might help push the point.

Posting a successful online resume requires techniques most candidates just don’t know. Resume search terms, resume SEO, data retrieval rules: These are key factors.

Here are the top five tips to enhance resume performance — both in online search engines and at organizations that store resumes in their own databases.

1. Keywords, Keywords

If your resume doesn’t repeat the right keywords (or search terms), numerous times, searchers are unlikely to find it. It’s a sad fact, but resumes are ranked based on how many times they repeat the right keywords. And when recruiters search for financial analysts in New York, the list runs into thousands, but they’ll scan only the top resumes: the “best match” resumes. And those are the resumes with the most keywords. If you wrote your own resume, one thing is certain: You need more keywords. No one puts enough keywords in their own resume.? For more details, read on.

2. Critical Keywords — Job Titles/Job Descriptions

When headhunters and hiring managers search for candidates, they use the major, definitive elements of the job. Keywords are not “cross-functional,” “multi-tasking,” “interpersonal skills,” or other nice-to-include descriptive jargon. Those are good to have somewhere (if relevant), but only once or twice at most.

Instead, your resume should repeat basic, core search terms. Job titles — creative director, business analyst, CFO. Job descriptions — creative direction, business process analysis, corporate finance. These should be repeated in your resume’s headline, opening section, every job description — wherever you can fit them.

3. Synonyms

You don’t know exactly which keywords your dream employer uses. So to cover all the bases, you also need synonyms: comparable titles and parallel job descriptions.

For example, for sales, your dream employer will certainly use “sales,” so your resume should repeat this word often. (Remember, no one puts enough keywords in their own resume.) But employers also use their own terms, so you have to squeeze others in, too: account manager, account executive, sales representative — you get the idea. If you didn’t hold these actual titles, use them in your job descriptions.

So if you’re a software developer, repeat that. Numerous times. But also squeeze in phrases like programmer, programmer analyst, software engineer, web developer, if possible.

For example: List your title as “Software Developer,” but say, “Served as software engineer and lead programmer analyst for ….” Don’t go repeating company-specific titles like “SW Spec B.” This gets you nowhere.

Here’s a good, keyword-loaded job description opener: “Promoted from Software Developer to Senior Software Developer to serve as lead programmer / analyst for major software development / software engineering projects.”

4. Qualifications Summaries

Another way to up your keyword count: opening summaries. These enable your resume to highlight your most relevant strengths immediately — and also offer another opportunity to reiterate keywords.

5. Resume Keyword Lists

Finally, list specific terms. It’s a perfect way to showcase your diverse skills and add even more keywords. You don’t have to name it a nerdy “Keywords.” Label your table “Strengths” or “Expertise,” listing 3-4 keywords per line in a professional, organized appearance. Here, you can cite general search terms (”application development,” “software engineering,” “programming”) and specialties (”Web development,” “Web-based applications”).

Following these five resume rules will drastically boost your online resume hits. Good luck!

Barbara Gail Warden is a former corporate marketing executive, now a marketing and resume writing consultant; she writes for ResumeEdge, the official resume partner of Yahoo! HotJobs.

Programming - Day4 , Assembly/NASM

So we have AND, OR and NOT. So check this out, we can run these and then automatically switch the result. So if we have 1 AND 0 we would normally get 0, by automatically running a negative through it we get a 1. We call this NAND. Same thing for OR and NOT. Just reverse the results.

At this point the author asks us to review what a transistor is, here’s a link and a quote “An electrical signal can be amplified by using a device that allows a small current or voltage to control the flow of a much larger current” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor)

So it makes sense that each transistor converts a single bit one way or another. A positive becomes a negative and vice versa. Three of these transistors together can make a logical decision. Some more.. some less… get pretty crazy but it seems the author isn’t interested in us getting any more information than that. There are a bunch of truth tables to check out…

Welp, stopping on page 27 because I need sleep…

70-290 - Labs…

Aright, I re-ran every lab in the Sybex 70-290 book. I tried to break each one as well. That is to say messing up on purpose and fixing it. I still have this feeling I didn’t do enough.

But on paper I should be ready to tackle the exam. I really should mess with the tracender Q&A more. I’ve been running my own made up labs based on the trancender questions. I feel like maybe I am spinning my wheels too much though. Thoughts? Should I just take the dang test and move on to 70-291?

Programming - Day 3, Assembly/NASM

Alright, so my programming game continues today with Chapter Two of Guide to Assembly Language Programming in Linux!

So, I want to start off by saying I am not really committed to becoming a programmer. I am only really interested in a better understanding of the computer in general. So I’ve received a few e-mails telling me assembly and even C were bad directions for a programming newb, and I certainly thank most of your for your input. But really, these languages are more in touch with hardware and think this is a good sandbox for now. Anyhow, I did actually take MIPS assembly programming once upon a time, so it’s not that new to me.

Fortunately for me Mr. Dandamudi, (the author), divided this next chapter into 3 parts, I am only tackling one for tonight as I only have 20 minutes before it’s time to get some sleep.

This section talks about the concept of a AND, OR and NOT. These are real simple concepts I think everyone learned in high school and if you didn’t learn it there you learned it in your electronics or network classes. I’ll do a quick recap, trust me you already know this. Oh, and by the way they call these “logic gates” for some random reason.
1 AND 1 = 1
1 AND 0 = 0
0 AND 0 = 0
Remember it now? I am sure you do.
1 or 1 = 1
1 or 0 = 1
0 or 0 = 0
Here’s the tough one, NOT…this just mean invert it, so…
1 becomes 0
0 becomes 1

So basically all data flows over three pathways (“buses”) in your standard computer. These are called address, data and control. The data passing through is controlled by those three commands from above. (well actually, I just read HP invented a 4th logic type for a circuit, but I am not certain how this fits in)

So anyway, the three buses (“pathways”) flow to the three main components of a computer logic board (“motherboard”). There three main components are Processor, memory and IO system. As you can imagine, all data flows between these three components with the CPU always functioning as the middle man passing the data from IO to memory and back. (I know, we all know about direct memory access technologies, but for the purposes of this chapter, ignore those)

We also get a little bit of volcab in this chapter.

Master/Slave – not just for jumper anymore! Master would be the initiator of the action while the slave is the receiver.
Propagation Delay – the time for a logic gate operation to take
Fanin/fanout – maximum logic gates that can run in and out

Alright, that’s enough for tonight. Next time I feel like it, I’ll have more ramblings from Chapter 2 page 25, simple logic gates.

Coffee Break Spanish - Lessons 20-30

Mark and Cara really started speeding up. And you can really tell Cara is practicing, she’s already doing a lot better than me. Over all it’s coming along pretty well. I am going to re-listen to the entire set this next week and then move on.

Just for fun I listened to the Coffee Break French while I was doing the dishes today. I couldn’t pronounce a thing! Danielle was laughing at me I was so bad. Either way, back to Spanish!