Welcome to the Geek Thread

[hongkongfuey]

OK, we now have a new section for all the Geeks (and Geekettes) on the site. Feel free to post your computing questions, thoughts, achievements here.

My background :

MCSE, currently working on a Windows 2003 / XP network with mainly Microsoft technologies (SQL Server, IIS, Sharepoint 2003, Office 2003). Do a lot of database development / reporting.

Don't program much anymore, but have used VB.net, VB6, C, C++, FORTRAN 77, MODULA-2, PHP, BASIC, ASSEMBLER (ARM, 6502), CLIPPER. Mainly mathematical / database (with a small amount of 3d graphics) applications. Started in 1981 on a ZX81 with 1Kb of RAM.

Done some open source stuff (this site) on Linux / MySQL / PHP.

[David]

I can see this becoming party central :D

My background:
self-taught dropout working in IT at university.

Now trying to wangle a pure programming role because I enjoy doing it - the creativity is the buzz for me. Would like to get into databaseson the web but it sounds soooo dull.

Worked with Sun, Sequent, Alpha, Prime, HP, Mac and even some Acorn BBC machines and prefer to use VB6 VB.NET but have done lots in C, some perl, asp, html. dhtml, javascript and loads of misc scripting, and some sorties into machine code on z80, 6502 and 80386.

The first computer I owned was a Jupiter Ace (http://www.gondolin.org.uk/hchof/intros/jupiter-ace.html).
It's rubber keypad nearly destroyed my growing fingers when it wore out as I tried to get the damn thing to respond. It was then, aged 12 when I had my first IT support role, taking my own machine apart to clean the keyboard contacts and glue silver foil to the underside of the keys.

Enjoyed programming models of reality such as gravity in a pendulum simulator, then a 3D 'galaxy' simulator. I did noughts and crosses AI, attempted to make an epileptic-seizure inducer (!) and messed with anything that caught my interest in Science. Have learned to enjoy work-related stuff like writing software to control scientific lab equipment.

Rgds,
David

[Cain]

Me got just a bit of geekiness here and there :Angel:

|Cain|

[Shaolin Dragon]

Not a computer geek - Physics student with heavy interest in Science Fiction, so I think that qualifies me.

[hongkongfuey]

Would like to get into databaseson the web but it sounds soooo dull.


This forum is a 'databaseon the web'. It's only dull if you use if for dull things!

[David]

I know I know, I'm trying to build up the enthusiasm to to make a custom support log board for my section. :)

Rgds,
David

[hongkongfuey]

I know I know, I'm trying to build up the enthusiasm to to make a custom support log board for my section

Zzzzzzzz....

Are you going to use an existing system as the basis or develop from scratch? I've done a 'helpdesk system' twice from scratch and wouldnt recommend this approach.

[David]

Would you rather use a helpdesk system or write one?

I don't like to consider myself a helpdesk driver because it numbs my mind to work like that - as a user. If I'm not coding, my career won't go the way I want it.

In the case of this project, my boss is very particular about how she works. I used Exchange server to make a custom conversation board but she didn't like it and we went back to pen n paper...

At work, utilities are my favourite thing to do - they take a couple of days at most and everyone's so grateful. Most recently, I had to write a ditty to make IP printing work in a lab full of centrally policied XP boxes after our Novell queuing system was taken from us. Before that I was visualising 50yrs of global sea-surface temperature data for an academic. I'm the equivalent of the mechanic you take with you on an unsupported drive across a desert.

Hey, I'm waffling...

Rgds,
David

[Paratus]

I see I'm a very minor geek among giants. Built my first computer on my own couple years back using the knowledge of my self-taught computer nerd friend. Built a couple junk part computers since and now have a growing skill (although still not much) in Dreamweaver, Flash, and Photoshop.

[Tosh]

Born: 1978

Past "Fixes"
1st computer: 1985 Atari 800XL
2nd computer: 1990, Commodore 64
3rd computer: 1996, 133 Mhz 16Mb RAM Packard Bell
4th "computer": 2001, 800hz Hi Grade laptop

Also abuser of consoles throughout my teen years, regular relapses now and again with PS2 (oh the shame :D).

"Brainwashing"
1996-2000: BSc Hons Computer Science
2002-2003: MSc Multimedia Technology

Have tried various "substances" in my sorry past

C++, COBOL, Basic, COMAL, Java,HTML,XHTML,XML,XSLT's you name it I abused it...nothing could get in my way of the next "fix".

I also have spent some time as a "pusher"

2001-2002: Worked on developing......ohhh the shame..........
..... 3G mobile phone software..... :(

Am currently trying to rehab my ways by following the 12 step HCI program. Am currently working at the Institute for Computer Based Learning in Edinburgh but see my future career in the online teaching and training field.

I'm taking it one day at a time but sometimes it gets the better of me and I thrash out a quick lingo script to que some interpolated images....

...forgive me Father for I have sinned. :D

[David]

hail mary!

[xubis]

Yay! This forum is going to be good I can see.

My background:
14 years old so not as much experience as all of you guys, into database developments, building my own boxes, got some basic skills in linux, saving up to build my new linux box to develop them ;) Mainly code in PHP, my best language, learning java, do regular desgin in html, javascript, css and flash' actionscript, have experinece in VB and basic, python and a bit of c. I am into exploits and stuff like that, check out my sig for my site and see some of the challenges I have made

[xubis]

Is this the place we are going to get people posting such polls as Linux VS Microsoft rather than High kicks VS Low kicks ;) Make a change

[hongkongfuey]

Would you rather use a helpdesk system or write one?


write one of course!


Most recently, I had to write a ditty to make IP printing work in a lab full of centrally policied XP boxes after our Novell queuing system was taken from us


I'm interested in what this does David - tell me more!

[Gandhi]

Im doing a degree in electronics, but did a year of computer science (mainly Java). Currently trying to write a nasty motor control program in C as part of my degree. Also doing stuff in Verilog HDL (hardware description language) with nasty digital circuits.

[WhiteWizard]

Well i'm currently studying for a BSc in Software Engineering at Glasgow uni. but

I have done loads of Ada95, Java, Comal, C, C# HTML especially web accessibility stuff, PHP Coldfusion. Worked with Oracle and Mysql.

My main interests are the database stuff and HCI stuff i'm into the whole access for the disabled area if i get the oppertunity to do a Phd in the area i probably will

[Cyph]

I'm a computer science undergrad learning Java... just recently failed SENG1120 which is all about data structures, so I have to pull my finger out and start working, which means training less :(

Have had a little play with VB, C++ (console stuff only), PHP/MySQL, *nix.

I haven't really learnt much since I was 15.

[zun]

Reformed old-school hacker! Nuff sed :)

[booksie_girl]

Low-level geek

Self taught HTML (ok, no much, but still....) Understand computer operatiing prety well, and have formatted Dad's computer and re-installed everything (wouldn't trust myself witht he good one though).

Will be doing IPT at school next year, learning VB, Pascalls and SQL + some robotics and other stuff

[KenpoDavid]

My first computer was a Commodore VIC-20, about 1982 or 83. that was soon replaced by a Commodore 64, which I abused until 1989. At that time I finished my BS in Computer Science and for graduation I bought a 286 based PC I think it was like 33Mhz and a 20 meg HD. It had Windows 3.1 on it but I never used it.

At that time I got a job with a defense contractor, writing device drivers, data management services, and signals processing (FFT) algorithms in FORTRAN and C for DEC mainframes. I had the second highest possible security clearance that he US government issues. I did this for a couple years, thorught he first Gulf War.

After that I worked at a company that made electronic ballot counting amchines and other election support equipment. I wrote their internal client support, accounting, and manufacturing database systems in Paradox and Dbase. Big change from mainframe device drivers!

After that I did some consulting with a firm making accounting applications for county attorneys. We also made good money helping government offcies write RFP's (requests for proposals) which are documents that the offices would send out to software vendors to get bids on system development projects.

I moved around like that for a while eventually landing at Cap Gemini USA (now Cap Gemini Ernst & Young) where I architected a 2 million dollar system for a health care survey company. it was a very cool system for executing QA surveys of up to milions of people at a time. the data structures were dervied completely at run-time based on the data provided by the client and the questions they wanted asked and the types of statistical analyis they needed.

After some more adventures in product development I am now a Systems Architect at Ameritrade Inc. We are the biggest on-line brokerage in the United States, if you've never heard of us. (www.ameritrade.com) I design systems for on-line account opening and tracking of prospects and marketing efforts. One of the most intersting parts of my portfolio is the Homeland Security screening - I am responsible for all of our systems for screeing out terrorists and money laundering and fraud. It is really scary what kindof tools are available for identity verification and fraud detection... but that's another post becasue...

this post is now officially too long.

KenpoDavid

[Cyph]

the data structures were dervied completely at run-time based on the data provided by the client and the questions they wanted asked and the types of statistical analyis they needed.

l337 as all f**k! :D I'm impressed 'cause I just failed data structures. ;)


Will be doing IPT at school next year, learning VB, Pascalls and SQL + some robotics and other stuff

I don't think you'll do much programming in IPT, that's outside of the syllabus. When I was choosing my sujects, it said it was made up of about 30% programming, so I thought it'd be cool. Hah, what programming? Using M$ Access really counts. :rolleyes:

[Greg-VT]

It's changed Cyph.

I was doing VB and all that in year 10 in ITP.

[MichaelV]

Wow, you guys posted your resumes.

I write software - been doing it professionally for about 7 years, and unprofessionally for about 13. I've written code in nearly every programming language I can think of. Started out with BASIC on a VIC 20, eventually worked up to C on a 286. I mostly do C#, C++, and Java nowadays.

Yep, that's about it.

[abby]

I'm a junior in college, getting my bachelors in computer science and my associates in web page developement. (the web degree was only like 3 extra classes, so why not?) My main language is C++. I'm a little artistic, so I do a lot of web design too.

[Saz]

First PC was an Acorn Electron some time in the 80's. I used to program games that never worked in BASIC.

2nd PC was a 300 Mhz 32Mb PC with Win98, now happily retired as my Linux box, complete with fried CPU and lots of drill/saw holes in the PSU. I honestly don't know how its still working.

3rd PC (current) is a 2Ghz P4, with 768mb's of DDR, a 60 gig HD and some other flashy extras/software.

Started my interest in PC's in 98 when I got the aforementioned 300 Mhz PC for my birthday/Christmas. Most of my PC experience till then was pre-GCSE IT Skills. ("Type this up and don't ask me questions child")

Started on my degree in English in 99, but spent more time making webpages, fixing PC's and editing images than actually doing work. I'd always loved English lit, but my heart wasn't in it anymore, and I was struggling at degree level, and just feeling more and more stupid (I didn't know I was dsylexic at the time)

Graduated from my English Degree with honours in 2002, and started my Conversion MSc in Computer Science that October. What a walk in the park that was! :(

I like near enough anything to do with computing, but Networking is my thing, as well as Linux, Web Dev, and PHP/MySQL etc

[booksie_girl]

Originally posted by Cyph
I don't think you'll do much programming in IPT, that's outside of the syllabus. When I was choosing my sujects, it said it was made up of about 30% programming, so I thought it'd be cool. Hah, what programming? Using M$ Access really counts. :rolleyes:

Apparently it'll be about half Access (including SQL) and half everything else

[Saz]

Actually, quite a few job applications I've seen have asked for MS Access as a skill. It usually goes hand in hand with Visual Basic.

[KenpoDavid]

Kgirl, are you married <sigh> :love:

martial artist
computer geek
advanced degrees
loves pop-tarts

if only (1) we lived within 1000 miles and (2) I wasn't totally in love with my finacee already...

:D

[KenpoDavid]

Originally posted by Cyph
l337 as all f**k! :D I'm impressed 'cause I just failed data structures. ;)



thanks! writing software can be so thankless and so misunderstood...

but yeah all DDL and queries were generated on the fly according to rules enterd by the users at run-time. We wrote a tool that alowed a user to write expressions against multiple joined tables suing point-and-click (you might have seen something similar in microsofts's expression editor) but ours generated SQL.

MS Access is quite a great tool. I am the King Pimp Daddy 11th degree Black Belt Grandmaster Soke of MS Access progamming. Same for SQL. Write me if you have problems and I will karate-chop your bugs using my VB-Fu

[Saz]

Originally posted by KenpoDavid
Kgirl, are you married <sigh> :love:

martial artist
computer geek
advanced degrees
loves pop-tarts

if only (1) we lived within 1000 miles and (2) I wasn't totally in love with my finacee already...

:D

LOL!

It was never meant to be David, there's just too many obstacles in the way! :D ;)

[KenpoDavid]

yeah either one of those would have scuttled our Love Boat on its own... besdies I bet you like the brown-sugar pop-tarts anyway and those aint' right.

[Anth]

not much of a geek because im only 16 but im learning HTML from a book and understand how computers work and how to use them. i have an intermediate GNVQ in ICT which i chose because i was told that it would involve programming but found out too late that it was only Access and a bit of FrontPage. learning how to use MAD (mobile autonomous devices) and PIC logic in engineering.