December 05, 2005

Happy Holidays

I'd just like to wish everyone a happy and safe holday season. Whatever your religious orientation it is a time of year to be thankful for all we have in the world.

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November 22, 2005

Xbox 360? I think not..

So much hype has been surrounding the release of Xbox 360. The new games, the awesome highdefinition output (if you can afford the HDTV with it) and the utter beauty. It's a shame that Microsfot dropped the ball...big time. Underproduction has left hundreds if not thousands of people scrambling to find the peerfect gift for the holidays. I went to a walmart with the slim hope that I would be able to buy one. After waiting a while at the door I and about 50-60 other people were told there were only 8 Xbox 360's in the store. 8. Let me say that again....8 The toy'r'us next door was not much better. they had 9. Of course I could have gone out and preorderd a 360 months in advance, gone to best buy this morning and just picked one up. But I didn't believe it would be worth the price tag a few months ago. I didn't think microsoft would be able to put out the product they were hoping for. As we got closer to the release i realised it would be worth the investment. Unfortunately it was too late to do anything about it, and I had to wait till this morning.

But how let down are the thousands of people who did not recieve their xbox? Understocked shelves in every carrying chain have led to exploitation of ebay sales with some 360's reaching into the thousands of dollars for the core system alone.

Was this Microsofts plan? Probably not, I just don't think they wanted to admit they could'nt hit the deadline and went ahead with the launch. Now those left without their preorder or hoping to score that awesome gift for their kids are left with nothing till at least February. I am extremely dispointed in this. What was going to be a huge lunach turned into a less than stellar showing by this giant Microsoft. I hope they learn from this for future releases.

Posted by e to the x at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2005

Been quiet here

Wow. No new blogs for the month of October, until now....

Well I am in the midst of getting ready for my big exam on the 29th. Its a mishmosh of sciences, math classes and engineering all in one. You could call it the engineers equivalent of the MCATS though it doesn't really have a major bearing on your life if you don't pass. You just take it again. I'm not overly worried about the engineering parts. Its the math and chemistry that have got me shakin in my boots. I hate this for 2 reasons: 1) After our math class we never used said math in any engineering classes and; 2)I won't be using things like LaPlace transforms in my current career...ever...nope never again after the exam. Its a mind boggling 8 hours of test taking starting at 8 AM and finishing at 5 PM. I get a lunch break...just like work. I also cannot use an advanced calulator, cause you know in the real world they don't actually exist (heavy sarcasm intended) Instead I get to use a lowly scientific calculator, the likes of which I have not touched since 10th grade.

Anywho, work was boring so I figured I'd post in here. Time to head home.

See ya all on the flip sideeeeeeeeeeeee.

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September 08, 2005

Tech Support but I ain't go no skilzzzz

So what does it take to enter the world of Tech Support?

Some say you just need a good undersanding of computers and some experience working with them. Others feel a Computer Science Degree is a minimum and others require both of those along with A+ and Network+ certifications.

These are the kinds of demands I have been met with during my slowly growing quest to find an IT job and remove myself from this disaster of a first career.

Some of you know that I am not happy at my current job. I find the work boring and less than stimulating. It drains all my energy and I rarely do anything besides work in AutoCAD or some other equally juvenile and less than stimulating engineering program. I actually spent 2 weeks, when my bosses claimed we would be "deperate for help" working instead of enjoying what was to be my last summer vacation ever during which time I logged about 75% of my time as general and non-billable.

So if its not obvious I need to make a change and make it quick. I have looked all over the Philly area for different job offerings. My high point so far is an opening (now 2 openings actually) at Villanova University as a Computer Support Analyst, Level 1. This job is basically the equivalent of what my bosses from school did. You supervise student employees and even do some fixing on your own for students, faculty and staff. Hey, I liked working at the techs support desk in school and interacting with all the people that came to me for help so why no try for this. This is a great opening for more reasons than just type of job it is. It requires zero, yes that's right zero, as in the number directly proceeding or following the number one, certifications and no degree in computer science. they simply ask that you have a BS in something (civil engineering in my case) and at least 2 years of experience working on computers in some way and what they describe as a good customer service skills. Keep in mind I could get the job, study for my certs and then put myself in a better position for promotion later on.

This is great for me as it is exactly what I did during college but just on a higher and better paid plane.

Now lets look at some other schools and their requirements. UPenn has an opening for a position with similar responsibilities. The difference is I need to be a CompSci graduate, with certifications and I get paid less for the same type of work as I would at Villanova. Drexel has similar requirements to this.

Now tell me if that makes sense to you. More skills, supposedly better oriented and diverse when it comes to computers but still not being paid what your worth.

What does being a compsci major mean anyways. Well for me it would have meant I knew C++ very well. Bucknell is stuck in ancient times in terms of their Computer Science department. And still, learning to code does not teach me to fix computers. It may give me some extra knowledge when accessing the command prompt, writing my own script to automate a program or god knows what else but it doesn't teach me how to clean a virus off a machine properly, how to keep myself from getting adware or spyware or what to do if my OS just takes a complete dump. I can't understand the importance of having a coding background when you truly do not need it. I've worked on almost every type of problem imaginable, dealt with all kinds of customers and even was asked by my boss to be an outside consultant for people in the community who needed help fixing problems but were not official members of the University. I believe I have the skills to take on a job like this, and though I lack the programming background and the certifications that seem to be oh so important, I still know my stuff and can get the job done.

I applied for the job at Nova with the idea that, "hey if i get it great I will be happy there and not be losing too much money if I only get the minimum salary and if I don't then whatever I have a job now and it pays so I can keep looking" I haven't yet heard back from Villanova. I called to make sure my resume and cover letter were received properly via email and was told they were and that they were handed to the IT department there for review. I am keeping my fingers crossed but don't want to have to wait too long. I will probaly give a call next week to find out a basic timeline on this so I can not be waiting in anticipation for a phone call from them.

So until next time stay tuned, Same PRO time, same PRO blogger :)

Posted by e to the x at 03:01 PM | Comments (3)

August 24, 2005

Whats going on in Computer Customizing?

Well as I am sure many of you have noted there have been many changes in what was formely the Custom Builds Team. Paul handed off his administration position to me and Aaron (Kanuck) so that he could devote more time to the PR department. This came as quite a shock to me as I had only been bumped to moderator a week earlier. It was a lot to take in and Paul has been a great help and will be staying on as a team member. We are glad to have him as he has shown he is amazingly adept at physically modding cases and coming out with new creations.

We also have added Shawn (Freeagent) to our team. He is an avid overclocker and we hope that he together with Hugo and myself can put together a very detailed and indepth overclocking guide. We hope to make be able to provide some basic overclocking suggestions and guidelines while also going deeper for the hardcore overclockers out there.

We also have another project being picked back up by me. It will be a nice custom water cooling guide. Many people opt to buy a premade kit that's already design to go together with ease but as Hugo and I have shown of late, there are more options to help you bring those temps down and keep those clocks up. Hopefully Hugo can assist me in this project as he is completing his "ExtremeAngel" liquid cooling set-up.

Some of you may have also seen and participated in the Mock Computer Build Contest. That will be finishing up this week and the winner will be getting a sweet prize.

That's all from me for now.

Tune in next time. Same PRO time, same PRO channel. :)

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August 09, 2005

Hello Fellow Bloggers

Hey everyone. As most of you know, my real name is Steve. I have just this past June graduated from Bucknell University with a degree in Civil Engineering. I spent most of my 4 years studying, rowing, sleeping and partying in my remaining time.

I started into computer support while at Bucknell at our Technology Desk. It was a great learning experience and unfortunately I realized a bit too late that I wanted to be involved with computers after school. I currently work with a Civil Engineering firm called Duffield Associates, Inc. I work out of the Philadelphia office and as a result recently moved to the Chestnut Hill area (I plan to move again when my lease comes up). I am your basic drone here in my office. I turn layers on, turn layers off and repeat this process until the arcitect, site developer and engineers all agree on what they want. Its really very draining despite sounding so easy because all you do is the same thing. My goal is to one day enter the world of IT either as a computer consultant, I'd even dream of starting my own business if I could.

Anyway thats enough about what I wish I could be doing. I currently spend my days on PRO, at work, or with my girlfriend with who I am happy to say I am about to celebrate a 6 month anniversary with, though we can't be together for it. I also own two cats who are always a challenge to control and are also tons of fun when they want to play.

Thats all form me right now.

Cheers and go PRO!

Posted by e to the x at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)