Guys at the PC Repair shop

2Karl · 2012-05-22 11:28:29

I take it now you've brushed up on your SQL and are reapplying this summer right? If not, get on it!

TitanMech · 2012-05-22 11:47:41

Ive done some sql this year, not as much as that job wanted, and the job was only open to placement students, ive finished my degree now, so i cant apply for it.
But i did learn sql is a skill lots of employers insist you have, so that gives me something to read about over the next few months.

2Karl · 2012-05-22 11:58:24

SELECT * FROM jobs WHERE requirement LIKE "*SQL*";

It's definitely a useful skill to have. Advanced shell scripting is another thing which is worth brushing up on if you need to. Also, even if you think you're not eligible for the job, apply anyway. I got my current job by applying for a head of department role before I'd even completed my training. Got me noticed, got me an interview. Didn't get the HoD position, but they "found" me something else.

You may find you have a skill set perfectly suited for a position you never knew existed. You need to get out there and sell youself. Worst that can happen is they don't invite you for interview. Sometimes even showing a willingness to train gains you more marks than having the skills already. Just be prepared to negotiate. Sell yourself as an investment, not a product.

Oh and don't sell yourself shot. If you've graduated, if you have a degree, you are VALUABLE. Don't take some crap minimum wage position becasue you're trying to get a foot in the door. Apply for those positions by all means but negotiate a better deal. Just make sure you're getting something that uses your skillset or you'll go insane like I did.

Last edited by 2Karl (2012-05-22 12:00:14)

EnochRoot · 2012-05-22 20:50:50

Shouldn't that be like "%SQL%" wink

boomclart · 2012-06-08 12:11:40

el_koraco wrote:

In my experience, HP's consumer line tends to run into hardware issues after a while - dead batteries, clogged cooling fans, stuff like that. Now, my Probook 4530 (business line) uses the battery hinge to open up the entire interior, so replacing non-crucial parts is a breeze, but AFAIK, most of the Pavillions and stuff require you to disasemble the entire machine. Thinkpads are like HP's Elitebooks (I can't remember what their predecessors were called), made to last and withstand abuse.
I'd say the fact that your dv9 survived this long is more of a fluke than a regular thing.

I have an Elitebook for work which is #!'d and it definitely stands up to some punishment.

boomclart · 2012-06-08 12:18:37

VastOne wrote:

^ I understand the angst everyone is thinking/feeling here regarding 'Corporations' but having worked in them for 25 years I can tell they are not run as being described as here in this thread.
I am not defending the weakness or cowardice of refusing to move to a new platform out of the fear of change, but I do understand the position.

Agree... what people need to understand is agreements companies have with MS for support in the eventuality of needing it. There simply isn't the equivalent in the Linux world.

Yes there may be a massive community and ton's of documentation but there isn't someone who will sign up to service agreements and SLA's stating they will fix things in x amount of time when it goes pear shaped. That sort of support is wrapped up by MS and a big driver in why companies remain with them.

There's no big brand name out there which does dedicated Linux support for business and until there is we won't see Linux break MS's stranglehold on the market.

zalew · 2012-06-08 13:44:23

bzachd wrote:

Took my PC in with a video issue... got a call from the PC repair guy asking what the heck CrunchBang was and how could he get it !
NIce work fellas,
Zach

I thought it would be: got a call from the pc repair guy asking where is the start button and my computer icon

vicshrike · 2012-06-08 16:04:51

^Well, #!ers exist, it is just that not all of them know that they are that, poor souls. But some get lucky and end up here! big_smile

bzachd · 2012-06-12 23:34:52

zalew wrote:

bzachd wrote:
Took my PC in with a video issue... got a call from the PC repair guy asking what the heck CrunchBang was and how could he get it !
NIce work fellas,
Zach
I thought it would be: got a call from the pc repair guy asking where is the start button and my computer icon

Me too!

When I got it back it had a sticky on it that said "lets put our heads together on this one"
Its strange because I guess when I go to a repair shop I would think they would see more Linux....

My neighbor had an old machine that his girlfriend used... that got a virus... they had it sitting in the corner... I took it set up Debian on it... showed her how to use it.... and she still uses it today three years later. Average user. That thing was smoking fast, and never breaks down.

Zach

woof · 2012-06-17 05:35:03

Its strange because I guess when I go to a repair shop I would think they would see more Linux....

I suppose the types of people that use linux are less likely to take their PC to a repair shop and most likely to have a go at fixing it themselves.

VastOne · 2012-06-17 05:36:24

^ That would be my assumption as well... smile

mynis01 · 2012-06-18 04:33:51

A pawn shop down the street from me sells people ancient computers running puppy linux all the time. I imagine on a machine with <=256Mb RAM it runs a lot better than XP and can still run the newest firefox, java, etc.

frankob · 2012-06-18 14:03:01

woof wrote:

Its strange because I guess when I go to a repair shop I would think they would see more Linux....
I suppose the types of people that use linux are less likely to take their PC to a repair shop and most likely to have a go at fixing it themselves.

Maybe, but then I am an exception... :-p I don't feel very comfortable when messing around hardware, so for that kind of issues, I am usually either asking a friend to do it for me (and for a couple of beers, too :-)) or if none of them is available, I just bring it to a repair shop.

While for software issues, I NEVER go to shops and almost never contact customer support, as, at least here where I live, they have proven themselves to be pretty much useless in this regard. Especially (but not only), if using anything non-Windows.

VastOne · 2012-06-18 15:49:30

^ Interesting frakbob.. I have told every customer of mine this about hardware, you really cannot break it (within reason) so don't be afraid of it, get inside it and get to know it, you will be surprised at how easy it is.

pidsley · 2012-06-18 15:51:54

VastOne wrote:

^ Interesting frakbob

This made me lol. I think frankob needs to change his nick now... smile

VastOne · 2012-06-18 15:53:53

^ A good reason one should be totally awake when on email.. wink

Sorry frankbob! roll

frankob · 2012-06-18 20:07:10

VastOne wrote:

^ A good reason one should be totally awake when on email..
Sorry frankbob!

Yeh, even double-checking doesn't hurt when awake... take a better look again. :-D
But no offense taken, of course. :-)

I guess I should take your advice, anyway. It would make my life easier, for sure. And much more autonomous in regard of my own computing.
It's DIY or die, I guess. :-D

sexynsmartjenny · 2012-07-04 04:32:41

it seems like most of you are computer science majors? Am i right? I took two class in computer science and never dared to take another. The first day of class the professor went over some very abstract concpets about objects and classes and then the next day I was thrown in a lab asked to write a complete code to make something work. It was the hardest class I ever took. I am not very computer savvy, and by which I mean by the standard here. I was a math major in college by the way. And math is totally different from computer science, imho. Learning programming was trying to learn French for me. LOL

damo · 2012-07-04 18:46:42

sexynsmartjenny wrote:

it seems like most of you are computer science majors? Am i right?

Nope smile

I'm self-taught with the computer stuff, as I guess a lot of the folk here are. Just a hobbyist! But software and hardware are tools - you don't need to know how to make them in order to understand and use them. On saying that, have a go at some programming: try a bit of bash scripting, which is easy enough to play with. I bet you will be very pleased with your first useful script.... cool

pidsley · 2012-07-04 19:04:33

sexynsmartjenny wrote:

it seems like most of you are computer science majors? Am i right?

No way. I'll bet if you took a poll you'd be very surprised. Geeks and nerds maybe, but not all CS majors.

sano · 2012-07-05 09:50:32

sexynsmartjenny wrote:

it seems like most of you are computer science majors?

No, I am just good at googling stuff.
Seriously, all education I have was born out of my chronic lack of money: I had to run free (as in gratis) software on cheap computers. Do that for 8 years, and you will have gained some knowledge about Linux, and quite some expertise in googling if your knowledge fails you.

pvsage · 2012-07-05 13:42:53

Re-posting for burfoot (accidentally posted as a "report"):

i run a computer repair shop in a small town of 3k imagine my surprise when a guy comes in with one running #!have seen 2 running #! in the last 4 years, a netbook and a tower shows just how popular #! is

xaos52 · 2012-07-05 14:10:38

^ Population is too small to draw any statistically significant conclusion big_smile

Knox · 2012-07-13 20:56:42

praest76 wrote:

I think a lot of the reluctance to change is not about the cost of upgrading the infrastructure, but often more to do with the cost of upgrading the staff. I've seen massive shitstorms brewed up over minor software changes in some of the organisations I've worked with. I've seen the look of horror on my girlfriend's face when I showed her the Windows 8 developer preview and she's no-where near as techno-phobic as some of the people I've had to work with and support in the past. The company I work with no are already tentatively weighing up the headache involved with moving a lot of their luddite staff over to Windows 7, never mind Windows 8.
Don't get me wrong, potentially Windows 8 is great, if MS handle it properly, but they won't. A lot of firms have held onto Windows XP. Ditching Windows 7 for Windows 8 and then expecting these firms to make that leap from WinXP may be a bit much.
Personally this could be a good time for Linux. If you are going to move to something so different in Windows it's as easy to move to something else altogether.

100% Agree.

dkeg · 2012-07-13 21:19:28

Yeah, when MS stops supporting XP, everyone can start using the linux distro that mimics the look of XP. Its not linuxXP, its called Tails

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/ … 19818.html

CrunchBang Linux

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#51 2012-05-22 11:28:29

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#52 2012-05-22 11:47:41

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