Diary of a Network Geek

I’m a little suspicious of lists put out by booksellers of books I ought to read.

I’m especially suspicious when it’s a list of 100 “books to read in a lifetime” being suggested by Amazon.  But, when Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic and one of two founding developers of WordPress, I have to admit, I pay a little closer attention.  For one thing, I’ve heard spectacular things about him from at least one of his old high school buddies and for…
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ten year old can do it!
Get Microsoft certified, that is. At least, according to this story on SeattlePI.com, that’s all the life experience you’ll need to get certified. Arfa Karim Randhawa from Pakistan is the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, so far, and she recently composed a poem honoring Bill Gates and his life achievements, which even I have to admit are admirable. Apparently, little Arfa is a very promising programmer, Microsoft certification not withstanding, and had some interesting ideas about self-navigating cars that some of the Microsoft top brass were interested in hearing. And, of course, all the nice publicity of Gates meeting the youngest member of the collective.
Anyway, I’m not sure if this is a statement about how easy it is to get Microsoft certified, just how smart 10-year-old girls are, or how slow the average Windows IT professional is, but it tickled my funny-bone. And, I would like to note that the youngest Novell Certified professional wass 12 when he got certified. Much more challenging.

people listen.

And, that, gentle readers, is no joke. Whatever you may think about Micro$oft and Chairman Bill, he drives the industry. So, what he thinks really does matter. So, what does Bill Gates think? Well, according to this article on eWeek.com, this year, he’s thinking about XML and webservices, wireless protocols, shockingly enough, security, XBox, and surprise, market domination. So, this is what’s going to matter for the next year, or so, in IT. You’d better learn about it and know it well enough to be relavent.
Thankfullly, I know a little about webservices of various kinds and I’ve got a couple of XML and PHP books lined up. And, I’m working on my Security+, still. And, I also have a book or two in my queue on security. Hmm, maybe I won’t be too bad off if I get outsourced….

How about you?

Is this really a good idea?

If this were coming from anyone but Bill Gates, I’d say “yes”. But, according to this article on AustralianIT, it’s Chairman Bill that’s suggesting this. And, of course, trying to patent it. And, eventually, no matter what he says, charge for it. And, there lies the rub. It’s a great idea, but not if I’m going to be sending Micro$oft money everytime I send or recieve an e-mail.
Oh, I know, it’s only fair if they develop the system and everyone uses it. Sure, but is it right? It’s fair and legal, but is it moral? No. And, past experience has shown that Micro$oft will eventually charge for it, not matter what “it” is at the direction of Chariman Bill. Fact of life. So, please, please, don’t support a MicroSoft-centric, closed standard version of this. But, should some enterprising young Open Source developer come up with something….

Has mac finally figured out the PC’s secret?

I’ve seen articles about it before, but it looks like they finally have a site up and running. HappyWare is selling a device that they call CORE, which is, basically, a cheaper clone of a Mac. I’d say that it’s about time. After all, it was the proliferation of cheap clone PC hardware that led to it’s dominance in the market. Apple made the first real personal computer, but kept the hardware proprietary and, therefore, doomed themselves to being the “number 2” personal computing solution. IBM, on the other hand, really let loose and, through decentralization, took over the market. All of which is what let Bill Gates dominate the software market. Damn Apple!
Anyway, now you can get a cheaper Mac clone. I say, go for it! If I only had money, I would. I’ve always secretly craved a Mac, just because they have nice graphics. Maybe one day….