Howdy

Howdy All, I've lurked this site occasionally and finally decided to join. I've been involved in almost every facet of PCs over the past 20 or so years from tech support to sales to sys admin. I've worked for companies like Tivoli, Compaq, and various resellers and service centers. I have extensive knowledge with almost all Microsoft operating systems starting with MS-DOS 1.1 or 2.0, can't remember which. I started building clone XTs but used earlier systems like Apples and Tandy. I like to keep several systems around the house including one usually fairly beefy gaming rig. I am a methodical trouble-shooter, but it seems like half of every thing I know is outdated every six months. I wonder if that could be made a corollary to Moore's Law? Or would that be Murphy's Law? I digress. Anyhow, that in a nutshell is a quick description of my life for the past 20+ years. Best Regards Ravius

Hey Ravius We've already crossed paths here at WTT, but since you wanted to make a formal introduction of yourself, I felt you should have a formal greeting from here. So Can't say I have quite the same experience. Just about everything I know about computer's are self-taught, and by paying attention when the experienced people talks and from toying with them since the Spectrum's hit the market. I don't "toy" so much anymore. PC have become more of a tool, rather than a amusement park. Altho I still play on occasions, when time allows it. Hope you'll enjoy it here. Regards Abydos

Howdy Abydos, I thought I had best introduce myself because it is always the polite thing to do when joining someone else's party. As far as self-taught, on the job, or higher ed, I have found that does not matter in the least. I learned most of my stuff by RTFM . The introduction and subsequent explosion in usage caught the entire industry unaware for the most part. IBM used to market their original PCs to the same folks buying their Selelctric typewriters. Most of us "old-timers" that didn't burn out completely are probably past the point of wanting to know the ins and outs of every new piece of software and hardware, but the years of finding out what works and what doesn't allows for us to help the next generation of propeller heads to learn from us instead of reinventing the wheel for themselves. That is how things have always worked. Folks learn from the folks before them and add some to that knowledge base. In most of our cases the folks that have been doing this a long time had some sort of mentor or mentors who introduced us to the "arcane knowledge of the temple of IT". When a new age of humanity, not to sound grandiose, starts it is very hard to see the consequences when you are right there at the beginning. Who knows where the Information Age takes us? But someone has to keep the wheels on the cart to get there and that is where folks like you and this site become indispensable. The basics are still the same even though the technology changes. Systems still need an OS, they still need some sort of input device, and they still need to output information in some format. Some idiots will try to mess with your setup because they can or they are crooks. Again, pretty much the way things have always worked. Good lord, I better open another beer, I'm getting maudlin. Anyhow, thanks for the welcome. You folks are great and what you do is important to the people you help. And in the end, that is what life is really about, helping our neighbors. Although now that definition has to be expanded to cover an entire globe. Best Regards Ravius