Hi, I was reading through the early posts on this thread:
http://www.applefritter.com/node/10231
and as is often the case in some threads on AF, I was dazzled by the sophisticated level of technical knowledge of many contributors here. When some of you guys and gals are able to let loose here, you can really show your expertise and how up to date on computer development you are. I'm curious as to where many of you go to stay current on your technical knowledge. What sites and periodicals do you frequent? Which do you consider the best (besides Applefritter, of course)?
Where does everyone get their info?
January 31, 2006 - 5:13pm
#1
Where does everyone get their info?
For me, slashdot.org, lowendmac.com, as well as various other sources. I am an onsite technician at a one to one initiative school district. My days are spent tearing apart iBooks and PowerBooks.
you will see me reading books in the local bookstore on the latest technology, plus the fact that I HAVE to stay up to date for certification. But I have geared towards the PC side, mainly as I work on more hardware and Window, than I work on Mac stuff. But I also like to dabble with the systems and learn by trial-and-error.
It pays to tinker, and actually get training on it. Otherwise I would be out of a job
I just make it up. or I ask those 2.
that explains those weird voicemail messages.
yeah! And you never call me back! What's up with that?!
My living has nothing to do with computers, but the people here who seem most knowledgable seem to have jobs in the business, so experience probably provides the most bang for the buck. Me, I get most technical stuff from The Register and arstechnica (usually following links from lowendmac, which usually posts the mac-relevant articles from there).
i lerned by trial and error. and useing google
For me, I have a Bachelor's degree in Physics and work in IT (mostly mainframe, knowledge management).
I frequent here, 68k Macintosh Liberation Army (aka 'the barracks'), and NewtonTalk. For everything else, there is Google. I spend almost 80% of my web time here as a 'Fritter Critter.
I have also made a small hobby of electronics, having designed a tube-based audio amplifier, a multi-channel graphic eqalizer with about 250 switched capacitor bandpass filters per channel (never built it, just designed it), and have done a lot of reverse engineering of whatever I can get my hands on.
As a rule, I try to take it apart once the warranty goes (sometimes before). I pretty much live by my quote in my autogsig below.
Messing with anything i can get my hands on
Most of mine comes from the 6 years I worked at Apple.
When I started in IT back in 1992, I had no formal training whatsoever. They hired me simply off knowledge. I accumulated that knowledge from 1989-1992 through trial and error. Knowledge was passed to me via word of mouth. Never read one book about the Mac until February 1993 when I got a copy of Macintosh Bible 4th Edition.
In 1995 I read two books--Mac Secrets 2nd Edition and Upgrading and Reparing Macs--to expand my knowledge a bit. Things were status quo in that department until I discovered lowendmac.com in 1999.
I'd say that I know about 65% from experience and 35% from books and websites. I never went through a training program during my 13 years as an IT guy. They call me the "blue collar technician" but since I'm from a blue collar town I guess that's a good thing...
Google. Search it and find the info.
Apart from that, actually getting in and exploring the machine is the best way to learn, and
it's not as boring as reading text.