On a level of 1-10, what is your skill level with computers?

SirKenin · 10-10-2006, 05:55 PM

Can I be honest without sounding mean? Noone here is above a 5, maybe a 6 at the outside. I have not seen one poster who can hit above that. The greatest majority are at a 4 or lower. Knowing how to throw cards in a computer and install Windows does not a guru make. Neither does just knowing your Windows and maybe the occasional anti-virus program, or cutting and pasting useless, out of context articles or other search engine results as a de facto response, or cutting and pasting the same 3 steps to solve a spyware problem over and over again. etc. You catch my drift. lol

I don't know where I stand. I don't care. I understand how a GPU works. I understand how a CPU works. I understand how RAM works. I think like a computer, which is a rare skill (but not exactly a covetted one. It essentially means that you are a sociopath that thinks with logic, not with emotion). There is nothing I can't fix when I set my mind to it. In 18 years of computers I have never had a machine beat me yet (diagnosing a computer over the web is like trying to fix a car over the phone. You have a success rate of about 10% or less, but you might be able to set them in the right direction). BUT. I would never give myself a rating. If I feel like answering, I will. If I'm not in the mood, I won't.

There is no need for this rating nonsense. You should always assume that the user asking the question needs a reasonable explanation without all the technobabble. Yeah, I know the technobabble. Do you see me use it? No, never. This is a beginners help forum. Using babble is just going to scare them off. Keep with the real english and everything will work fine.

Just my two cents, take it or leave it.

Edit: On further thought, another smoke and a glass of pop.... I thought I would clarify where I'm coming from before you jump through the screen at me. There is so much to know about computers to give oneself even close to a 10. There are Apple's (the Red Delicious is excellent, you should try them), IBM compatibles, Solaris, SPARC, tablet PCs, minicomputers, mainframes, supercomputers. There's Windows in a dozen flavors, Linux, Unix, Mac OS-x, DOS (which virtually noone here knows about), RTOS, VMS, Novell. There's networking, standalone, routers, gateways, switches, servers, RIPs (I'll bet noone here even knows what a RIP is without looking it up on Google. They are pretty industry specific), thin clients, RAID arrays. There are probably 100,000 different software programs on the market. Probably more hardware than that floating around.

Then, let's talk about programming. Java, C++, Visual Basic, Python, Simula, Perl, ActiveX, Cobol, Fortran, Tcl/Tk, Ruby, PHP, etc. You get the idea.

So. Nobody here is obviously even close to a ten unless you narrow the scope of the scale, but the OP left it pretty broad. All I know is that I will remain humble, because there are a zillion people out there that know an awful lot more than I do.

circledancer · 10-10-2006, 06:49 PM

I have only owned a computer for less than 2 years, I am always learning and would have to rate my skills at a 1, I joined this forum in the hopes of expanding on what I have learned. I am a co owner of a forum, that has given me an intro into code and such, I am interested in computer graphics and have been teaching myself to use a program to create them. I look forward to growing.

**dragon2309** · 10-10-2006, 07:08 PM

8 i suppose, i dont know mac at all, everythign else im faily competant on, that is in general though, everyone has there little subject that they know everything about, for me that woudl maybe be netwoking

dragon

[-0MEGA-] · 10-10-2006, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirKenin

Can I be honest without sounding mean? Noone here is above a 5, maybe a 6 at the outside.

I would agree if were saying 10 is the einstein of computers, but with the scale he gave, he said that a 10 is someone who you can just give the answer to, and they can figure it out.

**jimmymac** · 10-10-2006, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [-0MEGA-]

I would agree if were saying 10 is the einstein of computers, but with the scale he gave, he said that a 10 is someone who you can just give the answer to, and they can figure it out.

no he said 10 was just give me an answer and i know what to do with it , i think what he means is just give me whatever problem you have and i can fix it..he goes on to explain in more detail in the rest of the post:

Quote:

10 also = know how a GPU works and how it decodes, creates an image, how it determines a pixel's place within the monitors picture that is displayed, how it is given data and how it processes it etc (not just GPUs though)- basically, it says you know just about how everything in a computer and how everything in it works to the material it is used and why that material is used for it- its kinda like saying if you wanted to you could build you own CPU if you were given the materials needed to make it.

this is why i put my post about myself probably being about 2/3 and many people over estimating themselves

don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people here with some amazing expertise and between all of the community we can most likely solve the majority of problems but i doubt there are many that can really, honestly put themselves up in the top tiers of a scale such as 1-10

As i said previously it would be easier to grade your self in specific sections of computing.

however all in all the idea of even grading yourself seems a bit pish to me

Verve · 10-10-2006, 07:46 PM

4 maybe 5. I'm good with hardware, software is not my speciality

Diamondsleeper · 10-10-2006, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirKenin

Can I be honest without sounding mean? Noone here is above a 5, maybe a 6 at the outside. I have not seen one poster who can hit above that. The greatest majority are at a 4 or lower. Knowing how to throw cards in a computer and install Windows does not a guru make. Neither does just knowing your Windows and maybe the occasional anti-virus program, or cutting and pasting useless, out of context articles or other search engine results as a de facto response, or cutting and pasting the same 3 steps to solve a spyware problem over and over again. etc. You catch my drift. lol

I don't know where I stand. I don't care. I understand how a GPU works. I understand how a CPU works. I understand how RAM works. I think like a computer, which is a rare skill (but not exactly a covetted one. It essentially means that you are a sociopath that thinks with logic, not with emotion). There is nothing I can't fix when I set my mind to it. In 18 years of computers I have never had a machine beat me yet (diagnosing a computer over the web is like trying to fix a car over the phone. You have a success rate of about 10% or less, but you might be able to set them in the right direction). BUT. I would never give myself a rating. If I feel like answering, I will. If I'm not in the mood, I won't.

There is no need for this rating nonsense. You should always assume that the user asking the question needs a reasonable explanation without all the technobabble. Yeah, I know the technobabble. Do you see me use it? No, never. This is a beginners help forum. Using babble is just going to scare them off. Keep with the real english and everything will work fine.

Just my two cents, take it or leave it.

Edit: On further thought, another smoke and a glass of pop.... I thought I would clarify where I'm coming from before you jump through the screen at me. There is so much to know about computers to give oneself even close to a 10. There are Apple's (the Red Delicious is excellent, you should try them), IBM compatibles, Solaris, SPARC, tablet PCs, minicomputers, mainframes, supercomputers. There's Windows in a dozen flavors, Linux, Unix, Mac OS-x, DOS (which virtually noone here knows about), RTOS, VMS, Novell. There's networking, standalone, routers, gateways, switches, servers, RIPs (I'll bet noone here even knows what a RIP is without looking it up on Google. They are pretty industry specific), thin clients, RAID arrays. There are probably 100,000 different software programs on the market. Probably more hardware than that floating around.

Then, let's talk about programming. Java, C++, Visual Basic, Python, Simula, Perl, ActiveX, Cobol, Fortran, Tcl/Tk, Ruby, PHP, etc. You get the idea.

So. Nobody here is obviously even close to a ten unless you narrow the scope of the scale, but the OP left it pretty broad. All I know is that I will remain humble, because there are a zillion people out there that know an awful lot more than I do.

YUP... I'm a 10 definately.

tlarkin · 10-10-2006, 08:54 PM

This is what I know and work with professionally...

Windows 9x/2k/xp/server/ad/exchange

Linux - I run SUSE 10.1 on my desktop at work and my laptop

DOS - I use it for boot disks

Novell - netware 6.5 servers throughout my work, all windows boxes are bound to NDS

OS X/classic and yes i actually have apple certifications

Hardware repair certs - apple, HP accredited specialist (enterprise products), HP laser printer, Epson, Canon, Gateway, and Sony (though I barely ever work on laser printers, even though I passed the certification so I am not really a practicing tech when it comes to that stuff, I need a service manual to diagnose them). I fully understand how OSes, memory management, hardware, etc work, but I couldn't design a motherboard in auto cad inventor or anything like that.

I can repair/configure just about anything that is set in front of me. Some items may require some research for me to implement it properly, but in the end i can get it done.

I have video producers and digital audio recording studios as clients for my side work.

What I don't know:

Programming - umm I can write a script LOL and thats it
Video Editing (though I build RAID rigs all the time for video editors)
Audio Editing (i can build a studio no prob tho)
Web developement (but I do know a bit of HTML, Java, and CSS, but am no way a dev)
Grahpic arts - ya i suck at photoshop compared to actual graphic artists
Hardware developement
Applications - I by no way am familiar with every app out there, there are tons I don't know
Database work - I hate data base work, and find it utterly boring, but I did learn MYSQL kind of a while ago with PHP, but I used templates
various - I am sure there are plenty of little various things I do not know at all I can't think of any off the top of my head, but that is beacuse I don't know them, lol

Bottom line, you can't generalize computer knowledge into one category. I mean do companies have one guy for IT, helpdesk, admin, developement, database, networking, repair etc? No, they departmentalize because it would be impossible for one person to actually learn all that stuff.

If you are trying to figure out people's expertise on this forum, perhaps make it by category

Examples:

Grahpic Design/Computer Animation
Database Programming
Software Developer
Hardware Repair
Hardware Developer
Software/Applications (basic useage, internet/email burn cds)
Networking/Security
Production software suites (ie office apps, dvd authoring software, post design stuff)
Web Developement
Technical writer

The list could go on and on.

As for myself I would rate myself as a constant learner, and I also don't specialize in any one specific field. I am a jack of all traits and master of none, or perhaps a master of intergration. I don't think there is a numerical value I could rate myself with honestly.

Yue · 10-10-2006, 09:04 PM

6 for me

**Archangel** · 10-10-2006, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [-0MEGA-]

I would agree if were saying 10 is the einstein of computers, but with the scale he gave, he said that a 10 is someone who you can just give the answer to, and they can figure it out.

cool.. didnt see that

that pushes me from -4 to about 8 or so i think

10-10-2006, 05:55 PM	#51 (permalink)
SirKenin banned Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4,711	Can I be honest without sounding mean? Noone here is above a 5, maybe a 6 at the outside. I have not seen one poster who can hit above that. The greatest majority are at a 4 or lower. Knowing how to throw cards in a computer and install Windows does not a guru make. Neither does just knowing your Windows and maybe the occasional anti-virus program, or cutting and pasting useless, out of context articles or other search engine results as a de facto response, or cutting and pasting the same 3 steps to solve a spyware problem over and over again. etc. You catch my drift. lol I don't know where I stand. I don't care. I understand how a GPU works. I understand how a CPU works. I understand how RAM works. I think like a computer, which is a rare skill (but not exactly a covetted one. It essentially means that you are a sociopath that thinks with logic, not with emotion). There is nothing I can't fix when I set my mind to it. In 18 years of computers I have never had a machine beat me yet (diagnosing a computer over the web is like trying to fix a car over the phone. You have a success rate of about 10% or less, but you might be able to set them in the right direction). BUT. I would never give myself a rating. If I feel like answering, I will. If I'm not in the mood, I won't. There is no need for this rating nonsense. You should always assume that the user asking the question needs a reasonable explanation without all the technobabble. Yeah, I know the technobabble. Do you see me use it? No, never. This is a beginners help forum. Using babble is just going to scare them off. Keep with the real english and everything will work fine. Just my two cents, take it or leave it. Edit: On further thought, another smoke and a glass of pop.... I thought I would clarify where I'm coming from before you jump through the screen at me. There is so much to know about computers to give oneself even close to a 10. There are Apple's (the Red Delicious is excellent, you should try them), IBM compatibles, Solaris, SPARC, tablet PCs, minicomputers, mainframes, supercomputers. There's Windows in a dozen flavors, Linux, Unix, Mac OS-x, DOS (which virtually noone here knows about), RTOS, VMS, Novell. There's networking, standalone, routers, gateways, switches, servers, RIPs (I'll bet noone here even knows what a RIP is without looking it up on Google. They are pretty industry specific), thin clients, RAID arrays. There are probably 100,000 different software programs on the market. Probably more hardware than that floating around. Then, let's talk about programming. Java, C++, Visual Basic, Python, Simula, Perl, ActiveX, Cobol, Fortran, Tcl/Tk, Ruby, PHP, etc. You get the idea. So. Nobody here is obviously even close to a ten unless you narrow the scope of the scale, but the OP left it pretty broad. All I know is that I will remain humble, because there are a zillion people out there that know an awful lot more than I do. Last edited by SirKenin; 10-10-2006 at 06:53 PM.

10-10-2006, 06:49 PM	#52 (permalink)
circledancer Bronze Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Georgia Posts: 28	I have only owned a computer for less than 2 years, I am always learning and would have to rate my skills at a 1, I joined this forum in the hopes of expanding on what I have learned. I am a co owner of a forum, that has given me an intro into code and such, I am interested in computer graphics and have been teaching myself to use a program to create them. I look forward to growing. __________________ www.intoinfinity.com

10-10-2006, 07:08 PM	#53 (permalink)
dragon2309 P.I Dragon Join Date: May 2005 Location: KENT, UK Age: 19 Posts: 8,237	8 i suppose, i dont know mac at all, everythign else im faily competant on, that is in general though, everyone has there little subject that they know everything about, for me that woudl maybe be netwoking dragon __________________ //``-tHe RiG iN tHe SiG-``\\ Intel Core2Duo E6600 @ 3.1Ghz - (__CPU__) eVGA 680i SLi - (__MOB__) 4Gb Corsair Dominator DDR2-800 (4x1024Mb) - (__RAM__) 250Gb Western Digital SATAII 7200rpm - (__HDD__) nVidia BFG 8800GTS OC 320Mb - (__GFX__) LG DVD+/-RW 18x DVD-RAM - (__OPT__) Triple Boot - [XP Pro] + [Vista Ultimate] + [Ubuntu 7.10] - (__OS__) [3DMARK'03 :: 25,587] --- [3DMARK'05 :: 13,989] --- [3DMARK'06 :: 8791] - (__BENCHMARKS__) dragon2309.co.uk - a little slice of geek

10-10-2006, 07:46 PM	#56 (permalink)
Verve Diamond Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Tampa Bay, Florida Age: 18 Posts: 2,486	4 maybe 5. I'm good with hardware, software is not my speciality __________________ Formerly Starwarsman HP DV6885 Special Edition Core2Duo T8100 @ 2.1 GHz 3GB DDR2 Ram 250GB SATA HDD Geforce 8400m GS Vista Home Premium SP1 The Masterplan

10-10-2006, 09:04 PM	#59 (permalink)
Yue Gold Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Hemel Hempstead Age: 21 Posts: 352	6 for me __________________ Intel Core2Duo E6850 3.0GHzMSI P6N SLI-F V2 4BG OCZ Gold RamWD 320GB SATA HDD EVGA nVidia GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 21.4" Samsung Widescreen LCD Monitor SOON :D 3dMark 05: 10648 \| 3dMark 06: 5710 \| PCMark 05: 5427

10-10-2006, 08:54 PM	#58 (permalink)
tlarkin VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 5,944	This is what I know and work with professionally... Windows 9x/2k/xp/server/ad/exchange Linux - I run SUSE 10.1 on my desktop at work and my laptop DOS - I use it for boot disks Novell - netware 6.5 servers throughout my work, all windows boxes are bound to NDS OS X/classic and yes i actually have apple certifications Hardware repair certs - apple, HP accredited specialist (enterprise products), HP laser printer, Epson, Canon, Gateway, and Sony (though I barely ever work on laser printers, even though I passed the certification so I am not really a practicing tech when it comes to that stuff, I need a service manual to diagnose them). I fully understand how OSes, memory management, hardware, etc work, but I couldn't design a motherboard in auto cad inventor or anything like that. I can repair/configure just about anything that is set in front of me. Some items may require some research for me to implement it properly, but in the end i can get it done. I have video producers and digital audio recording studios as clients for my side work. What I don't know: Programming - umm I can write a script LOL and thats it Video Editing (though I build RAID rigs all the time for video editors) Audio Editing (i can build a studio no prob tho) Web developement (but I do know a bit of HTML, Java, and CSS, but am no way a dev) Grahpic arts - ya i suck at photoshop compared to actual graphic artists Hardware developement Applications - I by no way am familiar with every app out there, there are tons I don't know Database work - I hate data base work, and find it utterly boring, but I did learn MYSQL kind of a while ago with PHP, but I used templates various - I am sure there are plenty of little various things I do not know at all I can't think of any off the top of my head, but that is beacuse I don't know them, lol Bottom line, you can't generalize computer knowledge into one category. I mean do companies have one guy for IT, helpdesk, admin, developement, database, networking, repair etc? No, they departmentalize because it would be impossible for one person to actually learn all that stuff. If you are trying to figure out people's expertise on this forum, perhaps make it by category Examples: Grahpic Design/Computer Animation Database Programming Software Developer Hardware Repair Hardware Developer Software/Applications (basic useage, internet/email burn cds) Networking/Security Production software suites (ie office apps, dvd authoring software, post design stuff) Web Developement Technical writer The list could go on and on. As for myself I would rate myself as a constant learner, and I also don't specialize in any one specific field. I am a jack of all traits and master of none, or perhaps a master of intergration. I don't think there is a numerical value I could rate myself with honestly.

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