[geeks] PC question

[Lionel Peterson]

--- "Joshua D. Boyd" <jdboyd at celestrion.celestrion.net> wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 21, 2003 at 04:31:05PM -0800, Lionel Peterson wrote:
> 
> > I *really*like my Dell boxes, rock-solid HW design (Dimension "full
> > size" desktops & PowerEdge servers), dead-quiet, and quite
> > affordable.

> I've used Dell "workstations" since the Xeon first came out, and I'm
> just not thrilled. They seem a little nice at first, but then they
> start being less and less stable in my experience, even after being
> wiped clean and reinstalled.  And they don't seem to take MS OS
> upgrades well.  

Really sounds like an OS/software issue to me... I was very careful to
point out rock-solid hardware, not system.
 
> I remeber liking HPs better, but I've never tried IBMs either.

IBMs are good, solid machines - but I've only used low-end desktops...
I have to believe the build quality only gets better as you march up
the product line...
 
> Currently, I spend a lot of my time on a pretty new Dell notebook
> (arrived on my desk just before christmas), and there are many days I
> want to through the thing out the window. 

My Dell Inspiron 8100 (not the flimsy lattitude laptop) is *great* -
I'm speaking for, again, the hardware design. The screen is beautiful
(1600x1200 15" UXGA), the keyboard is good, and the 1GHz PIII is more
than enough CPU for my needs.
 
> Bleh.  And I'm having no luck finding companies who want programmers
> for unix workstations that might possibly hire me either, even
> counting linux as a unix workstation.  How depressing.  I know
> I'm pathetic, but it often feels like my life is being wasted by
> MS and x86 hardware, and damn it, I resent it (but not enough to
> work in fast food or retail sales at the mall).

Wow. I've had a great IT/DP career, but I *never* decided what the next
job was going to be - I simply went on interviews, and when something
looked good, I jumped. I've done Mainframe & Unix, Programmed, sales,
technical support (not help desk), and software testing as well as
mainframe/datacenter operations and, of course, consulting (always
right to hire). They were all great, and I never would have picked
these fields before I tried them.

If I limited myself to one technology (Unix) or one profession
(programming), it wouldn't nearly have been as much fun, and I wouldn't
know nearly as much as I currently do (however much that is ;^)...



=====
Lionel

"Nothing would please me more than being able to hire ten
programmers and deluge the hobby market with good software"
Bill Gates, in "An OpenLetter to Hobbyists" dated February 3, 1976
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