Hello Everyone,
I couldn't help but respond to this thread...
"Jerry J. Haumberger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
}- A lot of children hate learning how to read, too, but how
}- many parents give in to their children's whining by offering
}- them crayons and paper instead?
}- A little practical wisdom given early in the beginning of
}- computer skill training -- pleasant or unpleasant -- will
}- save untold time and discouragement later on.
This is *SO* true. My son is a Novell CNE and he has several
Micro$oft certifications as well. My youngest brother is M$
certified in NT, TCP/IP, and several other things. The point
is that both of them, over and over again, have told me that the
thing that helps them the most in their work is their experience
with DOS and the command line (and they learned this on their
own for free). They also tell me that it is precisely this lack
of DOS and command line experience that allows them to have such
secure and lucrative jobs. My son has told me many times that
if his boss knew how simple and easy some of it is his salary
would drop 40%. So perhaps the first thing to understand is that
if you aren't willing to learn it's going to cost you $$$.
Jerry makes an excellent point here. *EVERYTHING* is difficult
to learn, but that doesn't mean we don't have to learn it.
And there simply is no substitute. No amount of paper and
crayons is going to to you any good when you sit down to read
a novel or newspaper or magazine. No amount of GUIs or Windows
is going to help you with things that can only be done from the
command line. Crayons, GUIs, and Windows are only temporary
solutions, crutches - and they only serve to put off the
inevitable if you ever want to do any real work with computers.
"Yolanda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
}- People for whom the DOS commands are a second language often
}- forget how difficult it can be to learn and how much time
}- can be occluded by that. When users are busy working and
}- learning their job, they may well be unable to free the time
}- and mental energy to learning a whole new "language."
But it's not just a "second language," that is part of it, but
it's so much more than that. IT'S A WAY OF THINKING. And there
is simply no substitute for this. Ask a chemist or a machinist
or a gituarist if there shortcuts or substitutes to learning the
languages of those things, or if there is a substitute for
learning to think in the ways required to do those things. If
they are worth their salt they will tell you no.
That Windows is easier and faster to learn is a myth, pure and
simple. It only took me 2 weeks to learn the basics of DOS.
And I have taught DOS to several others in just 2 or 3 weeks.
The secret here is motivation - I was highly motivated to learn
and so were the people I have taught. I had a job, other things
to do, and so did those I taught. Yet we managed to learn in
just a couple weeks.
My father is a perfect example here. When he retired a couple
years ago he wanted a computer and internet access. And he
wanted Windows95 - mind you now, this man had never seen a
computer in action before, except maybe on television. So I
put a machine together for him and installed Windows95 on it.
Now remember, this is Windows95; just point and click, a child
can do it, right? People with no previous computer experience
can do it, no experience needed, right? Wrong! My father never
did learn. He's now using WebTV and the computer I built for him
is sitting in his closet. He wasn't motivated. He wanted all of
the benefits without doing any of the work. His mind wasn't
open and pliable enough to learn a new language and way of
thinking. So now he can do email and cruise the web. But he
can't keep a budget in a spread sheet, he can't design and
print a newsletter, he can't capture and send a photograph to
his grandson in Louisiana, there's a lot of things he can't do.
But that's not the technology's fault - that's his fault.
So if people don't want to learn DOS and the command line,
that's fine. But they must understand that this limits them, and
they are responsible for limiting themselves. They have no
room to complain, no right to carp. But then again:
"Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them."
Boanne
- --
FROM: Over the hills and far away...
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
A Dinosaurs Garden (collection of DOS links and files)
http://www.sound.net/~ashelton/dinosaur/dg.htm
*DOS: For IQs higher than 95 and 98!
To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with
unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message.
Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies.
