Ok, so the other day someone on here was making a claim that they were not a geek, that they were "too cool" for that. They're making this claim on what is basically a forum for webmasters. I'm assuming they made the claim because they thought for sure that the general populace looked down on geeks. Now, ignoring the fact for the moment that the person who made the claim spent from 7:30pm - 3:20am on a Friday night here in this forum (they did by the way, actively posting the whole time), I'm wondering, how many people here are geeks and proud of it? I mean, you can probably admit to being a geek if you can relate to any of the following: 1) You don't have to have ever notched a floppy to double the capacity... knowing that it works is enough. 2) Knowing what a hex editor is. 3) Hell, knowing what hex is (go ahead, ask 10 people on the street if you don't believe me). 4) If you've ever written Javascript you are proud of (same for any language really). 5) You catch yourself accidentally wanting to reply "LOL" in a real life conversation, and suddenly realize that you don't know how to pronounce it. 6) You'd rather buy a video game then spend money on a date. 7) You've ever upgraded your computer more than once a year. 8) You actually have a passionate opinion about IE vs FireFox, Windows vs Linux, Apache vs IIS, etc. 9) Most people know that you can probably fix their computer. 10) You sometimes use the term "woot!" in real life conversations. So, which is it guys? I, myself, am truly a geek. -Michael
Ya know what? That's ok. Part of being a geek means you don't really have to conform to anyone else's standards. That list was by no means a full list. Feel free to vote yourself in anyways. -Michael
Sorry, I kinda grouped em all into one. My bad. -Michael PS Ok, what would be the main differences...?
But seriously... Been around since windows 3.1 on a 486 dx2 66 (with a turbo button and 2mb ram). Done most every version of windows since. Built many computers. Used several versions of linux/bsd. Worked for a few ISPs And so on, and so forth.
Please. I had an 8088 and was playing Commander Keen back in the day. I remember when I got 1 meg of extended memory. Man that kicked ASS! The computer case weighed about 100 pounds and the power switch felt more like I was turning on a nuclear reactor than a computer.
Ok, this is more of a showing my age than a geek thing... my first big introduction was learning assembly language on the Apple II+. Bill Budge's 3D package was what got me really interested, then someone showed me the basics of programming and I was hooked good. We couldn't afford one so I'd play around with my friends Atari 2400, not so much writing games from scratch as modding the ones that existed. I mean, yeah, I had a game console but no actual computer. Was only a casual player until I moved in with a roommate in 96 who was a programmer, like, the kind who got paid to do it. He was on the computer one day for 23 hours straight, trying to get a Java routine compiled. I didn't speak Java, but asked him if he wanted me to look at it. I scrolled down the page, stopped, pointed and said "You're not passing a variable there...", he changed it and it compiled fine. I said "See? That's why I could never be a programmer, you can't charge someone for 23 hours of your debug time." He looked at me and said "Wanna bet?". I got a job programming within 2 weeks, been pretty much doing it ever since. -Michael
Dang - only one of those relates to me - "upgrading PC often". I don't consider myself a geek, though web development is my number one of three hobbies. Web Development, Working Out and Playing Guitar.
My first program was for college. I don't remember the simple ones, but in my pascal class, I had to make a "living planet" - essentially a bunch of 1's and 0's where things lived and died based upon set conditions (too many others close to it, etc). the tough part was faking a globe (making the thing a virtual sphere) - that was tough for me programatically at the time. For fortran, I had to make a matrix that would solve itself. If you don't know what a matrix is, I've forgotten to, so don't ask Programming classes were great cuz they taught me to think about something without being given a way to do it. Kinda figure things out as you go along - its a good life lesson
YEAH I AM A GEEK !!!! I sit here for 14 hours daily and am doing this from last 8 months. Haven't even gave a starter to my car. The tires had been flattened out and everything is dusty in my room. Except my PC Yeah and there are some bottles lying here and there. Plus food packets (EMPTY) hehe
You obviously just haven't been properly introduced to MMORPGs young lady. Used to be I didn't think I could date a girl below level 45 on EQ... wasn't so picky about which class they were though... and man, show me a woman with a ton of plat and it was on baby! -Michael
"commander keen" was so cool! I also played "wolfenstein 3d" and "dune 1&2" and "warcraft 1&2" and "transport tycoon" and so on
Warcraft was my first introduction to LAN parties. Damn... I actually miss that... I used to work for a company with a Gigabit connection throughout the office, huge floor space, was more suited to a warehouse than an office... we'd get 20-25 guys playing Unreal after hours, there till 10pm - 11pm. I wonder what the hell they play after hours at Googleplex? Anyone know what's popular there? Matt, you still lurking? -Michael