Main area of computing are you NOT familiar with?

BubbySoup

BubbySoup

BubbySoup

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Basically, an area that you come into contact with maybe on a regular or semi-regular basis that you still know very little about.

For me it would be Linux. I regularly meet a lot of Linux users but beyond installing the OS and trying to install something manually just to see if I could ..and failing miserably ...I know pretty much 0 about it.

I always mean to get around to doing something with it, but never seem to have the time :(

Edit: And I'm in the wrong forum ..sigh

Can someone move it into general please :(
 
Probably Linux. I've spent quite a lot of time on various UNIX platforms recently though, so the move shouldn't be that painful.

Burnsy
 
I'm actually finding it difficult to identify one area (rather than an application) that I'm not familiar with. Networking is superb, storage stuff is very good, Windows is great, unix/linux is great, voice is good enough, security is good. I'm not keen on databases but I've done so much with SQL over time I can't really say I don't know it.

My programming hasn't had any serious exercise in years but I'd like to think I could write reasonably good code tomorrow if needs be.

My web stuff isn't great, I did a little messing with dreamweaver and fireworks but I'm not an expert in flash or anything...
 
Hmm impossible to say really lots of stuff - forever learning... The more I learn the more I realise how much I don't know. Its easier to say which stuff I could do with learning more about at the moment: windows driver development, windows debugging/crash dump analysis, ARM processors and instruction sets, better reversing skills, dynamic binary instrumentation, symbolic execution/static analysis.. My current TODO list which will last a lifetime :p
 
Networks (MPLS, IPSec, Switches, Routers etc etc)
SQL
Linux/Unix
Development

Anything I haven't and don't work with in a nutshell

Not too much really!! :)
 
Knowing more about Windows network management, AD and Exchange would be very useful for me, I'm planning on doing some MSCEs though.
 
i know absolutely sod all about linux, the most i can do is check the processes lol

then again a guy i work with who claims to know a fair bit about linux is always googling for commands i guess its never as simple as one might assume

I feel pretty confident in most aspects of windows network management and its various additions
 
Any coding beyond basic scripting.

I'd like to learn more VB scripting for automation of various things, but since doing c++ at college a over decade ago i quickly learn that development work is not for me.
 
bigredshark said:
I'm actually finding it difficult to identify one area (rather than an application) that I'm not familiar with. Networking is superb, storage stuff is very good, Windows is great, unix/linux is great, voice is good enough, security is good. I'm not keen on databases but I've done so much with SQL over time I can't really say I don't know it.

My programming hasn't had any serious exercise in years but I'd like to think I could write reasonably good code tomorrow if needs be.

My web stuff isn't great, I did a little messing with dreamweaver and fireworks but I'm not an expert in flash or anything...
Click to expand...

Depends to what level. I think many people in this thread answering have different ideas about how well one has to know something to consider yourself good very good... etc.

I mean to what depth do you know everything you have stated above? I think I know only one maybe two people who would know everything you have stated to a real expertise level. And the only reason they do is that they have a slight mental disorder where they are highly logical, don't interact too well with others and spend most of their spare time reading reference manuals and remembering everything they ever read.

You mention "Windows" thats a rather wide ranging topic. Some people would consider themselves windows experts just because they have done a IT Support (installed office, maybe set them up with a network on a switch, can install printers and configure wireless). I'd consider someone an expert when they can manage a network of 300+ windows desktops and 20+ servers (AD, Sharepoint, Exchange clusters, MSSQL clusters....).

You are not keen on databases? Which database? Oracle? MySQL? MSSQL? Postgres? TinySQL? Do you mean DBA or developer?

You security is good? Do you mean you could run and install a netscreen firewall? Configure IPTables (linux) or IPFW (freebsd)? Or you know what a port is and how to block them?

I am not picking on you so please don't take offence, yours is just the longest post with detail :) I literally am trying to point out that people have very different perspectives on what constitutes an expert in an area.
 
Exchange, my bloomin employer decided not to bother with it after my boss said i'd need to go on a training course. They'd already had him trained and bought a server and licensing.
 
But surely thats just the icing on the cake? A programmer who considers himself to be at an excellent level can't be put off by a different language etc

I do primarily networking, network security and some linux, I wouldnt be much good if I was thrown by a checkpoint or nokia because im used to PIX, or a different flavour of linux.

I get what you mean though, "good", "excellent" etc is a personal judgement by comparison to your other skill sets, hardly a standardisation :D
 
rick827 said:
But surely thats just the icing on the cake? A programmer who considers himself to be at an excellent level can't be put off by a different language etc
Click to expand...

But a lot of it comes down to time. I'd love to get familiar with exotic technologies, but as it stands I just don't have the time to dedicate.

I think another thing is whether you have the base theroy knowledge to be able to get to learn a new technology to a decent level. At the moment I don't have enough background knowledge on a lot of security based stuff (although that's changing soon) and so I'd struggle to understand how to configure a decent hardware firewall (IPSec etc).

Burnsy
 
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Burnsy2023 said:
But a lot of it comes down to time. I'd love to get familiar with exotic technologies, but as it stands I just don't have the time to dedicate.

I think another thing is whether you have the base theroy knowledge to be able to get to learn a new technology to a decent level. At the moment I don't have enough background knowledge on a lot of security based stuff (although that's changing soon) and so I'd struggle to understand how to configure a decent hardware firewall (IPSec etc).

Burnsy
Click to expand...

All very true, but going back to being mildy pedantic about describing said technology - I think if you say 'networking' you knowingly mean 95% of the subject matter, otherwise you'd be more detailed.

E.g. I said 'network security' because I feel I could reasonably comfortably spec and configure internal and border security at the network level for most enterprises. I didnt say 'security' because I couldnt do a binary diff on a bug patch inorder to produce POC code for a heap overflow attack along side the network stuff.

I could configure a production worthy linux email server but I wouldnt consider myself to an expert at messaging as I've never touched exchange

etc etc
 
Out of the skills that i could do with knowing, exchange & SCCM.
The rest of the skills/areas that i'd need to know in my job, im well versed in.

Outside of my job, Linux, Exchange, SCCM.
 
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