ScottiXtag

I want to take the time and come out with a new trend that is occuring. Strangely enough being a Geek is actually starting to become popular, because of this a new stereotype is emerging. I want to call this new stereotype the Social Geek, they are the people pertaining to MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc… Geeks, as we all know are anti-social, hide in their caves, speak in a foreign language, etc… I know because everytime I meet a girl at a bar they ask what I do and I tell them I am a computer guy. They get set in this mood OMG just ran into a nerd.

A Social Geek is a person who likes to be part of the geek world. Now I don’t want to discredit them but at the same time they don’t have the know how of computers, I like to say they are a variation of a Geek. The Social Geek likes to use the social media platforms as a way to promote themselves. They actually don’t know much about installing Linux or configuring a LAMP server, or spending hours modifying a script. They know the Internet and they know how to use it to their advantage. Other terms could possibly be Celeb Geek, big example is Ashton Kutcher and Oprah trying to find out about a world they knew nothing about.

Warning don’t be caught if they say they are the web, because that is a long shot from reality. They didn’t create the web, they didn’t start the network, they didn’t do anything that technical. They just utilized the products that make up the web. That is why I coin them Social Geeks because they are not like real Geeks.

You can’t talk about Social Geeks if you don’t bring up iJustine and Shira Lazar. They are the real pioneers of Social Geeks. People strive to have the success they have on the internet. Have thousands of people following every move that they do on the web.

This has nothing to do with thesocialgeek.com so don’t be confused. Anyway I want to explain the new emersion comming out into the Geek world and to be aware of this new stereotype and the differences.

I have three classes, three jobs, and a few projects. One person would call me busy. Even though none of the tasks are that hard, I barely have time to do anything I want to do. I just want to go out and work on my own projects. Everytime I get some time to work on my projects I always have to cut it short to do some other task that needs to get done. I can’t wait to graduate and have more free time on my hands. On the other hand I want to propel myself forward and get as much experience as I can. Don’t know if anyone has those problems, but, I certainly do. It is amazing how I cope with all the stress I get. I am sure I will finish in the end and the rewards will be great, but right now I am busy to the y and probably won’t be less busy till school is out. So comment what are you working on?

Windows 7 Beta is coming around the corner and actually is looking fairly decent. The RC1 beta that I have tested had leaked on torrent sites. It became so popular Windows is going to officially release the RC2 beta on those same torrents. Is Microsoft actually turning its long history of DRM and going to the dark side? Will have to wait and see.

Behind this Blog I am actually a Linux advocate but notice where credit is due. I almost half heartedly want Windows 7 to fail and to see Linux take the foreground, but I can only wish.

I was actually talking to one of my friends the other day and questioning what really makes Linux unfriendly. Linux has so much more to offer to the user but fails horribly. Ubuntu has made some big strides and have converted more than the average geek, but why is there still this sore in my back.

Here I will explain a Case Study to possibly why it might be difficult. One person wanted to use Linux whole heartedly. He had several computers and laptops that were already running windows. After backing up his data, he slowly made the switch to linux. That is when he started running into problems. Basically his hardware was not supported out of the box. I am not saying you couldn’t get it to work, but how far do you want to go down the rabbit hole. When the alternative is to install Windows and have it work in a matter of seconds. While with Linux you have to mess with kernel drivers. The camera he uses all the time doesn’t work with Linux. Just a plethoral of things that do and don’t work out of the box. Now there are things I couldn’t get to work in Windows and have it work in Linux, but rarely does that ever happen. The person gave Linux an honest effort. Just with his current hardware and time was preventing him to switch.

The sad truth Linux is really not ready for the mainstream today. It is on the tip of the iceberg waiting to just crash over into all the developers hands but until that time comes. It is really not recommended if you just want something to work with.

I was never one to argue OSes, I just assumed whatever works for you use it. My reasoning behind this is making the computer work for you. Not the other way around. I will give an examples. If you are a graphics design major then I would recommend a Mac, one of the major reasons for this, its what the industry uses. When you send someone a file you want to make sure it works on their computer. Industry dictates what you need to survive and if they don’t like it they will spit it back in your face.

Cross platform is getting more popular, we don’t just live in a windows world anymore. How will we know what we will be using in the future. If you run a company and want to have your own domain. Are you going to dish out a few thousand dollars for Microsoft or are you going to save a buck with Linux? What advantages and disadvantes are you going to have. Problems with linux is that when it works it works awesome. When it breaks it breaks hard core. Ultimately it is about how far you want to go down the rabbit hole, but I’ll leave that for another post.

The thing that really bugs me the most when software companies target a specific OS and nothing else. The abillity to open the market to other OSes is becomming more important. When you become compatible with other OSes you are almost revered. An example program is VMWare. What a great program that can transfer stuff from any OS.

Well that is a part of my take on OSes, I hope it has enlightened you a little bit.

Extreme Parkour. I always had an interest for these guys they look like they defy gravity. Really a lot of it is transfer in momentum.

http://www.break.com/usercontent/2009/1/parkour-extreme-658776.html

Now if anyone has studied Turing machines they are going to love this video. It is practically genius.

A free Ubuntu Guide

http://www.ubuntupocketguide.com/download.html

Neat Gift to give people

http://i.gizmodo.com/5140025/measurement-gloves-give-construction-jobs-the-finger

Watch YouTube in the dark

http://lifehacker.com/5139487/youtube-cinema-dims-the-lights-for-your-viewing-pleasure

Dashboard Confessional - Thick as Thieves

Cliff Flying

Where .com and .net are populated around the world.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5139349/the-world-map-in-domains

Time Killer - Juggling
http://www.coldtomatoes.com/games/juggler/pongleur5.swf

Everyone at the conference seem so excited about the new Palm platform. I really don’t understand what is so different from what the iPhone tried to do. Their big feature is the ability to program the phone using current web technologies. Same thing iPhone tried to do with their web apps. Hate to say it but Palm is a little behind everyone else. Also what a rip of the gPhone with the notifier on the top. Serious come on Palm is that all you got. Just because you can run Facebook and Pandora on your phone doesn’t make you that great. I dubbed the phone the ppPhone.

Now this is the snowboard I would like to ride nice and open-source