To certify or not that is truly the question. After 25 years in the computer industry I am faced with that decision on a daily basis. Obviously certification would increase my knowledge of the subject matter in question but so would setting up a test bed configuring things, breaking and fixing it as well as just using it on regular basis.

The industry seems to hold a huge want for certifications as opposed to practical experience gain using a system. To be fair to both sides I have seen some “Book Learned” certified individuals that could recite the text books to me pretty much word for word but couldn’t troubleshoot their way out of a wet paper bag and I’ve seen those that could troubleshoot a broken system and fix it but couldn’t begin to recreate it from scratch if their life depended on it. I fall some where in between both types I have a few certifications with 25 years worth of practical experience to go along with it.

Do companies really need certified people or is it something they saw in another job opening from another company for a similar position and figured they better ask for the same qualifications? Who keeps coming up with all these certifications any way? I think I have the answer for that question and you would be surprised that it’s not the industry but the makers of software they build a certification so they can gain more money by having you and I spend our hard earned dollars on getting their certification so that we can become more employable, really more employable at this rate if I were to get all these certifications I would never be able to retire. Certifications seem to come out or are updated just as fast as you can finish one. It’s a never ending cycle of pouring money at a never ending problem.

Now if employers would just ask the right questions, call previous employers and personal / professional references they actually get a pretty good idea if the person sitting on the other side of the table at the interview really knows what they are talking about or not and can apply it to daily practice and we wouldn’t have to have so many certification and keep spending $100-$200 a pop to get them or update them.

Just got my Acer tablet and I love it so far although I have just really scratched the surface of what I can do with it. The HD games on it are of course fantastic to look at and the motion control in racing games adds a feel of realism to the gaming experience.

Of course the Android operating system is a great choice, there are tons of free applications available that cover just about anything a user could think to do with their tablet.

The popup keyboard is the same as that found on any Android phone and is very accurate with the touch screen and it seems that it only misspells words when I type them wrong.

My version of the Acer tablet came with 16GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM and a duel core processor. Although my tablet relies on a WiFi connection for internet access there are versions with built in 4G access. All versions come standard with bluetooth, USB and HDMI connections. A final feature is that the tablet is dockable and connects to a full sized keyboard.

And as a side note, this post to my blog was done from my tablet.

Welcome one and all to the Computer Realm where I will try to be as honest as possible about an assortment of topics to include end users. I know they are the reason I have a job and will continue to into the foreseeable future but they have given me some of my most memorable hours of entertainment as well as frustration.

I hope you will enjoy my reviews, rants and raves on the various things that cross my path at work and on my leisure. I have been a computer technician since 1986 when the United States Air Force decided it was in our best interest to send me to IBM AT and XT repair school. For those of you with less then ten years in the career field go to a museum or library and look those up, they will be under “Old Computer Shit”. I have seen a lot of strange things in this career field but believe me just when I think I’ve seen it all something new rears it’s head and proves me wrong.

Enjoy,

Rodey