How to learn about computers

[Dabomb18359]

Well first of all there are a few reasons:
1. I'm interested in reading something I want to know, not school crap.
2. I have a few books, like free stuff (hopefully stuff to learn will be online)
3. Some kids at my brothers school (the senior high, I am in 10th grade now) have a club where they plan on giving geek squad services out to be nice and fundraise.
4. Knowing this stuff and the qualifications could help later on in life.

Some stuff I'm interested in is:
1. networking
2. A+ certification
3. Other good certifications
4. How to program (C++, Java, C#, whatever)
5. getting better at Counterstrike (just for fun, but i like pointers)
6. other stuff like listed here
7. maybe HTML and stuff like that

Right now all i have/know about is:
1. 4 books that are a few years old i got for $1 each: Network+ Exam Notes (1999), A+ Complete Exam Notes (1999 I think), Exam Cram Network+ (1999), and Mastering Home Networking (2000). But they are 5-6 years old and I don't know whether they'd be much help or not.
2. www.htmlgoodies.com I know it has good stuff for learning HTML.
3. www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial

That's all I really know. I have a writer/compiler but don't know how to program yet.
If you know anything about good books to read/things to visit please help me out. I'd like to learn about this stuff. Even though I have to want to learn, I don't really know where to start for all this. Thanks.

 

[Turner]

I learned most of my stuff by breaking one and fixing it.

'Course, I did that on the uni's puters, so it didn't cost me much.

Probably starting out with an A+ class/certification would be good. That'd give you a good understanding of how the hardware works.

 

[CruddyLeper]

1. Networking - easiest way to get into this is to have 2 computers. Don't have to be latest XP CSS wondertoys, say 128Mb of RAM in each and a 300MHz processor in each. Oh, and a network cable - crossover cable for linking just 2 computers, otherwise network cables.

2. A+ - well, it's still antiquated. Goes on about the wondrous "new" Pentium MMX processors, so what you've got isn't that dated to pass A+. Expensive though - will cost a few hundred bucks to try the test.

3. I don't know about other qualifications. There's loads of 'em. Nothing beats a Master;s Degree in software engineering though, Well, maybe professor of electrical engineering but that's REALLLLLY advanced stuff - and again, most of what you learn in passing it was done years ago.

4. How to program? You could do a lot worse than Visual Basic - well, pretty much any Basic (Beginners ALL purpose Symbolic Instruction Code). It's not going to write Quake 5 but it does give you an insight into how programs get put together. After you've mastered the building blocks, then you're ready for C (which you CAN use to write Quake 5).

5. Can't help, I'm a BF2 bloke.

6. Nice sales pitch, can't really see how they can effectively cover the areas. Experience counts more than anything here - they're kind of hardware/software consultants. Me, I stick to hardware.

7. HTML is the layout language - affecting how a web page appears and works when clicked on. Not quite programming, of marginal use commercially (most web designers use point and click programs rather than hammering keyboards) but again, educationally, very useful. Also nice in that you get results quickly.

Your best resource though, is right in front of you. The internet and Google.

Somebody else, please recommend some good software sites. I'm kind of stuck for info there myself.

 

[kcwong]

HTML is the layout language - affecting how a web page appears and works when clicked on. Not quite programming, of marginal use commercially (most web designers use point and click programs rather than hammering keyboards) but again, educationally, very useful. Also nice in that you get results quickly.

I disagree... HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. It does/should not describe the layout. It describes the content. Layout and formatting is the job of CSS (Cascading Stylesheet).


@Dabomb:
The information on the net could actually confuse you. The information found on the net is not necessary true - perhaps the author himself is making mistakes, or the subject is still being debated in the community.

While you don't want to study in class (maybe the lecturer really is crappy), you would gain a lot by reading the books they use in class. Find out what books they're using... I think you can find some copies in library. You'll need to know the basic structure of computers, data structures and the required mathematics.

After that, you can visit Bruce Eckel's site (http://www.mindview.net/). He has his books for completely free view/download/comments on his site.

 

[Dabomb18359]

hmm. I never thought about the local library. Even though mine has litereally been under construction for at least a year and a half now because of a second story or something...

@ CruddyLeper, you said something in #4 of your response about my A+ book, but I didn't quite understand your wording whether it's good or not. Please clear this up you or someone who understood.

 

[CruddyLeper]

@ CruddyLeper, you said something in #4 of your response about my A+ book, but I didn't quite understand your wording whether it's good or not. Please clear this up you or someone who understood.

It's hard to post when I've been banned for a few days. Nevermind why.

I reckon about 75% of it is still relevant. It serves as a good foundation, but it's not the whole truth.

Oh yeah, great site;-

http://www.guru3d.com

Forums have lots of stuff. Not the only good site but worth registering on.

Just remember to post a couple of answers, not just questions.