h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

just testing

Hi-ya Diagnostic

Being a person of around the same age, and having spent 99% of my life working with diagnostic software. I found myself looking at an open invitation to procrastinate

Strange that

Feel free to leave me a note.
I see you have not had a visit from an ACE are you not new to H2G2.

ES

Hello Shepherd,

What's an ACE? I've seen lots of strange new bits of terminology around this site in the 24 hours since I signed up. Not seen that one yet...

Regards

Diagnostic

An ACE well Vicky was my Ace and she left this on my PS

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I'm an ACE.......it stands for something.... Ah yes! That's it - Assistant Community Editor!

I'm here to help you round the magical maze of h2g2 (fondly known by researchers as hootoo), and to help start you off, I've created a little list of links, just for you, so click here A1159210 and have a look at them when you have time.

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I,m sure you will get a visit, How you finding your way around OK
ES

Not too badly thanks ES. Looks like a splendid place to be...

D

ES,

What kind of software are you involved in? I work in the software world myself...

D

Hi-ya D
Sorry for the long delay in answering you, have had a little holiday
I work on the hardware side, since 1991 but C..C++ ABasic, Bash, Pearl scripting and a sprinkling of Python and Delphi, VB, VC++ have found its way into the gap in-between my ears.

As you have guests I have spent a lot of time setting up web servers and small office networks and the likes. The work I am doing now has been focused on MSAgent and Eilan Voice systems, mostly because it’s free, and worked. O and a forgotten number of translation systems which mostly did not.

How about you, have you a favourite development system.

O would you mind if I added you to my friends list?
I see you have been ACE’d atlast.

ES

ES,

No problem adding me to your friends list...

I've become a bit detached from specific development platforms over the past few years, having moved into a technical marketing role... all cutting out shapes and colouring in! the company I've been at for the past 12 years also has a largely proprietary environment, so keeping up with the latest developments / platforms etc has been largely a hobby and a badly kept one .

I know C / C++ a bit, IBM mainframe assembler, SPL (like Algol for HP's) and a few other bits and pieces.

D

just something for your page if you like.



Write here....



INREPLYTO="000" enter your number in place of the 000

And not forgetting how to find your number

1.start a new message on your PS
post a massage, now go and look at that message,

2. move the mouse over the reply button
On the bottom and the top of your browser window you will see something like

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/AddThread?inreplyto=12345657
your inreplyto=( ) that’s it , the number that is.

Edit your massage thingy and that’s it,
Now all your messages will go to just one place on your personal space

Hi-ya D

Tar. D your on my list
Proprietary environment, is the way things are going today I recently setup a office for a fleet hire company and the same thing was going on. Non standard IDE makes for dependency=profit

assembler use that only when I have to, on embedded system PLA’s, type jobs, not much call for it in the education system now, past the basics push and pulling ,popping bits and bytes around, I always found hard work.

I run little projects at home to help me keep up on things in the trade, you do the same?

ES

Hi ES...

Sorry for the tardy response; been away for a week and didn't have much access to the web.

Projects; lots of ideas (mostly embryonic and probably unworkable...). Unfortunately not a great deal of time to do much about them.

So World Hunger will have to stay around for a while.

D

Hi D.

Finally got more than five minuets off.

>>Have been away for a week<< Ooo somewhere nice I hope (Hot and Sunny), do tell..!

The project right now is setting up a share-point web server at home/work. But once that’s out of the way I can get back to more interesting things. O and Lindows is one I need to get to know, most of the students are coming at us with Lindows questions nowadays.
Still like RedHat myself.


>>IBM mainframe assembler, SPL (like Algol for HP's, <<… “System Programming Language” ?
Mostly the big stuff then, mainframe and the likes. Or am I on the wrong track?

Never really don much more than look at a mainframe,
We once hade a few terminals to setup at a computer center down south
Always wanted to have a little go, with the big stuff.

>>Technical marketing role... all cutting out shapes and coloring in! <<. Sounds like modesty

If you don’t mind me asking Diagnostic, what kind of software do you Technical market?

ES

Hi ES,

I was in Johannesburg for a week. All work, a few steaks but not much more play than that I'm afraid.

Yup, was mostly mainframes. Started on ICL 1900's, moved to HP3000 (a small excursion into minicomputers...) and then onto IBM mainframes, CICS etc.

It's changed a bit in the last few years; the software I work with (Service Management, Help/Service Desk, IT asset Management) can run on UNIX, NT or MVS. Not much call for the latter these days...

D

Hi-ya D,

Good week?
Wow, Johannesburg for a week. Sounds like an edited entry to me?

ITaM, I have used a few of them over the years, last one was by xAM.

and we had an old MVS system in years back, release 3.8, ex-NHS if I remember correctly, old green screen terminals all over the place for weeks, O and CICS, mission-critical, online purchasing etc.? What did you do on your excursion into minicomputers?

Again you can tell, I’ve got sort of stuck in mud of micros, seem to get getting sucked into web servers of late, most high tech stuff around in the college education system has moved away from big kit, in favour of interchangeable, MIntel stock. Not putting all their eggs in one basket, they say, we tried to introduce Linux, as an alternative last year. “Like pushing elephants up hill”, Staff, not students that is. Still if it was not for Mr. MS. we would still be using GEM or C/PM. So I’m, told.

Anyway having broken a digit, i'm haveing a week or two out of the from the mud. Get a chance to see more of my grand kids . O and not forgetting the little jobs the wife’s got lined up for me.

Have a good week D.
ES

Hi ES,

Edited entry? I wish... we've got a new partner working with us in SA and we went there to help with their launch. Was an interesting trip; the new partner is a 'black empowered' company - after ten years, there are signs that society is just beginning to balance out - although there is a looooong way to go.

While we were there, they had lined up several meetings a day with customers and prospective customers... lots of meetings. Unfortunately business travel is rarely as glamorous as it seems. Can't complain, though - I'd rather do it than not...

IT Asset management is, we hope, a bit of a growing market right now. Like a lot of back office type systems, though, it is seen more as the tyres than the go-faster stripe - a prosaic necessity.

The move into minis came when the company I worked for at the time moved from ICL to HP hardware. I enjoyed working with it.

Web servers - at the leading edge then... that and Web Services seems to be where a lot of the new interesting stuff is happening.

Grand kids? How many? Must be great... I saw a car sticker recently that said "My grandchildren are great - I should have had them first". I'm still on the first set myself.

Good luck with the domestic to-do list...

regards

D

Hi

>>Edited entry? I wish./ / after ten years, there are signs that society is just beginning to balance out - although there is a looooong way to go<<.

I wish to, it would be so interesting to find out how things are really unfolding, from someone who has been there and seen it for themselves, rather that the stylized governmentally washed line, I suspect the press has to feed us.

Modesty, I told you. So you’re a sort of the James Bond of the IT marketing world then. Slipping out to Johannesburg for a week, to work at the cutting edge of a new society at the drop of a hat.

I wish I could do that kind of job, god the nearest I get to that, these days is to be maneuvered down to the local hardware supermarket because someone forgot to order in a few redundant systems and JIT is more like JAT right now. still it nice to get out of the office.

Prosaic necessity is one of the things that keeps the world going around if you ask me, but then I am biased in favour of it, a lot of technology these days is all flash, and no real bang.

Grand kids? ; ) How many? Six, will be seven soon, we hope. Oooo yes its great. Not a minuet to ourselves again. Makes the house sound normal, funny how for years you wish they would grow up, then the day after they do, you can’t get them back fast enough.
By the way how many are in your first set?

ES

Daughter from a previous marriage and 2 boys (22 months and 9 weeks).

Look past the bags under my eyes and see the big smile...

D

hi-ya D

Two boys, always fun, 22 months and 9 weeks still in time for congratulations then
Congratulations all our best to you, your lady and your new arrival.
Bet you’re chuffed, tired, and worn-out. What have you called them all, and how old is your girl.

6 month ago, my daughter had her third boy they have call him Mathew the other two are Thomas 6 and jack 4. They are hoping to have a girl next.
How about you?

ED