Software Developer (assembly, C, python, PHP, etc.), Embedded Developer, System Administrator (Linux), uISP owner, Open Source Geek and Security Nut.

I'm a 30 y/o Sysadmin and Developer.  I started picking up programming early (BASIC on Commodore VIC-20 whee) and just ran with it ever since.  These days I know Delphi/Pascal, x86 assembler, Perl, and PHP very well.  I can hack on C/C++ if need be and am trying to pick it up again for real.  Most other languages I can at least understand well enough to see how they work and understand the flow.

I also do sysadmin stuff on NT based networks, and am a FreeBSD guru of about ten years.  Never have liked GNU/Linux much, solution looking for a problem if you ask me, but it is doing one thing better than any of the other free OSes: marketing.

Of course I "build" my own machines, I have not had a pre-built PC since the 286 I convinced my mother to buy way back when.

Worked for all manner of companies big and small from startup ISPs and development houses that didn't survive five years, to giants like AT&T and Northrop-Grumman.  I like the smaller companies better, and right now work for one that's pretty successful for having only a handful of employees.  Been with them two years, doesn't look like they're going anywhere.

I'm a BICSI Registered Communications Distribution Designer.  When I'm not running my business (commercial communications contractor), I work with UNIX (Linux since 1.2.13, Solaris since 2.6)

5 years as Unix/Linux/Microsoft sysadmin, currently Java Developer.

B.S. in IT from CU Boulder.

Originally Posted By PoliticalScience: I had an Atari once.

Mine still works ! I was playing with it the other day ! its so cool and brings memories !

29 YO pc repairman.  I know just enough to get by, but I'm always asking questions.

26yo Information Security guy.  I also do network/server admin and used to program.

Alphabet soup of degrees and certs that are boring and don't mean much to anybody but a headhunter or hiring type.

Now a Director/Acting CIO that does people instead of packets.  Everyone else gets to play with technology, I get to play with HR, the board, project management, strategy, and budgets.

I secretly desire to quit and take a job as desktop support.

Just stumbled in.

Started using computers when I was 12 years old messing around with a Naval Suitcase computer that weighed about 50 lbs.  Been building and working on PC's ever since and turned a hobby into a career.  I work as an IT Engineer in the Groveport Ohio area and work on networks, and good old evil Microsoft products.  Never caught the *NIX bug.  I have also been learning about Oracle from my current job.

I am an Email System Tech. Basically I deal with everything under the sun right now. Perl, Python, Linux (RHEL), PHP, Mysql, Courier, Dovecot, Sendmail, etc. My core duties are maintaining my companies 200+ servers during third shift and coding up neat pieces of software to make eveyones life easier.

40 yo Network engineer.

Cisco shop mostly

Work for a fortune 100 company.

Getting too old for the maintenance windows!  ugh!

21yo college senior (UF GO GATORS) in political science (pre-law)
been gaming and interested in computers since the early 90's
build my first computer in '05
about to build my next one

interested in learning xhtml, perl, c++, and any other useful coding language
good with hardware, learning software

Net Admin / Engineer
A+
Net+
iNet+

Lots of hardware break/fix, troubleshooting, small network support, wireless, etc.  Standard fare IT guy.  Except the fact that I like Apple...

Wow, there are alot more tech savy people on these forums than I would ever have expected. I personally am a hardware tech at a PC repair shop and currently a student at NJIT. I've been programming for as long as I remember and am proficient in C, C++, Perl, Lua, and VB. I am also very active in the Playstation 2 and PSP homebrew and hacking scenes and am a hardcore linux/unix geek he )

B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics (contemplating masters)

Title: UNIX Systems Admin, but GOAT(Geek Of All Trades) would be more appropriate

Work: University Environment

OS: HP-UX 11.*, SCO, Linux (Fedora *, RedHat Enterprise *, and SUSe *)

Specialties: C/C++, PERL, csh, sh, ACE report writer, SQL, Informix 7.3+ database administration, m4 preprocessor, COBOL, tcl, expect, Apache, Sendmail, problem-solving, and general psycho-therapist for my users (if only i could prescribe medications)

Dabbles: MPE/IX, Active Directory & Exchange Administration, hardware hacking, network security, reverse-engineering, gun-smithing, XP Pro

Built all of mine, my family's, and most of my friends' machines. NFA item owner.

I've been at AR-15.com for about 6 months, never peeked in here till today, always before I figured it was a bunch of guys in dreadlocks running around sniping alley cats for fun, urban commandos, who knew?

Introduction and credentials, hmmm?

Well, let's see, I punched some cards in college, back in the late 70's, but the money ran out, so I did about 20 years in field supervision on construction sites. Somewhere in there I tricked out a TS-1000, actually got it to read and write to cassette tape.

Took a class mid-80s, VDT based, big step up from cards, had an A going, solid enough to blow off the last two weekly assignments, till I committed a stupid error on the 13 question final, all chained, output of Q1 is the input to Q2, etc. I scored a perfect F, zero point zero numerical,  ended up burning holes in my eyes for 28 hours finishing the last two assignments to get my A back, but 4 of those hours were hacking the output timestamp to appear as though I was done by midnight instead of 7 am. Got my A, but the instructor later told me it would have been an A+ if I had told him about the 4 hours of "extra credit" work.

In 91 I snagged a for real IBM PC at a hamfest, for $125, and ended up turning it into an XT, with the FULL 1 MB ram, 8.0 mHz 32 bit internal processor, and a whopping 20 MB Seagate internal HDD. I still have it, and it still works, and one of these days I'm going to hook it up in the studio and have it control all MIDI, since I still have my semi-licensed version of DOS and the original Twelve Tones Cakewalk version 2.0 .

Shortly after a 20 foot fall onto basement concrete broke three vertebra, I had a friend hook me up with a guy he worked with, entry level sysop for an airline, got on there, worked third shift for about 6 years. Along the way, I got to chatting with an Aussie babe online, she ended up living with me for 6 months trying to get a job here in the States.

She was a CCNP, and built the Oz government's WAN, literally, poured crete, set steel, hung dishes, tuned the signal, then set up the routers and security. Before that, she drove an arc welder...on live 220 kV circuits. She got offers for up to $105k, but accepted a job at $65k because she liked the description, and then at the last second, decided that 12,000 miles was just too far from home and went back down under.

She taught me networking.

I got my CCNA and built this at home:





I was tired of users not being able to get to what they wanted, and did some research on cross platform integration. With Netware, HPUX, Solaris, and MS, I got every file and user under one tree and one management interface, but the airline wasn't into the concept at the time. Redhat's ok I guess, for GUI types, but the center console is Slack, and the O-scope shows R/T network voltage.

I upgraded over the years, there were just too many mice and KBs to keep track of:





Over time, the admins got tired of getting woke up at 0-dark-thirty for piddly shit they knew I could handle. Our workgroup always had root on the HP and Sun boxes, but at one point I also had Netware Admin, MS Admin, and Cisco Enable. More access than any other three guys in the company, put together.

A 7000 user global WAN and I owned it, from Frankfort, Germany, to Hong Kong, lock, stock and barrel, but only from 11p to 7a.

A double edged sword, because when 5 billion dollars worth of brand spanking new commercial aircraft , 72s, 73s and 75s sit idle due to LAN, WAN, or big iron problems, drawing interest but not earning revenue seat miles, Flight-Ops Control doesn't mess around with peons like me, they just called their VP, who called my VP, who ALSO didn't like getting woke up at O-dark-thirty, and who made damn sure I knew ALL about it.

On quiet nights, few and far between, I got to blow off script kiddies bragging on their daddy's new Pentiums in Yahoo 'puter chat.

"Well if you must know, I'm chatting on a Sun, 10 CPU, USparc 6000, with four gigs of ram and a 1 terabyte mirrored array on FDDI, through shotgun T's into UUnet", usually calmed them down significantly.

Believe it or not, that was actually a pretty capable machine back in the dinosaur late 90s. My online buddy, down at Nicholl's Supercomp Center in Alabama put me in the shade with a couple YMPs and a Cray 90 or three. He created me an account, but I never used it. No need, because back then, private citizens could apply for and receive an account on Asci Red, the Top500 fastest computer on earth, unclassified of course, which was right up there with the later Cray T3e/1200s in performance.

Here's some of my other old work toys:







Ahhh, the good old days. Clagman, where the hell'd you go, bud? Did you ever get Supercells figured out or does light still think it stands stock still, because its clock won't move?

All things must come to an end and 9-11 was the last nail in the coffin, though I didn't know it till a year later. I guess people who refuse to lie, cheat, or steal, and who out maneuver those who try to do unto them are classified in the business world as "attitude problems". Ah well, such is life. In an environment where the rats were winning the rat race, hand's down, I made my choice and I'd make it again, no tears in the beer here.

On that big day, I wasn't at work, I was actually on vacation, solo-camped out here, 1400 miles from home, 20 miles up a 4WD trail from the nearest jump-off town, and three miles over a 12,000 foot pass:





I didn't even know about the Pentagon or WTC till a couple days later, but that afternoon I misplaced my pack for a while, then heard a bear bawling just downtrail from the only campsite in five miles, and just before bedtime, when I looked up to make sure I wasn't the last human being left on earth, was puzzled to find nary a single contrail in all the sky. That pic was taken at 0815 mountain time, or just about the time the second plane hit the second tower. I think on that day and that picture a lot.

I also didn't know my airline laid me off a couple days later, direct deposited my sick days and what-all in my account, and then two days after that, decided they needed to fire someone actually present instead, rehired me, and took the extra money back out of my account.

I held out another whole year, but come fourth quarter of 2002, when airline profits typically take a nosedive, that was all she wrote.

I putzed around for a while, took the classes for Win2K MCSE and Solaris 7 Systems Admin, but my old roomate's headhunter finally clued me...for every job opening he was posting he was getting 10 to 20 thousand resumes, way too many to even acknowlege receipt, which wasn't a surprise to me since I'd already sent a couple hundred or more to the bit bucket black hole myself.

The boom was over, a bust, as all booms must eventually end. There's a certain satisfaction in the fact that the airline went tits up a couple years later, sold off the brand new fleet the dot-gov unknowingly helped pay for, but that's twisted and unchivalrous, so I try not to dwell on it much.

I tried to hang on, took a job on HP's upgrade floor, cranked out 3,500 PC's or so, but they were looking to move offshore and my heart wasn't in it, so I just ended up retiring at 44.

It was fun while it lasted.

Now I just dabble in computers. Surf the net and cruise my short list of usual hangouts, rabid rightwing sites every one of 'em, shoot Highpower, and make a little music from time to time here, just for fun:





Every once in a while I get a wild hair, and if one of those ideas pans out, who knows?

I might just have me one of them T3s afterall. When I hit enter and set 4096 64 bit processors humming on a full duplex laser ring torus, and brown out half the state, well, direct mass-energy conversion has to get invented sometime, why not me?

Anybody see any use for a 35 MW windturbine that only costs $100k to build and can't kill birds?

If so, I sure hope the Muslims and oil companies play fair with me, and don't try any mean tricks. My kid's mom says that I've got an evil streak in me when crossed, and she just might be right.

Time will tell.

Network Engineer CCNA, but I have done some SE work with AS-400, Rehat, Suse, and Windows, VMWare and Citrix

The beginning of the thread mention about "sniffers" I use packet sniffers ALL the time and it is not uncommon in the Network Engieering department. It allows you to all the nuts and bolts of the communication between systems. It is very useful in troubleshooting clinet/server communications. Ethereal is a great one but is now known as WireShark, so is TCPDump

I've only been into computers for about 10 years now and I still feel like a noob.  I use Adobe and CAD software but I'm not that good at it yet.

Just thought i would throw in a greetings and salutations!  I am a long time lurker, and finally registered.  I am currently a java developer (J2EE/SOA) but have written my share of c/c++, and work primarily on various *nix platforms.  I also have been a long time carrier of the dreaded BRD, as well as the OMD (Old Mauser Disease).

Originally Posted By gaspain: Sniffing and are used by criminals to "sniff" out passwords, be aware of the Federal laws regarding this activity, and dont sniff my network...unless you want to get cracked on the head with the stock of my M4.

EE / Network engineer / Consultant / Communication and Information Systems

CNE, blah, blah, blah.  I started in computers before the when the Osborne 1 was THE IDEAL portable copmputer and CPM was THE OS.

Network General "Sniffer University" in 94.

 



 

I've been in IT for around 10 years now.... started out doing Configuration Management (CM) using PVCS Version Manager, did some scripting for builds/promotions for dev/qc environments, started using CA Harvest, and am now using Microsoft's Team Foundation Server.  Over this time I did quite a bit of process work, too (writing 'em, auditing folks who were supposed to be following the processes, etc.)

Over the years I've worked on various Windows OS's (3.1, 95, NT 4, 98, XP, 2003 Server, etc.), and have played a bit with Linux (Gentoo, Trustix, a little bit of Suse).  I don't work all that much on building machines anymore for myself or friends because I do quite a bit of hardware swapping at work.

I now do network/hardware tech work in WV and have a blast with it.  I still do a little CM work, but I'm more on the hardware side now.  Probably will start doing more process/CM work over the next few months.

took apart my moms old 486 when i was 11. couldnt figure out how to put it back together. now im 22, only fully-assembled computer ive ever bought was my laptop.

my trip to iraq funded my 10-box sandbox network. im a hands-on learner, figured if i need to learn something best way to do it is to just do it. of course, you can do it all with virtual machines and whatnot, but theres just something to be said for the warm hum of the fans.

army reserve got me settled as a 25B, now ive gotta find a job that dosnt involve talking to the computer illiterate all day.

Im Joe, i have been using Unix and Linux for 11 years now.  As Ire said, Im still learning too.. but im damn good too.. if you need any System Security Help.. give me a shout.. CISSP/SANS certified here!

Later!

DB performance whore. I kill deadlocks.
I build all of my computers (laptops excepted).

Just been checking out this part of AR15. Im a Math/CS/Econ major. I just added CS so I don't know shit past basic knowledge in C++/C

Network Admin for 20 years, Ops Manager now.  A+, MCSE, MCP, etc, etc...Builder of the Deathstar Mainframe

Sr Systems Engineer - OpenVMS, HP-UX, OS X, Windows. Mostly code these days in C/C++ and JAVA. Though I do know and have been known to code in: Dibol, PHP, Perl, Python, VB, C#, Fortan, and COBOL.

about 25 years worth of dealing with those EEEVill computers...

Greetings my brothers and sisters.  Thanks for inviting me into the Nerdery.  I mean Armory.  :D

Anyway, I've been a Microsoft Engineer for about ten years, plenty of hardware background and copper/coax/fiber training.

My big deal is Exchange Messaging and Enterprise security.  I own a small business that is also a Cisco Premier Partner, so we get mad pricing that I can extend if asked.  I know multiple high-end Cisco Experts that get git-r-dun.

That said, I just bought a MacBook Pro and love it.  I still run Windows in Parallels, so it's not like I've abandoned Uncle Bill.  He still pays the majority of my bills. I bought this because it boots in 15 seconds and opens Photoshop CS3 in seven flat.

I also just purchased a pair of IronPort boxes for Enterprise-level Anti-X services.  My IronPort boxes kick ass. ...and they're stainless steel.  :D

Network engineer extraordinaire, here!

-James

33YO Senior UNIX Systems Engineer

Grew up a computer geek but flunked computers in the 6th grade because I didn't keep a notebook.  In the college days I worked for the university multimedia lab and help desk.  Which led to jobs in web design, then to web server administration, then system administration, now they call us System Engineers.

My platform history started out on C64, then to Amigas, to Mac Emulators, to Macs, to Solaris Webservers, to HP-UX and Solaris Big Iron and Oracle databases.  Now things seem to be moving to distributed IBM Blade Centers running enterprise RedHat Linux.

In my spare time I run the local range webserver off a home cable modem connection and a PIII laptop running Suse and Twiki.  The backup webserver is hidden in a comm closet at the office.

starting off in the whole techie world. Taking CompTIA+ now and Network+ shortly.

30-yr IT veteran.  Started with Data General Nova systems and worked through the entire mini-computer craze of the 70s & 80s.  Became a Unix grunt and have worked for major vendors like Sequent, Sun, Veritas, HP & EDS as well as independent consulting.

Now I'm a Data Center/Infrastructure Architect working on Data Center consolidation projects for the .gov.

Anyone in NE Florida hiring?  

IT manager here -
What I know or systems I work with:
Mitel Phone Systems
Best software(MAS, SalesLogix, etc)
HP Printers
Server hardware- self built and Dell
HP managed switches
Copper networking
Linksys, wolverine routing
F5 BIG IP appliances
Lots of MS stuff from all ends of their offerings except for Vista
A/V codecs, multimedia presentation setups for conventions(mostly fan conventions)
Wireless 2.4 & Microwave, including mild levels of wireless security.
Display technology
MAC OSX in a microsoft server2003 environment.
Desktop hardware to the level of most OC enthusiasts who build a new gaming rig every 6 months or so.
Misc stuff you pick up from working with, on, and around computer for most of your life while at and away from work.

I am a big time LAN gamer.  Played competatively in regional tournaments over the past 8 years.  Known fairly well in Eastern Washington.  Good enough to know how far I sit from the top, but not good enough to hold a candle to any true gaming pros.  Shooting/reloading is my most expensive non-computer related hobby.

Just your local tech guy here.  21yo and been workin with computer for almost half of it.  Just started a local service shop because the other ones don't know what the definition of customer service is.  2 weed turnaround is good for them.  Studying for the A+ then network+ and goin up the chain from there.

-Bobby

Just about the most hated person on the network, I'm the Information Assurance Mgr.  Good thing I don't mind being an A-hole.  

Programmer and all around geek here. Right now I'm  trying to get a job as a programmer, but no dice yet. Ask me anything about Star Wars and I WILL know ith In the interest of self promotion here is my website (it's not as feature-packed as fiero loki's site is). kcwebwerx.com

Been in the IT industry for 14 years. Done just about everything From PC support to programming.

Currently a security analyst which keeps me busy.

-MAC-

Just an uninformed non-tech dope hoping to absorb some of ya'lls smarts.

Hi I'm Scott and I'm a big dork :)

I got my first computer when I was 14.  I bugged the living heck out of people asking questions and read everything I could.  I kind of got my start in hacking and phreaking.  I got my first IT job with an ISP when I was 16 and have been in IT ever since (about 14 years or so).  I'm currently a Windows System Administrator and in the next couple weeks or so I will move into my new position as an Exchange / Email Systems Administrator.  I'm stoked about being able to focus on one element of the system.

Hey!!  BT here!

Infosec professional with history similar to the guy above me.  he
Good to meet everyone.

A+, Network+, Security+, MCP(3), BS CompSci, and MBA

Start to Current:
Techie
Military Weapons Hardware Consultant
Biometric Security Consultant
IT Security Consultant
Sarbanes-Oxley Consultant
Web Manager for Online Company
Director for Online Company
Sippin' a cold one on the back deck


edit: probably more than one cold one...maybe two

Hello,

Just found this part of the board. MN techie.

A+, Net +, MCSE, MCTS, MCITP, HP-Procurve Switching, WCSP.

I'm a Network Engineer working for a contracting company. I work in the mid to large business group.

Used to run a LAN center for 4 years also. Yeah I'm also geeky.

Never had a "real" job in the computer industry.  I am A+ certified. I dabble in C/C++ a bit and am doing my best to learn Python. More got into the hardware aspect of computers. I just love taking the things apart. Built/rebuilt over a hundred desktops and a few laptops. Currently building my third "carputer" for my new mustang :D

Never use Windows. (Debian and/or Ubuntu always.)
Proud supporter of open source software!

Network Administrator (Associates Degree) with 13+ years exp with a mid size manufacturing company.  One man IT shop so I get all the headaches.  Win 2K, Win 2003, XP, Exchange, SQL Server, Microsoft Dynamics, AutoCAD, Acom Doc Mgmt...  and the list goes on.

I guess I should intro myself.

9 years in the IT industry.
Currently director of IT.

Doing some CUDA development. (CUDA, C++)

Overclocked my Mac back in 1999 with a #2 pencil.

Whatever.

I am Mad.

I work in telecom, I speak TL1 better then English.

I prefer Mac over Winders.

That is all.

Just found this forum.

I am just getting started in really getting into some fun tech stuff now.

I'll be taking my CCNA exam this summer and hopefully passing.

I am also currently learning Active Directory, Redhat, Server 2003.

I have had classes with SQL (basics mainly), comp. engineering(hardware back to the old IBM stuff up to current), programming (basic skills only), etc.

Like I said I am still covering the basics.  My short term goal being my CCNA this year and longer term goal being CCNP certified within a few years, along with voice certs at some point as well after each exam (CCVA, CCVP)

Hopefully I can use this board to absorb some of other peoples knowledge from experience and training that will help me out in the future.

Just came across this section, figured since I'll probably post from time to time I should probably introduce myself.

Name is John, don't really have any courses/school under my belt.  I'm pretty much self-taught in what I call "the basics and then some".  I've been toying with computers since I was about 9 (1994ish), mid to late 90s was spent doing bad things with our own versions of things like sub7 and optix pro.  We also were really in to phreaking, had our own little crew we called "UPLE"...basically a local sub-group to UPLA.  After that, I made a majority of my money up until the age of 20-21 doing pc home repairs/clean-up/upgrades/etc.  In between I dabbled a little in things like ubuntu, VB(designed/released my own command-controlled mp3 player), web page design, etc.  Never really stuck with anything, and probably should have gone to school for something.  I'm still thinking about getting in to some courses, but I honestly have no idea what I'd be comfortable with.  Definitely no coding or web design, didn't really like that stuff when I tried it out.  I think I'm more of a hardware/fix-it type of guy.

I'll try my best to keep up with you pros.

SysAdmin for the past six years.  NT, AS/400, blah, blah, blah, blah...