Comments on: Need a job? Don't use a Mac
Software at company fielding job applications doesn't support Mac browsers, leaving some prospective employees in the lurch.
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When I interview someone for a job, I couldn't care less what system they got their experience on, it's the ability to think beyond a list of instructions that interests me, not what they use at home or in school.
If someone understands computer systems properly, the type of OS or hardware is irrelevant. The same principles apply to all computers, and being creative in finding solutions to problems is far more important than specific knowledge.
Degrees are nice, simply because they show someone was self motivated enough to do the hard work involved in getting that qualification. The subject of the degree is of no concern, as no conventional degree has anything of value to the tech support world - programming yes, but not supporting and troubleshooting networks or workstations.
Having said that, there are a growing number of technical colleges and institutes that are offering some interesting courses, involving programming routers, understanding and troubleshooting networks, and go way beyond Microsoft or Novell certified courses (which aren't bad, especially Novell's).
Still, I actually find it more valuable that a person has an understanding of "foriegn" operating systems, it shows they will be able to learn new ideas and with a new Windows OS on the horizon, being proficient in supporting XP/Server 2003 is only of limited value.
When I interview someone for a job, I couldn't care less what system they got their experience on, it's the ability to think beyond a list of instructions that interests me, not what they use at home or in school.
If someone understands computer systems properly, the type of OS or hardware is irrelevant. The same principles apply to all computers, and being creative in finding solutions to problems is far more important than specific knowledge.
Degrees are nice, simply because they show someone was self motivated enough to do the hard work involved in getting that qualification. The subject of the degree is of no concern, as no conventional degree has anything of value to the tech support world - programming yes, but not supporting and troubleshooting networks or workstations.
Having said that, there are a growing number of technical colleges and institutes that are offering some interesting courses, involving programming routers, understanding and troubleshooting networks, and go way beyond Microsoft or Novell certified courses (which aren't bad, especially Novell's).
Still, I actually find it more valuable that a person has an understanding of "foriegn" operating systems, it shows they will be able to learn new ideas and with a new Windows OS on the horizon, being proficient in supporting XP/Server 2003 is only of limited value.
the job description REQUIRED Mac-OSX expertise, you couldn't
apply for the job via Mac OSX. That is just bad business.
the job description REQUIRED Mac-OSX expertise, you couldn't
apply for the job via Mac OSX. That is just bad business.
Firefox. A few weeks later, he told me that he was planning to
send a strongly-worded letter to OfficeMax and Staples, because
their rebate Web sites just didn't work. I made a gentle
suggestion, and of course the sites of course worked fine when
he reverted to Internet Explorer.
How many niche Web browsers do we expect companies to
support? When I say "support", I'm not talking about putting a
standards-compliance icon at the bottom of a Web page. People
are deluding themselves if they think that standards can solve all
problems. The devil's in the details. I'm talking about testing a
site and making sure that it looks normal and works properly
with a given Web browser. I'm talking about being able to claim,
"it does work" rather than just, "it should work". Obviously,
companies can't afford to do this for every browser that comes
along.
In trying to support lots of browsers, companies also face a
documentation problem. Different browsers have different
commands, terminology, and/or user interface metaphors for
basic activities like creating a bookmark, downloading a file to
disk, and managing multiple windows. "Bookmark" or "favorite"?
Right-click, control-click, or just click? One URL at a time, or
multiple URLs in separate windows, or multiple URLs in one
window with "tabs"? With so many variations to consider, writing
the "help" document for a consumer-facing Web site becomes a
nightmare -- to say nothing of READING the document, if you're
the unfortunate Web user who's having trouble requesting a
rebate, checking in for a flight, or applying for a job.
The proliferation of niche Web browsers like Opera, Firefox and
Safari may not be such a good thing.
Paul Marcelin-Sampson
Santa Cruz, California, USA
* This comment is not meant to promote Microsoft Internet
Explorer. However, I must say that Explorer is a good browser.
Stupid people claim that niche browsers are inherently more
secure. Obviously, it's easy to improve security when you decide
not to support the full range of active content used by Web sites
today. A better approach is to allow (and indeed, require) the
user to say which Web sites she wants to trust and which ones
she does not. That's what Explorer does, when configured
according to Microsoft's instructions. Explorer's security controls
are much more fine-grained than those of the niche browsers.
Explorer can maintain distinct lists of trusted sites for active
content (the security zones feature), for pop-ups (the pop-up
blocker), and for cookies (the privacy tab). Safari, to pick an
example from the niche browser camp, gives the user much less
control. Safari can block JavaScript on all sites or none. It can
block all pop-ups from all sites or none. It can block cookies
from all sites or none.
web. Are you kidding me?! A company should not discriminate
against anyone. We have laws that protect people from such
discrimination, whether it's EOE (Equal Opportunity Employment)
or making sure a person in a wheelchair or other handicap has
easy access to the facilities of your local Wal-Mart and/or
McDonalds! What these companies should be doing is choosing
and supporting the best technology for reaching those in the
global market and making its products and services available to
all consumers, not a select few. Obviously Internet Explorer
hinders a global reach when dealing with the World Wide Web,
so as a company you look to see what technology can reach
100% of the market, and that happens to be the Mozilla Firefox
and Opera web browsers. Microsoft doesn't offer Internet
Explorer on multiple platforms (thanks to Jim Allchin), so
common sense would tell you that IE is not the preferred web
browser to reach a worldwide audience and/or market. Since
Firefox looks and behaves the same on all computer platforms
(Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, BeOS and etc...) then it's a no
brainer which web browser to support (one that works the same
everywhere). Heck, IE on Windows and Mac are not even the
same. There are hundreds of millions of non-Windows users
out there today, so ignoring that computer user base takes away
from any sort of market potential for any company trying to
meet its profit and revenue goals.
Firefox. A few weeks later, he told me that he was planning to
send a strongly-worded letter to OfficeMax and Staples, because
their rebate Web sites just didn't work. I made a gentle
suggestion, and of course the sites of course worked fine when
he reverted to Internet Explorer.
How many niche Web browsers do we expect companies to
support? When I say "support", I'm not talking about putting a
standards-compliance icon at the bottom of a Web page. People
are deluding themselves if they think that standards can solve all
problems. The devil's in the details. I'm talking about testing a
site and making sure that it looks normal and works properly
with a given Web browser. I'm talking about being able to claim,
"it does work" rather than just, "it should work". Obviously,
companies can't afford to do this for every browser that comes
along.
In trying to support lots of browsers, companies also face a
documentation problem. Different browsers have different
commands, terminology, and/or user interface metaphors for
basic activities like creating a bookmark, downloading a file to
disk, and managing multiple windows. "Bookmark" or "favorite"?
Right-click, control-click, or just click? One URL at a time, or
multiple URLs in separate windows, or multiple URLs in one
window with "tabs"? With so many variations to consider, writing
the "help" document for a consumer-facing Web site becomes a
nightmare -- to say nothing of READING the document, if you're
the unfortunate Web user who's having trouble requesting a
rebate, checking in for a flight, or applying for a job.
The proliferation of niche Web browsers like Opera, Firefox and
Safari may not be such a good thing.
Paul Marcelin-Sampson
Santa Cruz, California, USA
* This comment is not meant to promote Microsoft Internet
Explorer. However, I must say that Explorer is a good browser.
Stupid people claim that niche browsers are inherently more
secure. Obviously, it's easy to improve security when you decide
not to support the full range of active content used by Web sites
today. A better approach is to allow (and indeed, require) the
user to say which Web sites she wants to trust and which ones
she does not. That's what Explorer does, when configured
according to Microsoft's instructions. Explorer's security controls
are much more fine-grained than those of the niche browsers.
Explorer can maintain distinct lists of trusted sites for active
content (the security zones feature), for pop-ups (the pop-up
blocker), and for cookies (the privacy tab). Safari, to pick an
example from the niche browser camp, gives the user much less
control. Safari can block JavaScript on all sites or none. It can
block all pop-ups from all sites or none. It can block cookies
from all sites or none.
web. Are you kidding me?! A company should not discriminate
against anyone. We have laws that protect people from such
discrimination, whether it's EOE (Equal Opportunity Employment)
or making sure a person in a wheelchair or other handicap has
easy access to the facilities of your local Wal-Mart and/or
McDonalds! What these companies should be doing is choosing
and supporting the best technology for reaching those in the
global market and making its products and services available to
all consumers, not a select few. Obviously Internet Explorer
hinders a global reach when dealing with the World Wide Web,
so as a company you look to see what technology can reach
100% of the market, and that happens to be the Mozilla Firefox
and Opera web browsers. Microsoft doesn't offer Internet
Explorer on multiple platforms (thanks to Jim Allchin), so
common sense would tell you that IE is not the preferred web
browser to reach a worldwide audience and/or market. Since
Firefox looks and behaves the same on all computer platforms
(Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, BeOS and etc...) then it's a no
brainer which web browser to support (one that works the same
everywhere). Heck, IE on Windows and Mac are not even the
same. There are hundreds of millions of non-Windows users
out there today, so ignoring that computer user base takes away
from any sort of market potential for any company trying to
meet its profit and revenue goals.
OPENINGS for a job at TimeWarner (via Brassring) you get sent to
Amex. Sloppy.
http://www.timewarner.com/corp/careers/jobtools_us/index.html
the TIMEWARNER site, searched for jobs (via Brassring) you were
sent you to Amex job listings. I'm sure Amex wasn't too happy
about that.
OPENINGS for a job at TimeWarner (via Brassring) you get sent to
Amex. Sloppy.
http://www.timewarner.com/corp/careers/jobtools_us/index.html
the TIMEWARNER site, searched for jobs (via Brassring) you were
sent you to Amex job listings. I'm sure Amex wasn't too happy
about that.
Mac users on average earn more money than PC users. Amex is pretty useless anyway compared to Visa.
stealing from me. They were using my account to purchase
services from their subsidiaries without my permission. When I
caught them in the act, all they did was to cancel the charges. If
you or I were caught stealing, we'd have to do more than give
back what we stole, but apparently when you're a big
corporation, the standards of ethical conduct are not quite so
rigorous. I have, of course, cancelled the account, but just try
getting anyone to prosecute the crime.
American Express is a sleazy, unethical company. I wouldn't
work for them or do business with them. If you have an
American Express card, I advise you to cancel it and go over
your statements with a magnifying glass.
Mac users on average earn more money than PC users. Amex is pretty useless anyway compared to Visa.
stealing from me. They were using my account to purchase
services from their subsidiaries without my permission. When I
caught them in the act, all they did was to cancel the charges. If
you or I were caught stealing, we'd have to do more than give
back what we stole, but apparently when you're a big
corporation, the standards of ethical conduct are not quite so
rigorous. I have, of course, cancelled the account, but just try
getting anyone to prosecute the crime.
American Express is a sleazy, unethical company. I wouldn't
work for them or do business with them. If you have an
American Express card, I advise you to cancel it and go over
your statements with a magnifying glass.
on a Mac. Over 45% of people creating Podcasts are on a Mac.
These are the people that are on the leading edge of Tech. These
companies are missing out on the most creative and technically
advanced employees. A company is only as good as its employees.
Long term this will effect some of those companies.
on a Mac. Over 45% of people creating Podcasts are on a Mac.
These are the people that are on the leading edge of Tech. These
companies are missing out on the most creative and technically
advanced employees. A company is only as good as its employees.
Long term this will effect some of those companies.
several companies using Brassring... it doesn't render very nicely,
but clearly they're not too concerned with site layout anyway...
ahem... Safari has never given me a problem with it, on any Mac I
have. So the Amex site would probably drive me crazy, I would
otherwise be able to use it, but it would detect my browser and
shut me out. Double-edged sword, not supporting a platform...
several companies using Brassring... it doesn't render very nicely,
but clearly they're not too concerned with site layout anyway...
ahem... Safari has never given me a problem with it, on any Mac I
have. So the Amex site would probably drive me crazy, I would
otherwise be able to use it, but it would detect my browser and
shut me out. Double-edged sword, not supporting a platform...
- It will change...
- by October 28, 2005 11:53 PM PDT
- One day..., Mac will rule... It is near.......
- Like this Reply to this comment
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