31 Jul
2007
31 Jul
'07
3:53 p.m.
On Jul 31, 2007, at 11:30 AM, Roy J. Tellason wrote:
That's absolutely correct, because most HR drones don't actually
look for people who know anything about computers. If Joe wants to
learn something about computers, as opposed to learning only what's
guaranteed to get him a job in a suitly company, then I very strongly
recommend that he pursue the path that he discussed above.
Joe...As for your not being hopeful about building a TTL-based
computer from scratch...The knowledge required to do it is readily
available. If you REALLY want to do it, you can. Your father's
assertion that he couldn't do it after six years of college is really
irrelevant here...not many college EE programs teach anything about
low-level computer architecture, and sadly, even fewer CS programs
do. Learn about boolean algebra, learn about Karnaugh maps and other
minimization techniques, learn about combinatorial and sequential
logic...not only will you be able to design and build a TTL-based
computer, but you'll end up knowing more about *computers* (as
opposed to "how to install Microsoft products on PCs") than most
anyone churned out by today's colleges.
Further (also directed at Joe)...As you already very obviously
know, it's actually possible for one to learn something without it
being spoon-fed in a school.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
As for your
second question, I would find it to be really
fascinating to
build a computer out of TTL, but again, I need some kind of
resource to
guide me through it. All my knowledge on electronic circuitry is
very basic
right now. My father, an electrical engineer, tells be that he
couldn't
even do it after six years of college(although, he graduated 20
years ago),
so I'm not very hopeful that I could.
Third, commercial software would be nice, but I don't need it. I
would very
much like to learn machine code. I figure that when I start college
interviews in a year going toward something in the technology
field, I'd
like to have as much pre-knowledge of computer science as I can. I
figure
that there's no better way than to build and program a computer.
It will
take me a long time, but it would be worth it.
That sort of thing tends to not have very much use in today's job
market,
unfortunately.