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I'm in need of some direction... to anyone out there who has done something awesome with computers (graphics editing, hacking, programming, networking, etc..), I just want to know how you got started. I would consider myself a high end user, mid level troubleshooter. I've never really had any proffesional training so basically learned everything I know from trial and error. That being said, my computer lingo is pretty crappy, and there's a lot of stuff I can do but have no way of really explaining what I do. I want to remedy this, and why not start by asking the best forum on the net. Where should I begin, or am I even making sense to anyone but myself? =) It's a pretty vague description but any help or flames are appreciated.

Hey Clyde. I wouldn't be so bold as to say i've done anything awesome with computers, but I'll give my 2 cents, for whatever it's worth. I'm in college right now, working on a computer science degree. But what I can tell you is that you learn things best on your own. This isn't to say i've learned nothing from school. But if you really have a passion for something, you can learn it yourself. For instance, let's say you wanted to do some programming project. Say you've heard the word "java" buzzing around alot... Look into it, and if it looks interesting, go for it. You'd be surprised at what you could do. A recent thing I've worked on for one of my classes is a little 3-d game using C++ and a programming library called OpenGL. It was actually pretty fun and rewarding, and not as hard as you might think.



On second thought, it sounds like that may be a little advanced for you at this point... A thing you could do is build your own computer. It's a good way to get acclimated to computer hardware. You can buy a book specifically on building a pc at your local Borders. Then maybe learn a little C++ or java... or make a webpage if that's too hardcore for you. Pick something that looks fun, ask yourself what tools you need to get there (or ask on a forum), and then teach yourself.



By the way, trial/error is inherent to this field. In my opinion, almost everything computer-related is a "hack" or at least an illusion of some sort. Hope that helps at least a little.

But what I can tell you is that you learn things best on your own.



On that note i agree. Im 26 years old and have been building computers for over 13 years now and have been working on them professionally (IT Consultant) and it takes years and years to even get the basics down pat. It all depends on what aspect you enjoy most. Hardware, Software, Programming, Building, Troubleshooting the catagories are so broad that its hard to cover one spectrum in general.

I think the best thing to do is pick something and stick with it. There is so much out there that you can do with a computer. You need to find something you really enjoy and stick with it. I have a similar problem where I don't really feel like I can do a whole lot with a computer. I want to learn everything and end up only learning a little about everything which doesn't accomplish much. So find something you really like and stick to it. Download or buy books, get the tools or whatever it is you need to be able to do what your interested in. My current project is linux shell script programming. It is a good begining project with the book I currently have. If I could just make myself master it then I would learn tons on the way and be able to claim something.

HTML is also a great starting point to really feel like your doing something. If you don't know what to make a website about. Just make it about your adventures in HTML and master it. Anyway, whatever it is you like. Master it, and claim it.