Seriously, I cannot stand computer geeks who fake knowing shit. It pisses me off to no end. One of the more popular geek wannabes is Robert Scoble, the former Microsoft Technical Evangelist, who now works for PodTech. He pretends to be a geek, always taking about how he’s such a geek, yet he proves time and time again that he knows nothing of the sorts.
For example, a recent post of his has him looking for wiki software to use, and he just wants some free service to leech from. What a true computer geek would do would be to install and setup your own damn wiki software. Maybe something like MediaWiki which powers Wikipedia would work, or any other wiki software packages. But, Scoble proves he can’t do it, so he’s constantly relying on someone else to power his software. He even went with WordPress.com, instead of downloading and installing WordPress on his own server, or at least a server he uses from a webhosting company.
How does a fake geek work at Microsoft, and get so much press? He fakes knowing stuff all the time, and you’ll usually catch him in a rant about how RSS is so good. He talks about RSS all the time, but does nothing to use or exploit it…like, say, writing a perl script to parse XML files and display content.
Plus, he’s so quick to jump on bandwagons, too, like video blogs. WTF? Scoble, are you saying you’re too good to write now?
I could go on and on, but I don’t feel like it. If you want to see Scoble in action, just visit his blog I linked to earlier, and read on. If you’re a true hardcore computer geek, you’ll be laughing for ass off before you even get to the archives.
Dude are you kidding me? I am a Senior Technology Specialist, build systems for Fortune 500 companies as part of my job and I still look for easy to use hosting. Robert, like me, has a family and hence other obligations so whenever we can do things the easy way for personal use, we do it. Its called life balance. Doesn’t make one less Geeky it just makes sure you can still have a life. If that makes me a Geek wannabe then so be it but any time you want to talk quantum physics, string theory, etc. be happy to.
It would take like 20 minutes, if that, to setup a wiki. But we all know he has plenty of time to write about it on his blog. Oh, and I said computer geek, not science geek or any other kind of geek. And I know about quantum computing (mainly in terms of quantum cryptography) and string theory.
Plus, if you want life balance and still want to be geeky, do what I did: I wrote a UNIX shell script to install source (yes, source) packages automatically, and to build them as well.
Whoa dude! You like rock and stuff. I wish I could be as cool as you are. I mean, come on, there’s nothing cooler then personal character assasinations. Rock on man!
I really like Robert’s response to your rant. You truly are the man in blue.
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=218493
You’re a f*cking idiot.
Hey Cody~ Are you related to Steve Gilmor? Sounds like the same kind of snarky to me. (Just havin’ some fun…) Steve likes to toot his own horn too. ;)
Cody there is nothing heroic in doing more hard work than yo need, espcially when you get the same results provided by others for free:-)
The Geeks that really improve our lives are not the ones who slave away just so they can be proud of themselves, but the ones who invent/ create new things.
But that’s OK, build your own stuff, be proud of redoing everything… you’ll grow up one day :-)
sooooooooo true!!!
LAMER
Actually, a podcast where Cody came on and called me an idiot cause I don’t know how to run a compiler with Steve Gillmor saying Office is Dead would be a damn funny show. All we’d need is Ze Frank and we’d have a runaway Internet hit!
Installing software is never the issue for spomeone with other obligations like kids (I happen to have two… and yes they come before any personal tech projects). Once you have an application that you set up and maintain then you have to support it, troubleshoot it when there is a problem, etc. That’s what takes the real time. So the fact that you installed a Wiki app in a few minutes is not a big deal. No one is doubting your skills, it’s your skewed perception that’s faulty. When I set up a corporate intranet pilot the initial setup for me to provide a rich user experience is just over 30 minutes. In under an hour I can have a whole range of features running, but then again its the ongoing maintenance and support that are the real time hogs and anyone who has worked in the field for a while knows that. Hence, many of you still choose to let go and let someone else.
Should have added that I do think its great that your young and so full of energy and personal drive. Now is the time in your life to devote that energy to all your passion.
Yeah, Ive been passionate about computers since I was young, and its been with me ever since.
Sometimes I rant, like you see above. But thats not me all the time. I am really laid back but I get my work done. I love exploring new technology, its one of my favorite things to talk about, as my girl can tell you, lol.
:-)
Hey we all get on the soap box once in awhile. I have sure done so my fair shar of time. As I have gotten older though I have mellowed exponentially. Well I gotta pack as I have to get ready to fly out to the Mothership (Redmond) tomorrow morning.
Have a great weekend.
I hate fake Geeks
Seriously, I cannot stand geeks who fake it. It pisses me off to no end. One of the more popular geek wannabes is Cody Rester, the former Teenager, who now does Computer Studies. He pretends to be a geek, always taking about how he�s such a geek, yet he proves time and time again that he knows nothing of the sorts.
For example, a recent post of his has him showing off his Perl software to get weather via XML. What a true computer geek would do would be to install and setup your own damn weather station, read the analog feeds and implement a solar-powered A-D converter. But, Cody proves he can�t do it, so he�s constantly standing on someone else’s shoulders to power his software. He even went with WordPress.com, instead of writing his own operating system, web server, scripting language and blogging engine - he downloaded and installed WordPress on his own server, or at least a server he uses rents from a webhosting company.
How does a fake geek work at get to Blog, and get so much press? He fakes knowing stuff all the time, like girls, and you�ll usually catch him in a rant about how Unix is so good. He talks about Unix all the time, but does nothing to use or exploit it�like, say, using a word processor with a spell checker.
Plus, he�s so quick to jump on bandwagons, too, like Scoble. WTF? Cody, you don’t even have Google Adsense to gleen all that click through revenue!
I could go on and on, but I don�t feel like it. If you want to see Cody in action, just visit his blog I linked to earlier, and read on. If you�re a true hardcore computer geek, you�ll be laughing for ass off before you even get to the archives.
LOL, nice “original” argument there.
Maryam says to stop picking on Cody. She says he’s right, although, she says that Cody’s argument would be a lot stronger if he pointed out that I’m not a computer programmer.
Thanks Maryam :)
Can’t seem to find your source code anywhere?!?!? Unless your counting shell scripts?!?!? pfft… there is always someone more hardcore than you and as proven by Scoble, someone more insightful.
Because I’m not a programmer. My programming knowledge consists of intermediate PHP, and intermediate Java. I write shell scripts and perl scripts because I find scripting easier and more productive for me.
My main skills lie with Networking, Security, Web Design, and UNIX.
Actually a true geek who is following the trends of today would write his/her own wiki, blog or website using Ruby on Rails on his own time and then release it as Open Source. ;)
Everybody wants to hate Scoble because they want to be Scoble, who wouldn’t, he’s getting rockstar treatment everywhere he goes.
:)
Oh BTW Cody, I like the design of the blog. Nice, simple and to the point.
Cody is right. I mean, look how defensive Scoble gets when called out. How many times did he comment on this post, let alone apparently link it on his blog? Like they saying goes. “Me thinks thou doest protest too much”
I have to side with Robert here, Cody. He makes some interesting points that I think you kind of don’t really seem to take. He is a lot older and thus he has the experience and already knows the tricks. Also, and Robert really does make a good point with this, if someone offered to host your blog for no charge, wouldn’t you take him up on it? I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s just one less thing Robert has to worry about.
But I will say this, you are more of a computer geek than I am. :)
Real Geeks Use Tools
Wow, talk about a penis war.
> I\�ve
A “true geek” would have functional escaping and unescaping in thier comments, that doesn’t leave backslashes in comments…
Amen.
Actually, the fault is within WordPress itself, as when I go back to edit a comment, it’s not escaping correctly. I may need to re-upload some files, as it didn’t happen before I upgraded to WordPress 2.0.3
Oh, and I think I know about escape characters and regex. Take a look at this post I made months ago:
http://computerhelpforum.org/forum/index.php?s=&showtopic=6775&view=findpost&p=62978
sed has nothing to do with Wordpress…
Re-upload files? Try hacking the PHP code…
I was trying to prove a point about escaping, not sed.
As far as WordPress, I’m sure there is no problem with it’s files, it’s just that when I upgraded, some of the files might have gotten corrupted, causing issues like this. Which is why I need to “re-upload” the files, fixing the issue.
A corrupt PHP file wouldn’t not escape correctly, it wouldnt work at all…jus’ sayin’.
hehe you’ve opened a can of worms here cody - there’s always someone more geeky around. where to draw the line between “fake” and “real” geeks is different for every geek…but hey, great linkbaiting job :-)
As far as WordPress, I�m sure there is no problem with it�s files, it�s just that when I upgraded, some of the files might have gotten corrupted, causing issues like this.
Nope, it’s a bug in WP 2.0.3. This plugin is a temporary fix.
Looks like you accomplished what you wanted. Scoble linked to you.
Right on, Cody! You tell it like it is - that someone who actually gets PAID to show the world how geeky he is doesn’t match-up with someone who still lives at home with his parents and has significanty less experience with geek-stuff…not to mention your jedi-geek skills! I just hope that you don’t catch pneumonia by keeping to yourself in your parent’s dark, dank & damp basement.
As for me (not intending to honk my own horn, but what the hey!), I could probably out-geek you AND Mr. Scoble combined…but you don’t see me whining about it like a geeky-sissy like you. With over 25 years of IT/IS/MIS/DP experience (Yeah, back when they called it “Data Processing”), my geek-badge is significantly bigger, but that’s not the point; do what Scoble does or do it bigger, because from what I see, you’re just a Guppy at the Aquarium.
Remember this: A TRUE geek doesn’t pound his chest about being a geek.
So what if I’m not PAID to be geeky (Scoble) and I live at home. What the hell does that have to do with how much I know and what I can do?
I think you need to be worried, really worried, about me and when I enter the job market. You’re the kind of geek that thinks they don’t have to watch their skills because they’ve made it 30 years ago. You should start paying more attention to people like me.
Scottkin has a point “A True geek doesnt’ pound his chest about being one.” You tell everyone all the time you are Geek, and wear it as a sort of badge of honour, pathetic.
After browsing your blog and archives it appears you dont spend hardly any time with anything you do, and it does read like a comic view of a wanna be geek.
Me a wannabe geek? Ha. I’ve been using computers for over 9 years now, *nix systems for 3 years, in college majoring in Information Technology, and I spend a lot of time playing with new technologies and software so I can understand how they work, and so I know how to use them in the future.
And of course I’m proud to be a geek. I wouldn’t be Cody if I wasn’t.
I’m reminded of the quote from the Army Ranger ads: “The Rangers never do anything the easy way.” I hope they mean in training, because if the Rangers are too stupid to find the easiest path, it doesn’t say much for the current crop. Your rant against Scoble (or other “wannabe geeks”) strikes me the same way.
Cody, technology has a place and a time. Balance in life is recognizing that place and that time. Accordingly, I’m also reminded of what the audio world knows as “tweaks”;;people who love high-end audio for the technology, and not because of the music. Love technology for what it can do… not just for the technology itself. Not understanding this is why some people become slaves to the stuff, instead of the stuff being their slave.
If I don’t qualify as an uber-geek because I choose having a life over immersing myself in more and more technology, then I’m happy to wear the “wannabe geek” label. I much prefer to be known as someone who can speak intelligently with uber-geeks, but also possesses enough communication and social skills to interface with people, and not just hardware.
Now, if your post intended to inflame and gather hits, then it appears you succeeded. If you intended to demonstrate an overinflated ego, then it appears you succeeded there too.
As far as worrying about you entering the marketplace, I think ScottKin has little to worry about. Now that Y2K has passed, geeks with egos are a dime a dozen. The ones we keep (and pay) are the ones we can stand to be around.
Why can’t there be varying levels of geekiness? And why do you get to decide what the definition of a geek is? I’d say you sound more like a nerd than a geek, what with all the perl script writing and such, but that’s just name-calling, and we’re more mature than that right? I thought so.
Anyway, I agree with just about everyone else, there’s a time and place for technology, and sometimes there are better ways of doing something than just trying to do it yourself. In fact, that’s one of the most important things I have learned in the last couple years.
Oh and get off your high horse. I’m 22 years old, and I agree that young people can do some amazing things, but “watch out for me when I enter the workforce”? Please…let your accomplishments speak for themselves mmkay? You’re giving all us young people a bad rap.
Cody, if you really wanna call Scoble a fake geek, build up some credentials by knowing a real programming language, I recommend C/C++. Looking at your skillset you sound naive calling yourself a geek. Most CS students in their sophomore year can do what you do and they don’t boast. It doesn’t really matter what you do with scripts in your “unix” system, there are thousands of guys who hack Linux system code. I laugh when somebody with install/configuration experience in some software packages think they are gods. There are two kinds of people who are way ahead of you, brilliant engineers who design and write software a.k.a developers (eg: Raymond Chen http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/ ) and people like Scoble who are extremely knoledgable of the technology domain from a non-programming standpoint. OR, you can show your street creds by posting your thoughts on why INODE in Unix should be re-designed
Jeez!
You guys trampling him down! Just give give him a chance — he will overcome his arrogance and use technology for love, not for bitching. Yay!
Wow… 9 whole years? Like 8 + 1 years? 7 + 2? 10 - 1? Dude… that’s insane! Nobody has EVER been using computers for that long… Wait… isn’t that like half your life? Could you even read when you were that age?
Heh… seriously man, geek or not, nobody needs to worry about you entering the job market with the kind of attitude you have. You’ll find that knowing alot isn’t what gets you places. It’s knowing alot and having a personality as well. Remember, you will have to work with other people when you get out into the real world.
Cody,
Seriously?
Or don’t even think about entering the job market — job market is evil, just live with your parents and be happy.
Believe me, you *won’t* like to enter the job market .
I just have to say that all these comments are funny as hell. I think some people got more pissed off about me than I did when I wrote this post! That’s scary.
Pissed? Hardly. More of something between sad and amused. Sad that your potential may never be realized (due to attitude) and amused at the unearned arrogance and bravado.
Read these comments carefully. There are people who were insulted, and people who held up “CAUTION” signs to you. The former got you a lot of hits. The latter can save you grief down the road, because we’ve seen many, many (good) people come and go with a similar attitude, and it’s always frustrating seeing what they *don’t* accomplish. - Tim
P.S. Read the lyrics to Billy Joel’s “Angry Young Man.” It should sound very familiar. Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes: “There is nothing new under the sun.”
Cody Cody Cody… when will the world learn.
IT’S ALL ABOUT OUTSOURCING!
Why pay money when someone will host your blog for free? Some ullshit power trip? Or do you just like using PHP (which, if you haven’t noticed, stores its booleans as 32bit floating point numbers, because it has no type casting. Open source at it’s best?)
Well, I’ll let you get back to your life. I hope you never have to impliment any sort of centralized authentication/directory services using *nix. Active Directory is love my friend, and when you actually hit the “job market”, you’ll learn that open source has a place - on the geek’s desktop, not on the enterprise desktop.
Have fun paying out Scoble, the rest of the world is laughing at you. But at least you got some hits on your blog right, and that makes your internet penis 750px big?
Oh and I noticed you’re using Flikr - aren’t you “leet” enough to set up your own photo gallery?
Anyway, I’m off. Have fun.
I know how to setup and use Active Directory, I’ve done it before in Windows Server 2003. Oh, and if you’re not aware of this, I could just setup an Open Source LDAP server if I wanted authentication. Dumbass.
And I use flickr because I feel like it. What, you have a problem with that? Sure, I could set up my own photo gallery if I wanted to, but I don’t use Flickr that much as is, so setting my own gallery system up wouldn’t make sense.
The rest of the world is not “laughing at me” but rather at your stupid comments, bashing and flaming me, and you don’t even know what I’m capable of on computers.
Wow man, LDAP! Woo! LDAP! I love the open source answer to Geoup Policy’s ability to remotey install applications based on user/role: The most inventive I’ve seen so far is wget with a shell script.
And Scoble uses wordpress.com because he feels like it. It suits his needs the best, and it wouldn’t make sense for him to run his own copy.
…and you seem to be awfully defensive about your skillset? Are you worried that your ‘leet AVG anti-virus skillz may not be current in todays marketplace? Let’s face it, eTrust is where it’s at peoples!
Hey Guys…he’s just really young and doesn’t realise how immature he is acting. He’ll grow up one day, and hopefully lose the attitude.
Cody, I hate it when people try to fake being geek as well, I come across it all the time in my line of work. But I hate it even more when a so-called geek tries to talk about what he can do or how good he is. In all of my career, I have found the top geeks are incredibly humble about their skills.
By the way, you haven’t got anything to boast about unless you’ve written your own operating system or designed your own compiler or language…when you’ve done some of that stuff and can talk intelligently around it, then you’ll earn some real cred.