On 9/1/1998 Susan Sutherland wrote:
>
>I have a question for all technicians out there, or consultants, or
>basically anyone who works in, or has experience in, the computer
>business.


Susan:

Knowledge (i.e. the acquisition, accumulation, organization and
the cognitive application thereof) is the key factor in the building,
upgrading and repairing of computers in a consulting business.
Technical skills and methodology are also important but the
former commands the consulting fees while the latter (sorry,
techs), collect high-skilled labor wages.

So, what information do you need? Well, there's conceptual
knowledge, technical knowledge, hardware specific knowledge,
articulated experience and business acumen. Most of the simple
and arcane can be found in books, so a good library is essential.
However, you should also build your own knowledge base.

I keep a variety of notebooks on various subjects, divided into
topics. I keep notebooks on motherboard manuals, hard drives,
adapter cards, documented and undocumented OS commands,
company contact information, URLs of useful websites, BIOS
information and error codes, all manner of charts, tables, lists
and schematics.

As you undertake jobs, try to organize your acquired knowledge
and put it into your notebook. A hard copy, as well as a digital
copy for quick reference on your PC, is important.

Also, keep a hard drive with every driver, software fix, etc. you
come across. When it fills up, burn them onto a CD (I also have
this desire to scan in the hard copy and written materials as PDF
files and burn these also into a CD). Putting your knowledge on
CD makes it accessible while on the go. You can see organization
is very important. Find a mnemonic system that works for you.
Since I teach, and do not consult, my organization will be different
from yours. A free form database or quick-search ability is a must.

        TIP:   Put your Boot diskettes on CD, too. Use
        SAVEDSKF & LOADDSKF from IBM to save
        and restore Boot diskette images to a file. Get it at:
        ftp://service.boulder.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/tools/ldf/

You should store every piece of knowledge and wisdom that seems
useful to you, in your system. I realize there are truths, near-truths,
good/bad opinions, odd empiricisms, paradoxes, wildly misleading
statements and just plain apocryphal notions, but you have to find
a method to evaluate any unconfirmed information. Learning the
fundamental concepts with a scientific perspective will improve your
BS detection ability. Use PCBUILD; it is an extremely valuable
resource as a knowledge base, a reference, an oracle, straw poll,
and the nexus of helpful PC enthusiasts.

Remember that this is a service industry. Therefore, confidence
and decisiveness in handling information and rendering advice is
highly desirable. You cannot go wrong having your knowledge base
as a quick reference, and it appears more professional than looking
in a published book.

Good luck.

John Chin

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