Compu & IT Solutions

My loving husband and I

My three Kids...

Niekie (Nicoleen jr) - my youngest - 220% energy loaded; can do lots and LOTS of things that even boys can't do; wants to become a vet and a teacher and a singer and a model and an artist and a fisherman (because she wants to go deep-sea fishing with dad)
Eddie - his mom's little computer programmer; started to learn Delphi at the age of 9; writes his own computer games; wrote the code (and implemented a workable version) for PackMan at age 12; very proficient with the 3D Art program called Blender, as well as Macromedia Flash and PhotoShop
Wynand - my eldest - just like his sister he's also a handful; hardware (and all sorts of gadgets & gizmos) whiz who's devoting practically all of his time to computers and electronics; has been appointed by the Bebo site as one of the top 10 skin developers in the world

Compu & IT Solutions is the result of many things, but to cut a long story short, I'll get straight to it...

I'm not going to give an exact list and/or the details of everything that we do, here; I believe that's what the Home Page (and the rest of the site) is for. However, and for the sake of completeness, I'll just briefly disclose the fact that, before all of these extra, additional products and services came along, we started out as a :

1) support system, the purpose of which is the training and online facilitating of Computer Science and Information Technology students

and

2) a business that provides software courses, the purpose of which is to teach students computer programming, end-user computing and webpage designing.

Thus, this "About us" discussion will be in line with our Online Campus and the software products that were developed to supplement this campus, because that's where everything began.....

So, even if you don't have the slightest clue what I'm talking about, at least you'll realize that the "original" target audiences for both of our websites, had been students. Maybe you'll understand - and consequently get a feel for - the nature of our websites i.e. why we've decided to keep both the Online Campus and this site informational and/or community types of websites, even though we're also into e-commerce nowadays. You might even realize how the little leaves fit into the cycle of cycles... In short : Teaching students about computers, IT and computer programming, have always been my greatest passion.

Back to our story....

Personally, I think there's a very huge demand for professional and qualified teachers as far as it concerns subjects such as Comp Sci and IT. This is particular true in the case of teaching Computer Science and Information Technology at secondary level. In my opinion, a schoolteacher simply cannot teach you computer programming, or any kind of specialized computer related subject for that matter. To learn computer programming, you'll need someone who's capable of teaching you computer programming. This means that you'll need a computer specialist and/or a computer programmer to teach you. Being able to teach doesn't make you a computer specialist any more than being able to hotwire cars makes you an automotive engineer....... Sorry for being so blunt.

While the rest of the crew ran off to join MIT, IBM and the like, I've confined myself to the educational system... And since I've taught Computer Science and Information Technology myself (even though I'm not a schoolteacher), I've been fortunate enough to get in contact with these kinds of students. Been there, done that. Therefore, I know (I'm not assuming, I KNOW) that, due to the fact that their teachers ain't computer programmers or software engineers themselves, Comp Sci and IT students are pretty much on their own.... At university level we don't have this kind of problem. Why ?? Because, at university level only highly qualified computer scientists and/or computer professionals are assigned and/or hold the position of being Computer Science or Information Technology lecturers.

My conclusion was that, as far as it concerns the tuition of Comp Sci and IT at secondary level, problems are inevitable; there will ALWAYS be problems. It's a fact that we need to deal with : highly qualified computer professionals are mostly employed in the industry and/or private sector (or at universities). For instance, you don't see Bill Gates or any of the other guys from Microsoft hang out at your school's computer lab, do you ??

Still, parents feel that this is a lame excuse and that their children should be able to study and complete computer subjects successfully (even if there's no such thing as a computer-programmer-type-of-teacher). Therefore, planning and managing our children's school careers and finding qualified educators in terms of Comp Sci and IT, became an imperative process. Parents started to hunt all over for "willing to teach our children" computer programmers - many of those people still live to tell the tale..... The dark side to this story was that, for many parents this process of finding qualified teachers (i.e. computer programmers willing to teach the art of computer programming etc.), had become mission impossible. As a result, signing up (and/or enrolling) for subjects such as Comp Sci and IT became a burden, not to mention the nightmare that the ever-trying-so-hard-to-pass students and parents had to endure.....

Obviously, something had to be done. A "solution" had to be found. And this is exactly where Compu & IT Solutions comes into play..... In a nutshell : Compu & IT Solutions wants to bridge this gap in that it functions as a support system for Comp Sci & IT students.

Why would I want to do this i.e. why do I want to see Comp Sci and/or IT students getting along with their studies ?? There are many reasons, but I think if they'd force me to come up with a single answer, it would be because I want to see the hacker community grow. (Please, don't get me wrong on this one; there's a difference between hackers and crackers. Have a look at the definition of a hacker if you don't know what it is.)

Eric S. Raymond once said :

There is a community, a shared culture, of expert programmers and networking wizards that traces its history back through decades to the first time-sharing minicomputers and the earliest ARPAnet experiments. The members of this culture originated the term 'hacker'. Hackers built the Internet. Hackers made the Unix operating system what it is today. Hackers run Usenet. Hackers make the World Wide Web work. If you are part of this culture, if you have contributed to it and other people in it know who you are and call you a hacker, you're a hacker.

Specifically, hackerdom is what anthropologists call a gift culture. You gain status and reputation in it not by dominating other people, nor by being beautiful, nor by having things other people want, but rather by giving things away. Specifically, by giving away your time, your creativity, and the results of your skill.

Contrary to popular myth, you don't have to be a nerd to be a hacker. It does help, however, and many hackers are in fact nerds. Being a social outcast helps you stay concentrated on the really important things, like thinking and hacking.

If you can manage to concentrate enough on hacking to be good at it and still have a life, that's fine.

If you're attracted to hacking because you don't have a life, that's OK too — at least you won't have trouble concentrating. Maybe you'll get a life later on.

Also have a look at what Paul Graham has got to say.. Many hackers have been able to relate to almost everything he says... Personally, I think he's a genius in that he's able to understand most of the problems that came along, and that are subsequently encoded into our (the computer nerd's) make-up.... Yet I have to admit that, when it comes to pure hackers, there's probably no better example than my all-time favorite, Linus Torvalds. He's been a role model for me since I (myself) started to study Comp Sci & IT, long ago (I'm not going to say exactly "when" because I like the idea of people thinking that I'm still 21). Nonetheless, I think by this time I'll be able to write a book about him. I will put some more detail about him on this website some other time because I believe that, with regard to the many potential and "aspirant hackers" out there, Linus truly is a source of INSPIRATION.

Anyhow, I want to see students studying Comp Sci and IT, and I want to see them completing their studies successfully, and eventually, I want to see all of them becoming computer specialists. I don't want to see students dropping out simply because it's been too difficult and/or because they couldn't cope etc. etc. These things are meant to be understood, and the world of computers is actually meant to be understood. It's definitely not supposed to be easy and, as a matter of fact, it's going to get more and more difficult every year. However, somewhere deep down within all of that difficulty, there's a lot of SENSE. The inventors (and creators) of all these seemingly "incomprehensibility" were (believe it or not) HUMAN. They weren't machines. And if THEY were able to follow what's going on, and if they could do it, then so can you !! You don't give up. Hackers never give up. (I've probably "unleashed" yet another "cycle" within the world of cycles ?? Have a look at the story behind our little leaves and decide for yourself).

Becoming a computer scientist will take intelligence, ambition, willpower, determination, dedication, hard work, a lot of effort, practice, patience and, of course, a love for computers. Now, regarding the first item, I'm not really in a position to help you. This is something you inherit and/or something implanted in your genes. However, I believe that, with enough of all the other elements, this equation could be brought to an equilibrium, meaning that the balance could be restored. In plain English : even the normal, average kind of student can become a computer professional.

Patience is a very important characteristic. This is especially true in the case of new/beginner programmers. There’s no way that your code is going to compile perfectly every time, and in the beginning it’ll feel as if your code never wants to compile correctly. In fact, it’s not uncommon to struggle for days on end with a piece of code that won’t compile or that won’t give the results you expect from it. This is very frustrating, and it’s going to put your patience- and perseverance levels to the test (EXTREME tests - "tests" as in plural, zillions of them). Without patience, you’ll never make it as a computer programmer… Fact : computer programming is NOT for impatient people because, PROBLEM SOLVING is NOT for impatient people.

Something else that might be interesting… Apart from all the features and characteristics that I’ve already mentioned, you might also like to know that computer programmers (or at least, those of them who are very good at what they’re doing) are people with an eye for detail, precision and accuracy. That’s just how it is. Inattentive and sloppy people never make it as programmers (“sloppy” in terms of your work, not your looks :) ). Computer nerds might give the impression of “sloppy” people, but don’t think they don’t know what’s going on around them.. we know EVERYTHING and more, even if it doesn’t seem so. And if we don’t know something, we know exactly how to get any sort of information.. accurately and in a timely fashion. We KNOW how to solve problems, and we KNOW how to solve those problems that we ourselves can’t solve right away… so, yes, we’re back at the concept of never ending cycles (have a look at the story about the leaves). Anyway, our looks might be deceiving but never underestimate us, ‘cause we’re probably the most attentive kind of species you’ll ever come across :)

The world of Computer Science and Information Technology is very different from everything else; it's a world with a whole complicated logic of its own. It's a world of fun but, it's also an obscure world... It's called "cyber jungle" and, in order to survive, you need to enjoy solving problems and overcoming limits. Why ?? Because that's what computer programming involves. You will have to slog through the code, battling your way through all sorts of obstacles to the ultimate goal : the SOLUTION to a certain problem. So, stated in another way... you need to get a kick out of solving problems and exercising your skills and intelligence (whether it being in terms of computer programming, end-user computing, webpage designing, configuring hardware and networks etc.) If this is not the case, you don't belong here......

I'm stressing the fact that you should "enjoy" this because I believe that nobody with two live brain cells should ever be forced to do something boring. Creative, innovative, productive and intelligent people are a valuable and limited resource. Hence, I believe that these kinds of people should never be trapped in some rut which they don't enjoy. They should always be fascinated by the problems that ought to be solved and they need to love what they're doing. Why ?? Because this would result in them doing what only they can do : solve problems. I'm also stressing the fact that everything regarding the world of computers revolves around "solving problems", because there are a few oaks out there who think that they can just cruise along and that all the problems they're about to face, will just disappear in some mysterious kind of way.... I don't know from which planet you are, but this is the real world, and in the real world there's no such thing as magic. In the real world people obtain their goals through dedication and hard work. If you love what you're doing, the hard work and determination and dedication will all become a kind of intense play. In other words, the boundaries between these features all tend to disappear, or to merge into some sort of high-level creative playfulness.

So, what kind of armor do you need for this kind of war ?? Computer programming is a complex skill and I can't give complete instructions on how to learn to program here. But, yes, you need competence at skills that involve mental acuteness, craft, and concentration. And apart from this, it's also very important that you LOVE solving problems - 10/10 if you get a thrill from this. I'm almost inclined to state that you also need to be (at least to a certain extent) technically proficient.

Lots of people have asked me which programming language they should start with... If you don't know any computer programming languages yet, I'd recommend Delphi. It's a very good "first" language in that it's an event-driven, visual programming language. And besides being a good language for beginners, it's also a very powerful and flexible object-oriented language, suitable for large projects.

Concerning a second language, I feel that Java is a good language. If you get into serious programming, you will obviously have to learn C++, assembly- and middleware languages as well. Also note that, by knowing one or two programming languages you wouldn't reach the skill level of a hacker, or even merely a computer programmer. You need to learn many programming languages to be called a computer professional. But don't worry about any of these things for now, just take it one step at a time. Every one of us had to crawl before we could walk, and we had to be very good at walking before we could run.

Also, it's a fact that many (if not most) of the best hackers are self-taught. So, what am I saying ?? I'm saying that books and courses alone won't do the trick. Books will provide you with the theory, and the language features and -characteristics (i.e. the syntax) you need to learn but, the conceptual model of exactly how everything fits together, the state of mind that will turn the knowledge you've acquired into a SKILL that you can actually apply, can be learned only by practice, practice and some more PRACTICE. Practice and apprenticeship.

It basically comes down to this : you should be able to think about programming problems in a general kind of way. This means that you need to get to the point where you can learn a new computer programming language in a couple of days by simply relating what's in the manual, to what you already know. In other words, you need to get to the level where you're able to recognize patterns, structures, algorithms etc. etc. independent of the particular language you're dealing with. You need to be able to follow the logic behind the code, even if you don't know the syntax and everything else about that programming language yet. You should be able to follow the flow of control within that particular piece of code. So, yes, this means that you need learn several very different languages. One does not become a computer professional by learning a single computer programming language. Period.

Real computer specialists and/or hackers DO programming, they EAT programming, and they BREATH programming.....

Always remember : these things are meant to be understood :)

“The world of computers is meant to be understood” ™