Jeremy Falcon wrote:

Unless you know for certain you'll never, ever use that tech again.

This is where I am. None of the books I listed in the OP will be of use to me, and I haven't opened any of them in at least 8 years, possibly 30 years for the C book. Just taking up space.

dandy72 wrote:

But again: I've never done any contract work.

The world was a lot different 30 years ago. In the PC world technology was changing rapidly, and the availability of experienced folks in new technology was limited. Customers wanted experienced IT people that could quickly learn new tech and rapidly become proficient. I worked for a mid-range consulting firm for 15 years over several tenures -- one year at my annual review I had input from 5 managers because I had a series of ~3 month contracts, all using different technologies. You didn't experience this, so it is foreign to you. Consider that when a new technology comes out, e.g., Rust, companies MUST train people in the tech, as the pool of available talent is zilch. And consider that companies like contractors, as it's easy to get rid of them. Just cancel the contract or fail to renew it. Getting rid of FTEs without legal difficulties and/or causing morale problems is far more difficult.

Actually, I'm not surprised by your work collection. Up until we replaced it 2 years ago, we had 20+ years of installers for an ancient product. Multiply that by 1,000 ... and it probably matches what you have. :laugh:

A couple of years after graduating from college, I was moving again and had a LARGE box of textbooks I could not sell and didn't need. I took them to a friend's home, and we used them for target practice, using .22, .30-30, .30-06, and .44 cap-n-ball. A good time was had by all!

This is a wide tangent, but I recently went through CDs and DVDs, and dumped at least 50. I had backups from ancient projects, installers from products I'd never use again (like VS 2008), etc.

dandy72 wrote:

Things might be different in the software world; if you need a license to use some software, and the customer needs to run that software, this makes sense...but books? Even though you hand it to the customer after the job's done, you don't wipe out from your mind what you've learned from the book. You're the main beneficiary. And the customer (in all likelihood) also has no need for the book.

You have that backwards. In the situations I mentioned, the client had need for the books after I left, while I didn't. Especially in the 90's, it was common for me to do a 3, 6, 9, or 12 month contract that used technologies I was not familiar with. This is unlike today when customers expect 5 to 10 years of experience in a technology that's been on the market 3 months. The list of technologies I used once on one contract is a lonnnggg one ... so I had no need to keep the books. OTOH, the customer had an ongoing investment in specific technologies, so they did need the books. Mostly to train new people who had no familiarity with the technologies.

I've lived in the same house for 30 years ... the thought of moving my paperback books is daunting! While I don't buy technical books, up until about 10 years ago, I purchased a lot of sci-fi and fantasy books.

Thanks for the recommendation. While I cannot see any value in these books, someone might.

After eliminating valueless textbooks after graduating college, I made it a point to NOT buy technical books. Other folks may go to an extreme -- one guy I worked with had a bookcase 8' tall and 12' wide, literally overflowing with technical books. Each time he touched a new technology, he purchased at least 3 new books. When he moved offices, it took him 2 days to move all the books. Having spent 25+ years as a consultant/contractor, when I needed technical books, I talked the client into buying them. The same conversation was conducted repeatedly with each client: "You know you can't keep the books when your contract ends?" Yeah, that was actually the idea. I had no idea what the future would bring in terms of technology I would work with, so I'd talk the next client into buying what I need for that contract. Saved me money AND I didn't have to move the books. When I went into a client site for the first time, I carried my briefcase and one bag of "stuff", and when I left, I did the same. That said, this morning I looked at the bookcase in my home office and wondered what I'd do with the few books I purchased that are LONG outdated. Keeping with my "don't buy" mantra, there's only 5: Microsoft C Programming for the PC XML for Dummies Learn ASP.NET in 21 Days (probably v1) Professional C# 2008 Professional WordPress (probably v2) Is there any value in books this old? WordPress is probably 12 yo and it's the youngest. ASP and XML are circa 2000, and C is circa 1990. I hate to toss them in the landfill but can't figure out a use for them.

Yup -- every language can be used poorly. "Modern" languages try to make things idiot proof, but that will always fail. Any time anyone makes something idiot proof, someone else makes a better idiot. :laugh:

First thing I do each morning (after pouring a cup of coffee) is to clear my emails then read the CP daily. I very much appreciate having something to get me ready for the remainder of my day.

You are correct. I updated the original post. You may be correct. This was 40 years ago ... memory is a bit fuzzy.

dandy72 wrote:

The one consistent thing is video cards however. I've never paid more than a few hundred dollars for them, yet somehow there's still a market for $2000 video cards. This is an area where "more money than brains" comes to mind.

About 15 years ago I worked with a young guy who had EVERY electronic toy known to man. He was a rabid gamer, and bought the newest top-of-the-line video card every 6 months. At that time the cards went for $500-$700. Yeah, they run about $2,000 today. There is value in having a better card. I installed Skyrim about 7 years ago and my video card was insufficient, so I purchased a better one that cost more than double the most expensive GPU I had previous purchased. I was surprised, as the overall speed of my system noticeably improved. I would not buy one of the high-end cards, but buying above average was worth it.

I started as a consultant to the US Air Force. I recall a classified disk pack (DEC/VAX, I think) being "de-classified". The USAF was diligent about destroying anything that might even remotely contain classified information. Two airmen carried the pack out onto the tarmac and literally pounded it flat with 12 lb sledgehammers. The remains were thrown in an incinerator.

This should be an amusing thread. How have computers changed during your life? --- In 1985, I purchased a $35 USD accelerator for my Zenith Z-100, which bumped the processor speed from 4.67 MHz to 7.5 MHz. It was an amazing change to the PC!!! [I originally put "Hz", which was pointed out as incorrect.] That same year it cost $150 to bump that PC from 384 KB RAM up to 1 MB. After I got the PC back, only 1 software package (I think it was Turbo Pascal) could use more than 640 KB. :laugh: In 1989 I installed a 40 MB HD in our office server, quadrupling the storage space. We were excited, as the price had just dropped to $750 USD. Previously that same HD had cost nearly $1,500. In 1999 I installed a new HD (can't remember the size offhand), and I did the math. Going by the per-MB cost, at 1989 prices the new HD would have cost $750,000. And at 1999 prices, the 40 MB HD would have cost about $0.02. In 2009 I did the same thing -- at 1989 prices, the 2009 HD would have cost $45,000,000 ... and Excel didn't have enough precision to calculate the 2009 price of a 40 MB HD ... :laugh:

I've spent all day beating on a problem with no success. Then: 1) I put it away, the next morning I spot the problem in 3 seconds. 2) Or, I call someone over; they spot the problem in 3 seconds. 3) Or, I call someone over; then *I* spot the problem in 3 seconds. Of course, I've had co-workers call me to help, and I spot the problem in 3 seconds. Typically, the person feels stupid, but the reality is that after staring at something too long, we don't see what's there -- we see what we expect to be there. The best course of action is to walk away for an hour -- do something else, then come back. To be fair, not all problems are solved so easily. My freshman year in college, working on a DEC/VAX, the program I wrote was failing to compile on a specific line, and the error made no sense. I took it to the professor, and he acted disgusted, expecting a newbie programmer problem. He read through that section twice. Frowned, and said, "That is written correctly." He thought for another moment and said, "Delete that line plus the one above and below. Retype them." An unprintable character had been inserted into the file and the compiler choaked on it. Retyping those 3 lines solved it.

I mentioned in your previous thread about running from a stick. I've got several using different distros that I've played with. Balena Etcher is what I used last time (I think).

Install Ubuntu on a stick, boot from it, and see which options it offers. If it's different from the VM, you know where the problem lies.

charlieg wrote:

Setting aside the graphics, which I will work through, what I need is a common stable platform that behaves

This is the key point in this discussion. From that POV, going with any of the major distributions will probably work for you. Codewitch is spot on. Regarding resources, I expect any modern PC will run the major distros fine. Last year I replaced my 8 yo Lenovo Yoga 15 with a Surface laptop, and in the cleanup of the Yoga I installed Mint. It runs just fine on what was an above-midrange CPU, 9 years ago. Upstream I mentioned booting from a stick -- use a USB3 port if you have it. I've run sticks in USB 2, 3.0, and 3.1 Gen 2, and the faster the port, the better, at least some of the time.

The suggestion to run Linux off a stick is probably the best initial choice. For a few minute's effort, you can test drive live versions of various distros. There are several 3rd party applications that will burn an OS to a stick -- the last one I used was Balena Etcher: balenaEtcher - Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives[^] I dabble with Linux (too much stuff tied to Windows to switch), and running various distros from stick works fine for my needs. For long term, you're probably better served with a dual boot, but for now you play in a risk-free environment.