If someone does windows only, can they be considered a geek?

[wolfen69]

I say no. i hate windows with a passion, but I know it like I know my sister. a true geek knows every OS and how to make computers work. i know very little about mac, but feel confident about using and making it work. thoughts?

[BGFG]

I disagree. A geek must have their choice. If Linux isn't your thing, it's not. If windows isn't your thing, cool. I don't think it's all encompassing, Hardware, software, OS or OS'es pick your poison then assimilate :)

Room should be made for personal preference.

[jrusso2]

I say no. i hate windows with a passion, but I know it like I know my sister. a true geek knows every OS and how to make computers work. i know very little about mac, but feel confident about using and making it work. thoughts?

You have to be kidding no one can know every OS and how to make it work Too much for anyone to learn. We all must specialize. A geek can be a Windows expert, Linux or even OS X.

[wolfen69]

I disagree. A geek must have their choice. If Linux isn't your thing, it's not. If windows isn't your thing, cool. I don't think it's all encompassing, Hardware, software, OS or OS'es pick your poison then assimilate :)

Room should be made for personal preference.

you missed my point. of course geeks have their choice. that's why they're geeks. i should just shut up. i had a good time watching the super bowl.

[solitaire]

windows != geek
windows = sheep ;)

/me runs away to hide :D:D

[jrusso2]

you missed my point. of course geeks have their choice. that's why they're geeks. i should just shut up. i had a good time watching the super bowl.

Great game good exciting ending for once !

[wolfen69]

You have to be kidding no one can know every OS and how to make it work Too much for anyone to learn. We all must specialize. A geek can be a Windows expert, Linux or even OS X.

i disagree. that's my specialty. i can install pain on a brown paper bag.

[-grubby]

/me takes off his Geek badge under the mighty rule of wolfen69.

Why should mastery of Windows no longer be considered geeky?

[RiceMonster]

I know a few windows only geeks myself. Personally I think Linux is more geeky, but that's not saying there's no such thing as a Windows geek.

[Rokurosv]

No there are geeks that only do Windows, geeks that only do Linux, etc.

[jrusso2]

i disagree. that's my specialty. i can install pain on a brown paper bag.

You can't be an expert in all OS. There are many each one with its own specialities.

Like Netware, HP UX, True 64, many more that you can't know without using them all the time.

[MaxIBoy]

I'm an expert in OS X, even though I don't use it much. Once you punch through that layer of "Apple, Inc. knows best, and I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave," it's just another UNIX. As far as I'm concerned, any platform where there are working "man" and "info" commands is a platform I'm an expert in.


I think that in order to be a computer geek (which is only one kind of geek,) you need to know how to use a computer. By that I do not mean "you have to know how to push buttons or type commands in order." In order to know how to use a computer, you must have the ability to cope with anything a computer can throw at you; you must have the ability to learn whatever it is you must learn in order to get a job done.


I consider myself a computer geek, because, given a couple of weeks and the ability to RTFM, I will have at least a basic knowledge of any operating system.


Show me a person who can figure out exactly how to fix any car if given the proper documentation, and I can show you a car geek. Show me a person who can play any card game perfectly after a basic tutorial, and I'll show you a card game geek. Show me someone who can play any sport well after reading the rulebook, and I'll show you a sports geek.


Just because you don't know every OS, doesn't mean you couldn't learn if you had to.

[jrusso2]

Lets put it this way. I work in a shop with Netware, Windows, and Unix servers. Yet I work on Windows and Netware despite years of using Linux. Why is that can't I look at MAN? Cause they want people that know it inside and out not just figure their way around it.

Time is money folks and every minute something is down costs them thousands. So they want someone who knows stuff in and out. Just knowing Windows networking and servers and Netware is enough for one person to know that much. Another group knows Unix inside and out.

[tubezninja]

Personally? I spend less time caring about whether I qualify as a "geek" and more time putting my skills to practical use. But then, some of us actually have important things to do in the world than gauge geekiness. :D

[Montblanc_Kupo]

I say no. i hate windows with a passion, but I know it like I know my sister.

That's... I'm not gonna even comment. ;)


a true geek knows every OS and how to make computers work.

Well... technically...



geek
-noun
a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, such as biting off the head of a live chicken.

In reference to the intended question, I think it's a state of mind. Just like being a "hacker". I consider Myself a hacker. I can't resist taking things apart and finding out what's inside, putting them back together... sometimes in new ways heh. That is one of the appeals of linux to Me. I'm not a black hat hacker though... I don't go stealing people's credit information or breaking into their computers or writing viruses. Same thing with this... I consider Myself pretty geeky, in the colloquial nerdy sense... but I've only ever installed a couple of linux distro, probably more windows versions, and usually preferred to sit on a mac doodling in photoshop. What about Einstein... or Tesla... or Davinci... they never installed a single OS... they're pretty high on My geek-hero list.

[schauerlich]

Personally? I spend less time caring about whether I qualify as a "geek" and more time putting my skills to practical use. But then, some of us actually have important things to do in the world than gauge geekiness. :D

lol n00b!


<33

[Montblanc_Kupo]

...a whole bunch of stuff

Yeah. What he said.

Albert Einstein was once asked by a reporter as a test to put him on the spot...

Reporter: "How many feet in a mile"
Einstein: "I don't know"
Reporter: "But you're supposed to be a math genius"
Einstein: "Ah, I don't know how many feet are in a mile, but I know how to find out... and that's much more important"

[myrtle1908]

Personally? I spend less time caring about whether I qualify as a "geek" and more time putting my skills to practical use. But then, some of us actually have important things to do in the world than gauge geekiness. :D

Well said.

[blueshiftoverwatch]

You can't be an expert in all OS.
Technically nobody actually uses an operating system. They use programs.

[jrusso2]

Yeah. What he said.

Albert Einstein was once asked by a reporter as a test to put him on the spot...

Reporter: "How many feet in a mile"
Einstein: "I don't know"
Reporter: "But you're supposed to be a math genius"
Einstein: "Ah, I don't know how many feet are in a mile, but I know how to find out... and that's much more important"

Doesn't everyone know how many feet in a mile is 5280? Actually they said Eisenstein flunked math probably cause it was too easy for him.

He also did all his great work well before the age of 30 and very little after.

[lykwydchykyn]

Isn't it a bit silly to split hairs over the definition of a slang term?

[jpkotta]

Lets put it this way. I work in a shop with Netware, Windows, and Unix servers. Yet I work on Windows and Netware despite years of using Linux. Why is that can't I look at MAN? Cause they want people that know it inside and out not just figure their way around it.

Time is money folks and every minute something is down costs them thousands. So they want someone who knows stuff in and out. Just knowing Windows networking and servers and Netware is enough for one person to know that much. Another group knows Unix inside and out.

You're not describing a geek, you're describing a competent IT professional. I think most people would agree that a geek is someone who has very specialized detailed knowledge of a particular area (usually technical). An IT pro is someone who administers computer systems. He doesn't need geek-level obsession with the systems he maintains - though it helps - only the knowledge to get the job done.

It's clear OP was talking about computer geeks, as opposed to general geeks. A math geek could get by reasonably well without much more than grandma-level knowledge of computers.

I disagree with OP, you can be a computer geek and limit yourself to one OS. BUT, it would be very weird, especially limiting oneself to an OS that tries so hard to hide how it works.

[jrusso2]

You're not describing a geek, you're describing a competent IT professional. I think most people would agree that a geek is someone who has very specialized detailed knowledge of a particular area (usually technical). An IT pro is someone who administers computer systems. He doesn't need geek-level obsession with the systems he maintains - though it helps - only the knowledge to get the job done.

It's clear OP was talking about computer geeks, as opposed to general geeks. A math geek could get by reasonably well without much more than grandma-level knowledge of computers.

I disagree with OP, you can be a computer geek and limit yourself to one OS. BUT, it would be very weird, especially limiting oneself to an OS that tries so hard to hide how it works.

Maybe your right about that.

[cardinals_fan]

Yes.

[-grubby]

Yes.

You win one internet.

[Sashin]

Since when did geek have a positive connotation to it...

[-grubby]

Since when did geek have a positive connotation to it...

It's subjective.

[Giant Speck]

You win one internet.

Only one? Damn, this economic crisis must be worse than I thought.

[Montblanc_Kupo]

BUT, it would be very weird, especially limiting oneself to an OS that tries so hard to hide how it works.

Gonna side with the OP a tiny bit here... Mac OS hides how it works... windows pretends that it does.

[bigbrovar]

They can be no geek without #!bash/shell .. you dont point and click your way to be a geek just my personal opinion.

[xpod]

On the flip side,can someone be considered a non-geek if they only use Linux.My answer to that has to be a "yes" so with that in mind surely the opposite must also be true?

[Dr Small]

A geek can use Windows, but a Windows user can not be a geek. And no, that's not an oxymoron.

[cmay]

i started with windows ME and then six month of windows xp then open suse and mandriva then debian sarge->etch->lenny then ubuntu dapper -> all the way jaunty and in between all sorts of experiments with bsd ,solaris open ,solaris ,belenix , minix ,FreeDos and even reactOS other than varius linux distributions (mostly debian based) but at the end of the day am not a geek. and i dont think i will ever be considered to be a geek either. my point is you can be a non-geek no matter what OS you are using i think. :)

[Giant Speck]

Answer: Yes

And you don't have to be a computer user to be a geek, as demonstrated by the image in the attachment.

[lukjad]

I say no. i hate windows with a passion, but I know it like I know my sister. a true geek knows every OS and how to make computers work. i know very little about mac, but feel confident about using and making it work. thoughts?

If someone is a geek, it's because they know a lot about a system. So, if someone knows a lot about Windows, they are a geek, just a Windows Geek, not a Computer Geek.

[sydbat]

In the colloquial sense, geek is subjective. It can have either a positive or negative connotation, depending on your perspective.

So, in answer to the OP, yes...a Windows only user can be a geek if they know how to adequately navigate through the system and fix problems that arise by doing research into how to fix those problems. If they need constant assistance and rarely do any troubleshooting themselves, then they are not a geek.

IDIC FTW!!

[Johnsie]

Well I think there are Windows sheep and Linux sheep. To me people who follow a relatively popular ideology without trying to balance things out are sheep. Yes Windows has some bad things, but there are also some good things about it. Linux is not 100% better all the time for all tasks.


Now, my opinion of a geek is someone who spends alot of time playing with technical things when they could be doing something more sociable. Windows does have quite alot of technical things you can be involved with including but not limited to programming, building interactive websites and of course networking.


Right now in work I'm writing a program with php & xsl-fo (fop) templates to produce a4-duplex, a3-duplex and a4-simplex mail-merges of statements with tables depending on how many items were in the data. The script has about 3,000 lines and has some pretty complex loops in it.

Yes, I know Linux but most of the tools I'm using are on Windows so a knowledge of Linux wouldn't be necessary to do it. Nobody else in the company knows how to do it though and it's quite complicated. Anyone who enjoys doing stuff like that has to be a geek.

To me a geek is someone who drowns themselves in code, and knows a little more than most other people about computing.

[Dragonbite]

There are people that can do things in Windows that amazes me, and there are people who do things in Linux that amazes me.

I don't think "geekiness" is limited to the toys you play with, as much as it is the person who plays with them.

[Barrucadu]

From the Jargon File:

geek: n.

A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance. Geeks usually have a strong case of neophilia. Most geeks are adept with computers and treat hacker as a term of respect, but not all are hackers themselves — and some who are in fact hackers normally call themselves geeks anyway, because they (quite properly) regard ‘hacker’ as a label that should be bestowed by others rather than self-assumed.

One description accurately if a little breathlessly enumerates “gamers, ravers, science fiction fans, punks, perverts, programmers, nerds, subgenii, and trekkies. These are people who did not go to their high school proms, and many would be offended by the suggestion that they should have even wanted to.”

Originally, a geek was a carnival performer who bit the heads off chickens. (In early 20th-century Scotland a ‘geek’ was an immature coley, a type of fish.) Before about 1990 usage of this term was rather negative. Earlier versions of this lexicon defined a computer geek as one who eats (computer) bugs for a living — an asocial, malodorous, pasty-faced monomaniac with all the personality of a cheese grater. This is often still the way geeks are regarded by non-geeks, but as the mainstream culture becomes more dependent on technology and technical skill mainstream attitudes have tended to shift towards grudging respect. Correspondingly, there are now ‘geek pride’ festivals (the implied reference to ‘gay pride’ is not accidental).

So, the answer is yes. You can be a geek of other things than computers.

[xpod]

i started with windows ME and then six month of windows xp then open suse and mandriva then debian sarge->etch->lenny then ubuntu dapper -> all the way jaunty and in between all sorts of experiments with bsd ,solaris open ,solaris ,belenix , minix ,FreeDos and even reactOS other than varius linux distributions (mostly debian based) but at the end of the day am not a geek. and i dont think i will ever be considered to be a geek either. my point is you can be a non-geek no matter what OS you are using i think.

Very similar to my own tale although i had a couple of months less with XP before discovering Ubuntu(Dapper),which is what i`ve stayed with even though i`ve tried many others.

EDIT:Thankfully i only had a week or two with ME before the short spell with XP.

[bash]

The mastery of some operating system doesn't automatically make you a geek, as I find only a geek will be able to discuss such a topic, about if knowing windows makes you a geek, with real passion and spirit. Everyone else would think this is tremendous waste of time and space ;)

[cmay]

One description accurately if a little breathlessly enumerates “gamers, ravers, science fiction fans, punks, perverts, programmers, nerds, subgenii, and trekkies. These are people who did not go to their high school proms, and many would be offended by the suggestion that they should have even wanted to.”so judged by this all really cool people can be a geek ?