There is a war being waged across the computer world. It is a war without beginning, and a war that most certainly will not have an end. It does not necessarily involve that huge corporate entity known as “Microsoft,” nor does it always involve involve the faceless empire of “Google.” Many times it involves that of the open source community, other times the black- and white-hatted security experts, other times the Web 2.0 junkies, other times just the common user.

This war? It is the war of “I’m Right, You Idiot, So Let Me Tell You How It Should Be.”

Since as long as I can remember (which isn’t very long, to be honest), mankind has always had the problem of individuals thinking themselves to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Some are rather skilled individuals, some are not. But, as a wise Jedi once said, “Size matters not. The only difference is in your mind.”

And, unfortunately, that’s true here.

Case in point, the people that make up my computer certification class. I bring you Subject A, who I shall call Abe. We are talking about the basic networking components. The hub on Layer 1. The switch on Layer 2. The router on—

“WAIT A MINUTE AREN’T THERE SWITCHES THAT HAVE ROUTING CAPABILITIES?!” Uhh, sure. Those are layer 3 switches. So, anyways, we have routers on Layer 3—

“SO WHY WOULD WE USE A ROUTER IF WE HAVE A LAYER 3 SWITCH?” Uhhh, well, routers came before layer 3 switches—

“ARE WE USING A LAYER 3 SWITCH OR A ROUTER IN THAT OTHER LAB?”

…

Who the hell cares?! Must we specifically have to tell people it’s not important, primarily because this is just an explanation that will segue right back into configuring Routing and Remote Access, and making sure we do it right when we’re taking that wonderful certification test.

And then there’s the case of the man who must drill all technicalities despite the fact that generalizations were invented to quickly go over concepts without spending hours on it. Network Load-Balancing and Clustering.

“Aren’t those two basically the same thing?” No… let me explain. This does this and that does that, and when this happens…

“But since this and this, aren’t they the same?” No, I haven’t finished. This and this…

“I asked about clusters, not load balancing. You didn’t answer my question.” Wait, what?

I know comparatively a lot about things that most people don’t even care about. Therefore, it’s sometimes best to not even open your mouth. One must gauge whether you are being helpful, whether you’re on topic, and whether the topic warrants the time being used.

And, of course, making sure you have your facts straight before you start criticizing something is always a plus. Like when a bunch of “l33t” users couldn’t figure out the logic behind numbering the upcoming Windows client OS as “Windows 7″ (refers to the kernel version, which I would THINK those type of people would know something about), or how the Microsoft IT personnel couldn’t wrap their head around the concept of Mandatory Access Control (MAC), which is pretty much the basis for all the stereotypical governmental security measures you see in Hollywood movies (”Hey, this file is marked as Top Secret! Let me see if I can crack the password and get top secret clearance…!”).

So, in total, I find that this world of computers, which is supposed to be a world of logic, information, and advancement, is just the same as the real world: full of bull.

This might be impetus for the writer to fulfill his lifelong dream and takeover the world. Or, at least, carve his own nation out of it.

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