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I had an HP for a while. A quad-core packed to the gills machine that I used
for both my photography business and my technical writing. It lasted a
couple of years, then started falling apart. The DVD failed, then the
wireless died...... My 10-year-old Gateway is still chugging along and my
new Dell Inspiron works great. As for the battle between PC and MAC, most
businesses use PCs because their cheap, not because their better. Both
systems use Intel processors and MACs have always been able to read and
write to a PC format. The real problem will be software. Not all software is
available for both platforms. If you don't need much more than Microsoft
Office, then it doesn't matter, because you can use LibreOffice on the MAC
to allow you to work back and forth between the two platforms. So, the real
stickler between which platform is the software you will be using, but look
elsewhere than HP for your laptop.
Al Geist-Geist Arts
Fine Art Photography
Mobile: 231-301-5770
E-mail: al -at- geistarts -dot- com
Website: www.geistarts.com
Facebook: Geist Arts
See Also:
Technical Communication, Help, Documentation Management
"...I walked to work, quit my job, and kept walking. Better to be a pilgrim
without a destination, I figured, than to cross the wrong threshold each
day." (Sy Safransky)
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+al=geistarts -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+al=geistarts -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
carolyn223 palo
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2015 9:03 AM
To: Robert Lauriston
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: New writer looking for advice
Thank you for this info -
Wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a laptop? In speaking with the
program manager at the school I'll be attending - she advised PC not Mac. I
have an older HP desktop at home - but if there is something out there in a
laptop I should be checking out I'm all ears. I will be bringing this to
class also.
On Wed, Apr 15, 2015 at 12:08 PM, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
wrote:
> It depends on the industry and position, but most tech writing jobs
> are primarily research, not writing. The fundamental skills required
> are;
>
> 1. write clear, concise English to spec (style guide, etc.) for a
> variety of audiences 2. learn new technologies quickly and easily 3.
> bridge the gap between the first two by putting what you learn into
> words
>
> If you have those skills, learning how to use Flare or other tools of
> the trade is a relatively minor concern.
>
> Rather than writing instructions for making a cup of coffee, which
> doesn't require skill #2 at all, I suggest something more technical,
> such as tutorial on using regular expressions in Apache Ant.
>
> > On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 8:35 PM, carolyn223 palo
> > <carolynpalo -at- gmail -dot- com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Hello Everyone,
> >>
> >> I am new to this discussion group. I am in the process of getting
> >> new skills to get into the technical writing field.
> >> I live in Mass. I am a creative writer/playwright, but find a
> >> writing
> job
> >> in the technical field is how I would like to earn a living. I am
> >> currently applying to a non-credit program for 2 classes, one in
> >> the fall and one in the spring.
> >> Any thoughts as to how I can begin learning or job search prior to
> >> the certification program is over? I have a B.A. in English and an
> >> M.S. in Communications - but lack the strong tech skills used in
> >> today's tech writing field.
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