Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (
More info?)
I deal a lot with small to medium businesses and SOHO owners. None of them seem
to get wrapped around the axle about any sort of certification. All they want
is to get results.
On the other hand, if a DCSE would get warranty service work thrown in his
direction with a reasonable pay rate, then the sheepskin would be worth
something. I do not think that is the case, so I'll blunder ahead blindly on my
own. As it is, I do enough service work on Dell systems under warranty, because
my customers trust me and I do not let them down... Ben Myers
On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 09:42:23 -0500, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com> wrote:
>I agree, Ben. With all due respect to Dell, certification sounds like
>something you get so that you can advertise that you have been 'certified by
>Dell'. If you want to attract retail business it might be an advantage.
>
>Ted Zieglar
>
><ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote in message
>news:424d55d6.5478216@nntp.charter.net...
>> Agreed. This is the same argument put forward for spending even more
>bucks on
>> Novell Certification (way back when) and Microsoft Certification. To be
>a
>> certified Novell something-or-other meant a lot fifteen years ago, because
>> Netware was a complicated command-oriented mess to configure and use.
>Microsoft
>> certifications are of far more dubious value until one gets into the nitty
>> gritties of all the various members of its server family. There's not
>much that
>> being a Microsoft-certified software tech can do for me except make me
>poorer.
>> Microsoft does deserve some grudging credit from this corner for
>simplifying the
>> configuration and use of computers running Windows. (I still take strong
>> exception to the unbelievably complicated and convoluted way Micro$oft has
>> achieved this ease of use, and their blithering incompetence in the areas
>of
>> system security and reliability.)
>>
>> Likewise, the lack of a DCSE has not inhibited me at all in
>troubleshooting,
>> repairing, finding spare parts, upgrading or doing anything else to Dell
>> desktop, workstation and server computers, including identification of
>what is
>> proprietary and what is not. After having built and repaired countless
>> computers over the last decade plus, it is not rocket science to see what
>is
>> proprietary hardware and what is not. I can only do some basic work on
>Dell
>> notebooks, but I have not tried to field strip them and put them back
>together.
>> Dell deserves exceptional credit for having first rate user guides and
>service
>> manuals on its web site for virtually every computer they've sold.
>Availability
>> of this info makes maintenance of Dell hardware pretty easy in the event
>that
>> the solution is not intuitively obvious without reading anything.
>>
>> I guess I'll remain mindful of the availability of DCSE and see whether
>any of
>> my current or prospective clients require the paper credential for me to
>do work
>> for them. So far, nobody has... Ben Myers
>>
>> On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 20:18:51 GMT, Tom Simchak <not.today@thankyou.org>
>wrote:
>>
>> > From a business point of view:
>> >
>> >In looking for new business, there may be some companies who would go
>> >for a tech who had those 4 letters on his/her proposal over one who did
>> >not have them.
>> >
>> >Dell does have "some" proprietary stuff loaded into their systems.
>> >Someone with DCSE "training" may have some additional insight as to what
>> >is Dell and what is generic.
>> >
>> >HTH
>> >
>> >Tom S.
>> >Houston, TX
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Ben Myers wrote:
>> >> Agree with all you said. But I'll repeat: " As an independent service
>provider,
>> >> what benefit, if any, is there to me from a DCSE course?"
>> >>
>> >> At lot of my unstructured work was under the auspices of PC Labs, PC
>Magazine,
>> >> PC Week, and Ziff-Davis Labs, back in the day when printed computer
>media was
>> >> king, Computer Shopper and PC Magazine ran 500 or 600 pages per issue,
>and many
>> >> companies ran a lot of printed ads. Back in the days before the
>internet became
>> >> king. A great learning environment, and with pay and generous
>expenses, too.
>> >>
>> >> ... Ben Myers
>> >>
>> >> On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 11:57:59 -0500, Ogden Johnson III
><oj3usmc@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>>ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>>Just out of mind curiousity, what does Dell charge for the DCSE
>courses? As an
>> >>>>independent service provider, what benefit is there to me? I already
>rip apart
>> >>>>just about any type of Dell computer (except notebooks which require
>more TLC)
>> >>>>with my bare hands blindfolded, and get them back together again...
>Ben Myers
>> >>>
>> >>>Remember, the OP's request was in terms of /learning/ to do what
>> >>>you are already doing with your bare hands and blindfolded.
>> >>>
>> >>>Someone else has already replied with a, maybe outdated, figure
>> >>>of $180 for the course(s).
>> >>>
>> >>>Back in the BODD, and into the early Win era, I went through a
>> >>>real h/w geek spell, and there were a /lot/ of readily available,
>> >>>relatively cheap books out there that, as long as you kept up
>> >>>with current info from Byte/PC Mag/et al, you could learn how to
>> >>>"rip apart [computers] with your bare hands blindfolded", and
>> >>>even how to put the together, either from scratch or back. ;->.
>> >>>[One of the main ones from that era sticks, dimly, in my mind as
>> >>>"How to Upgrade and Repair Your PC" or somesuch.]
>> >>>
>> >>>Alas, not all of us are fitted for unstructured learning of this
>> >>>sort, either at all or for a given area. I did fine with
>> >>>computer stuff, but I learned long ago that if I were ever going
>> >>>to do car stuff for fun, I'd need a lot of instruction/classes.
>> >>>For those, this Dell thing, at under $200 might be just the
>> >>>thing.
>> >>>
>> >>>I'd also suggest that the OP, presuming he lives in a reasonably
>> >>>large metro sort of area, check out local colleges, HS adult ed
>> >>>programs, or city/town/county run programs [Alexandria VA's Dept
>> >>>of Recreation offers a number of computer courses for its
>> >>>residents at nominal cost]. Again in the DC area, the Capital PC
>> >>>User Group offers a lot of courses to their members, including a
>> >>>paired "Before you Buy or Build" course on the basics, followed
>> >>>by a "Build Your Own" workshop where instructors/volunteers help
>> >>>you build if you decided on Build.
>> >>>
>> >>>Like so much else in the world, there are so many different ways
>> >>>to learn computer basics because there are so many different ways
>> >>>folks learn thing best. However trite, "different strokes for
>> >>>different folks" is an axiom on so much of life.
>> >>>--
>> >>>OJ III
>> >>>[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
>> >>>Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>
>
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