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10.11.11

Info Post
The new interview is for all the young people and not only. Everyone uses a computer and of course internet. That's why I decided to ask some questions to Odys. He is a software engineer from North Greece and is talking to me about his work, some advice and his own blog!


Hi Odys! It’s a big pleasure to talk with you as I needed many times your knowledge about computers in the past. Tell us please a few things about your studies and your work.
Hi Elli, I studied software engineering. This means I know how to design and implement software in general. It’s not a simple task as it requires thinking of all the aspects and the process of creating an application. This can be a website, an application for your mobile phone, and your laptop. So, let me know if you want your own application!
I am 26 and try to have a social life while building my carrier at the same time.

Was it a dream to become a computer engineer or it was a choice that would probably give you more chances to find a good job?
When I was a kid, I loved playing with Lego. This made me thinking as a programmer, because it makes you split a problem in smaller parts, which is basically my everyday life.
When I got around 12 I had my first contact with computers. After the first day at school with a really old computer, I got home proud because I knew how to plug all the cables in the back of the machine! At the age of 17 I knew that the only job I would like was something in the IT field.

People that don’t know many things about technology think they are not able to understand it.  Do you think technology is something only for young people?
Absolutely no! Technology is for everyone. I remember my little cousins playing with an iPhone when they were 3, and I have my grandmother calling me from her mobile phone all the time! Nowadays, the user interface has been improved that much that one does not need to be trained in order to be able to use a computer.

Which are the most common mistakes that people do while using computers?
I would say that the mistakes have been made by the programmers, not the users! I believe that if the software was good, it wouldn’t have let the user made any mistakes at all.

After these mistakes they usually need someone to repair their computers.  But in my opinion, it’s not easy to find someone trustful to repair them. How should we choose the right person to fix our computers?
Unfortunately, there aren’t many passionate people loving what they do and at the same time know to do it. Seek of those people. Professionals can be spotted by their everyday habits. For example,the programmers would have their desktop clean and tidy, not full of unused programs and folders. If they have a messy desktop, they probably do a messy job to you as well.

Any practical advice for not losing our documents? Usb is a good solution but if we have to save all our documents, it’s impossible I think.
An external hard drive is the solution to go. It costs like 70€ and would hold all your personal data for at least three years. Of course, you should keep it tidy as well; trying not to put irrelevant data in it is a good habit. Another secret is to buy a new hard drive every 3 to 5 years. You might say that 25 a year to keep my data safe is a lot of money, think again. How much would you pay to have all your photos back, after lost them?

Especially in Greece we have the impression that, what is expensive has a good quality. Is it true about computers?
No, this is a lie! For example, compare any product with the ones that Apple sells. It costs around double the price without offering something extra. In the end, apple’s products are made from chips made by Samsung, Hitachi, etc! The solution is to compare the thing to another. Take the products you like the most and compare their functionality. If you don’t know about technical stuff (I won’t blame you for this) just compare their number on them.

You have a blog where you give very simple advice to people who don’t know many things about technology. Tell me a few things about this blog.
This started as a way of sharing what I learned from using computers. It then moved to something special to me. In http://odysonline.gr/ I can share my knowledge with people and they can share theirs. It’s like a small community of computer related knowledge, simplified!

Probably there are many of our friends thinking to do their own blog. What would you suggest them to do to improve their SEO?
SEO is the art of promoting your site to the top on google’s results. The secret is only one: Share Good Stuff. Google’s machines know how to evaluate the quality of your content (your articles). This is the best and only way to make your blog popular.
 
I have seen many contributors in your blog. Are you a big team?
Everybody that wants to share their knowledge about computer stuff to others, is welcome. At the moment there are 27 contributors and a total of 661 published articles.
 
What are your plans for the near future?
I work at a company where we make innovative software. Having my work recognized is my biggest  goal.

Odys, thank you very much for your time! Your advice will be useful for everyone!  
Thank you Eli, it was a pleasure to speak with you, good luck with your blog!

4.S.P.