A few of my friends ask me why I sold the XBOX 360 that I got from the Imagine Cup Competition…its such a awesome console and a great multimedia center. Well, there is a reason behind it…and I hope you will understand my choice:
The prizes given by Microsoft were great, I love the XBOX 360,but I really can’t afford to spend my spare time playing games. For a start, I don’t have much spare time next semester (also this semester as well); I am going to start my internship in the library (no pay, but do get a lot of working experience), and I got some papers that I want to spend more time in (My friend said: if you don’t know much about the concepts of C++, you won’t get things like WCF, WPF etc). Secondly, I don’t have much money to buy games (the fancy camera I use is a gift from my relative), and if I have the money, I would rather get a few books on C++.
My Comp Sci department here doesn’t have any courses on .net stuff. After the competition, it really amazes me what you can do with WCF and WPF. Also there are many jobs out there that is “.net related“, it would be great if I got some .net skills before I graduate so I can have more chances of getting a job. It would be even better if the prizes for this competition are Microsoft books (e.g. on WCF, WPF, MCDA / MCSA) or training sections on .net languages so we can further “polish” our knowledge of the Microsoft development platform. I have say that selling the XBOX is not the best move, but I can use the money to buy books so I can learn more (especially Microsoft stuff, Windows is everywhere) before I graduate. I am in my third year now, its not fun and game anymore; without some sort of skills or experience, its very hard to find a job out there. The job that my friend has got now…I applied for it before him, they even sent me an email and ask me whether I am free to do an interview, but once they knew my friend…its all over for me. If they can find someone with the experience and skills, they will not spend the time and money to train someone from ground up (I can understand that). By now, I hope you will understand why I made this choice
David,
The reasons you have put up are quite normal that every student have the same and you cant expect WCF,WPF,.NET in University Syllabus as they are not basics and one need to know a lot of basic stuffs like Object Oriented Programming, C++, Windows Programming Environment etc., and to learn that, believe me University is the correct place.
And this Xbox was given by Microsoft for the work you had done in the Imagine Cup. This is a reward for what you had done, now its not with you
Yes, I too dont have time for many other suffs, but I will somehow manage to play Games
Hi Chaks, you are the first one to leave a comment on my blog
Thanks for your advice, I will do my best in the COSC346 next semester