John Gyorki ::
Editorial Director :: John has extensive experience in both design engineering and professional writing. He has contributed technical articles to magazines since 1962. Gyorki received a BSEE degree from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield Detroit, Michigan. During his 30-year career in engineering, he was employed as a design engineer, engineering manager, and VP of engineering within several companies.
John Gyorki
February 19th, 2008.
It took me about two years, but I was finally able to mentally relate the acronym IT with Information Technology instead of just uppercase it. IT appears in all sorts of publications and seldom does the editor tell you that it represents Information Technology; you are supposed to know that. Which brings me to what I really want to say. What exactly is IT or Information Technology? I looked it up on Wikipedia and the definition begged for authenticity. Their definition is quit thin. Yet, I see that some colleges offer it as a degree. So, I read the syllabus for one small college on a degree in IT and discovered that it taught you how to do things that you ordinarily find in no less than about 25 other occupations! For example, when you earn the degree, you will be able to program computers, network, become a help-desk operator, configure (computer) hardware systems, do something with application software, telecommunicate, purchase something, make decisions, and develop interpersonal skills. But I ask you, how many of you have these skills and do these tasks in your normal workday without being called an IT person? Engineers, scientists, designers, salespeople, clerks, artists, nurses, garage mechanics, grade school students, teachers, and homemakers do many of these things. Are they IT personnel, too?
The list goes on. You will see IT people program databases and spreadsheets, process words, communicate data, and learn verbal and written communication skills (doesn’t everyone?). You can also expect them to install, operate, upgrade, and troubleshoot computers; assist purchasing departments, and program computer systems in both networked and non-networked environments. The only thing missing here is taking out the garbage and getting coffee for the boss (which was probably only a minor oversight).
But what is worse than the scope of work is the fact that “they” call it a technology. How can IT possibly be a technology? Electronics is a technology. MEMS is a technology. Fiber optics is a technology. But Information Technology? That’s a stretch. Now, sales and marketing people carelessly toss around the term technology to satisfy their own egos and to make their product or service sound more important or more complex than it really is. For example, I read about a “new vacuum sweeper technology.” I took one apart and found the same stuff that my mother’s 1945 vacuum sweeper contained. The only difference was that the new one was made of plastic, not cast aluminum like the 1945 model. Incidentally, they both sucked.
Bottom line; are you called an IT person? If so, please let us know what you do. I think it will be extremely interesting to find out the truth in this dumbed-down world we live in. By the way, if you have a degree in Project Management, ditto.
jgyorki@designworldonline.com
John Gyorki
January 10th, 2008.
You know Leonardo Da Vinci, Edison, Galileo, Marconi, and Bell, but do you know Dave Luchaco, Pete Harper, Glen Drellishack, Raj Gunda, and Bill Peterson, some of the most famous engineering leaders of all? No? Well, they just happen to be five of the dozen or so young Bendix engineers — when in their mid-twenties and early thirties in 1971 — started with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and designed the first production onboard computers for the electronic fuel injection systems used in every American car on the road today. I know this to be true because I was the Group Project Leader. (more…)
John Gyorki
December 12th, 2007.
In this issue, we announce the Leadership Awards we have been promoting throughout this year. The Design World community elected several companies to represent those with the highest operating standards and reputation for ethical conduct, quality products, superb services, fair practices, and exceptional employees. The readers cast their votes and told us who the winners are. Read about it in the foldout section. We are proud to celebrate these companies; their leaders and employees. They represent but only a few of many similar, well-managed firms that we enjoy doing business with every day. (more…)
John Gyorki
November 20th, 2007.
Just because you give something a new name, it does not mean that the something automatically becomes the thing you renamed it. For example, I recently received an e-mail message from my Internet provider, SBC Yahoo, which said it was going to improve my e-mail “experience.” They claimed that they were thinking of my best interests, so they were going to start placing advertising on my otherwise uncluttered e-mail service. How thoughtful of them! Just what I need, more distracting images flickering and jumping in front of my eyes while I try to concentrate on writing messages.
John Gyorki
October 01st, 2007.
