What I Want to Learn about Computers

I would like to learn how to edit video and possibly some actionscript for Flash. I’d also like to learn how to create real graphics/cartoons in illustrator or freehand. Other than that, I feel pretty satisfied with where I’m at with computers.

The reason I want to learn how to do these things is because it’s kind of my hobby to just waste time on my computer – not much of a hobby, I guess, but it’s what I like to do. I really enjoy editing photos and that kind of stuff, and I think it’d be fun and interesting to make movies and stuff with and for my friends and family. I love taking pictures and videotaping and stuff, and I’m the type of person who likes to know how to do something from start to finish if I am doing it.

One of the things holding me back is time constraint. It takes a lot of time to work on something like that, especially on my laptop, since it’s only 1.73gHz (which isn’t bad for a laptop, but much slower than today’s desktops)

Anyway, that’s what I’d like to learn.

My History with Computers

I started using computers when I was young -- I think I was about 9 years old or so. It was a Packard 433 or something like that. It ran Windows 3.1 and you had to start it up with a command prompt. I loved AOL and "proggies". From there, I quit using a computer when I moved to Oklahoma when I was 11 because we were always playing outside and our computer was so crappy.

We got a new Gateway and I loved using it. I used it for email, AOL, chatting, and started getting into graphic programs like flash and such. I knew very little and progress was slow. I wanted to learn how to code things, so my parents bought me a program that taught Visual Basic and then eventually I had a tutor for about 4 months. I quit learning that after I realized I really didn't like that aspect of it all.

I learned HTML when I was about 14 and made a Pokemon website. I was pretty proud, since it got like 100 hits a day haha. Pretty lame.

I kinda lost HTML when I was introduced to computer programs like Frontpage and then Dreamweaver. From there, I kinda just went to graphics and started editing pictures and such in Paint Shop Pro and took a few tutorials for Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, and Paint Shop Pro. Just recently I got Photoshop CS2 and have been playing around in it. I kinda just do it as a hobby and am quite inexperienced (oh, and I tried to learn Actionscript for Flash). I never got too deep into coding like CSS or forms and such, but whenever I need something I just find a tutorial online and learn how to do it.

I guess the branch of computers I'm interested in is media -- for web or print. I have Sony Vegas for editing video and Adobe Audition for audio, but I'mm not too interested in audio and video editing is too slow a task for me on my 1.5gHz (around that?) and 1gig RAM laptop. Also, I haven't really found the time to do much with it anyway.
Anyway, that's about it.

-Jon