Of course Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, etc. are not in the list. Those are software and computer engineering companies
(Wish I could find a link to the math problem I'm thinking of)
This one? http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/prime/articles/zeno_tort/index.asp
Time Capsule works well.
Time capsules appear to have a MTBF of ~18 mos; the power supply dies. Apple will replace it via an APP-covered computer that uses it, but not if you crack the case to get the hard drive out.
So, either eat the $$ after 18 mos to save your 18 mos of backups, or give Apple your data for a refurbed unit, or find a backup solution for your backup solution.
I'm not buyin' another one.
One of the best pieces of advice I've ever heard is that if they ask you if you know a certain technology or language, to always say yes.
Bzzzt! Wrong answer. If you say you know , I'm going to assess your knowledge. If I catch you misrepresenting yourself, you've lost all my trust, and we're not gonna go any further. Tell me you haven't worked with it, but you can pick it up--and then we'll have a discussion about what you do to keep up with the industry. Sound motivated and intelligent, and you'll get the job. God, I hate it when candidates lie. It's a waste of time and energy for both of us.
... but in the Java world there is the SCJP certification that would look good and show that you know what you're doing despite not having a degree.
Gah. I took these tests, which proves only that I can take tests. As a hiring manager, if these certs showed up on a resume *and* the candidate was proud of passing, that was pretty much it... Give me real world experience any day. I prefer someone with the passion to work on an open source project than somebody with the spare cash to buy a study guide and an exam grade.
If I were you, I'd worry more about my resume being clean and relevant than what prospective employers might find via a quick background check, because I can filter resumes faster than I can google your name and figure out which of any of the results are somehow speaking about you.
I've hired a few people in my career, and the process goes like this:
If and only if we get thru these steps am I going to bother thinking about googling you, or checking references and employment history; and if you've made it through these steps, I'll be sure to do it right. This is because I've invested a large amount of time separating the wheat from the chaff, and I'd really rather not do it again. If there's a problem, I'm going to talk to you about it for exactly the same reason.
Good luck with your job search.
If all else fails, lower your standards.