the_2nd_coming asks: "I am currently in college and I am majoring in math and computer science. Writing papers in Word and OpenOffice, while not a pain, is slow work due to formating. I have learned that LaTex is used for writing Math and Science papers a lot and once learned makes writing papers quick. I have found few good comprehensive resources on the web, and few books in the book stores. I was amazed that O'Reilly did not even have a book on it. What good sources are there that can teach me LaTex for Mathematics and BibTex?"

Not-to-desperate asks: "There is lots of info around on interviewing when hiring but what about the other way around? What do you look for in an employer? Are the any 'minimum requirements' that should be met? Obviously if you haven't got a job at all, getting hired is the main criteria, but what if you're jumping ship so to speak? I'm thinking of stuff like better salary, work conditions, type of projects, possibility of on the job training, and so on."

Lorenzo de Medici asks: "In August I have the great pleasure of being able to hike all sixteen miles of the Zion Narrows. I'd like to take along a camera, but the problem is that the water level in the Narrows can be unpredictable, with flash floods arriving with little warning. Light levels tend to be low as well. Does anyone have any advice on what kind of camera I could bring that would survive yet still bring in decent photo quality?"

maxdamage asks: "After reading an earlier Ask Slashdot article and the responses, I am very worried about my future career plans. This fall I am going into CET, which is essentially a cross between a CS and an Electrical Engineering degree. According to these responses, CS majors are doomed to spend their lives waiting tables. Does a computer related engineering degree give hope or should I change to a more general engineering program, before its too late?"

theblkadder asks: "Our company is currently undergoing a company-wide transition to Linux on the desktop. While there are numerous excellent guides and tutorials for the admin crowd, I haven't been able to turn up much for the non-technical user. I'm looking for something that would cover such topics as basic desktop do's and don'ts, like 'do choose a non-dictionary password' and 'don't blindly drop to root and install an unverified/unauthenticated RPM that you receive via email,' etc. Anyone seen a guide like this?"

phebz23 asks: "I am a supervisor for a modest (7 person) technical support department. Our company is going through a growing phase, but we're hitting a wall support-wise. We do business worldwide, but when it comes to technical support we only offer it in English. My boss and I are starting to research organizations that can provide technical support in other languages like French, German and Spanish. Does anyone have any experience working with an organization in this capacity, and/or have any suggestions on an appropriate solution? Thanks everyone."

VxSote asks: "A 19 year old kid tried to buy a car only to find out his SSN had been stolen and used by a terrorist. Now, after talking to various government entities, he is no closer to having his (presumably) good name cleared. So this situation begs the question: how exactly does one go about fixing such a mess?"

landrau asks: "I'm planning on building a render farm and was wondering whether anyone would know the pros and cons of the AR350 processor, used in The Renderdrive, as opposed to building a renderfarm with an AMD or P4 processor." While the Renderdrive looks like a real rendering workhorse that can produce some gorgeous results (see images in page header), does it justify its lofty pricetag of £6950 (over $12,300USD)?

Prof. Jonathan Ezor asks: "My PalmOne Tungsten C has built-in Wi-Fi, and I'm generally fortunate to find free Wi-Fi hotspots in many of the places where I travel. In others, though, my only choices are one or more flavors of paid access. I know that many of the pay-for-use Wi-Fi providers (T-mobile, Wayport, etc.) offer reciprocal arrangements with other carriers, which brings me to my question: Which Wi-Fi carrier and plan offers the best chance of available service, in the northeast United States, for the best price? Keep in mind that, because my primary Wi-Fi hardware is the Tungsten C, carriers that require multiple software to run simultaneously (e.g. keeping a browser open while checking e-mail, or having multiple browser windows open) aren't feasible. Thanks for your input."

gbulmash asks: "The newly updated "Star Trek: The Experience" at the Las Vegas Hilton not only offers thrills, chills, and a Borg invasion... It's offering Trek-themed Wedding Packages. You can be married on a replica of the Enterprise bridge by a costumed starfleet officer and have additional Trek characters as guests. I thought "how geeky", but then remembered the guy who paid $22,550 for Joaquin Phoenix's white armor from Gladiator , claiming he was going to wear it at his wedding. All this has inspired me to ask what's the geekiest or nerdiest thing you've ever encountered at a wedding? There was a thread on geeky party favors for a wedding last year, but this question goes beyond that... getting married by a Gandalf impersonator, a cake shaped like Cthulu, groom dressed as Darth Vader and his best man is a stormtrooper. I know tales like these are out there, so please share them."

Jakyll asks: "Why aren't there [more] games for the PC that come on a BOOTABLE CD-ROM? Use Linux and autodetect the hardware - it would make DirectX and Microsoft irrelevant. Boot the disk just like your PC was a Playstation or an XBox - what is the main reason this isn't happening?" A few publications have been released like this: Gentoo has done this for UT 2003 and America's Army (they have their own site but it appears to be broken at this time); and there are the ScummVM Live CD ISOs, out there. Does anyone know if the major game studios have plans on doing something similar, or if not, the reasons why they aren't?

jabbadabbadoo asks: "Our software shop has about 30 Linux servers and 15 NT servers running enterprise applications for our customers. Since we have service level agreements with most of them, uptime is crucial. One of the things we've done is to use RAID setups extensively, using products from well renowned disk- and controller vendors. However, we have discovered the paradox that introducing RAID controllers actually reduces overall uptime! Not only does more 'steel' increase the probability of failure, but what fails first is usually the RAID controllers. What is your experience? Have we been having bad luck?"

An anonymous reader asks: "I have recently started using Dreamweaver to manage one of many websites that I work on. One feature that I am growing to love is the ability to use Dreamweaver library files (.LBI). What are Slashdot readers' opinions on this format? Is there something better (read: free and standards-compliant)? I also would like to find something I could use on an open-source platform so that I won't be locked in to using Dreamweaver. What do you use for your sites?"