Why are there no alternate videos for windows/non-mac users? And why is there an emphasis on non-free software?

Not all free software uses ads. Check the FSF for proof. "It doesn't matter if it's a white cat or a black cat so long as it catches mice". --Deng Xiaoping. I want to say I agree with you for most part. My only caveats are that not all free software [Stallman opposes 'freeware' as a term] and that the second point--you can't be trained on the job-- is exactly what is wrong with the average American employer. I digress. Your answer is very well written. I was looking to give out an easy best answer mark and you more than earned it. Your writing is clear, concise and respectful--no ad hominems to be found.

What has been your favorite track so far?

Thanks for the Best Response vote- I strive for those. :-) I tend to go into professor mode when I answer questions; being able to explain things clearly goes with the job. (In a perfect world, I'd be a college art professor, teaching jewelry/metalsmithing.) Ad hominum has no place in reasonable discussion, as a rule.

As to your analogy, while it's true that a black cat will catch a mouse as well as a white one, a fat blind cat is not going to catch one as easily as a spry young cat with clear sight. Tools which may appear equal because they produce the same general thing aren't necessarily equal in ease or effectiveness of process-- or even in what they can do. Here’s an example of what I mean: as a trained professional metalsmith, I spend a lot of time using a variety of hand tools, particularly a wide array of hammers. Because of my experience with these tools, I am very much an advocate of using the right tool for the job. It ultimately makes for much more efficient production and a better finished product. In addition, the wrong tool can create more problems than it solves. In some cases, it’s a question of which hammer is the right one. Your average household claw hammer, while great for pounding in nails when building a house, isn’t going to be useful in smithing. Instead, I have a range of specialty hammers, all with specific jobs- some for forging, some for raising, etc. Yeah, they’re all hammers but trying to use a 2lb blacksmith hammer to chase a delicate design in a thin sheet of sterling silver will cause more problems that I’d have to fix later and would do a spectacularly crappy job all around (short version- heavy hammer+ soft thin metal= lots & lots of holes). Conversely, trying to use a chasing hammer to forge a quarter inch steel rod isn’t going to do much good, either—such a light hammer will barely make a dent in a hard metal. I need the weight of the 2lber to force the metal into shape. (I hope that analogy makes sense to you). To put it back in the design world, it’d be like trying to do a page layout in Photoshop instead of InDesign or trying to edit a photo in Illustrator. You're right that it's not always the case that the more expensive tools are better- sometimes they're just more expensive- but you have to know your tools, your own skill level, what your customer/client/employer wants, and your finished product well enough to spot those. Ultimately, you have to decide if the price for the tool is worth it. Businesses have decided that Photoshop is their tool of choice because it does what they want consistently & they feel that it’s worth the price.

I agree with you in general about the unwillingness of employers to train employees & what a bad idea that is all around, but the truth is that in some cases they simply don't have to. They've got enough people applying that have the skill set they're looking for already. Why would they hire someone they’d have to train when they’ve got 50 other candidates who already know how to do what they need? To use myself as an example again, when I finished my metalsmithing degree last year & found a distinct lack of teaching jobs available, I started looking for jobs as a bench jeweler. I am an excellent metalsmith, I fabricate all kinds of jewelry by hand that I also designed, I have a beautiful portfolio and I know I could do the job and do it well. However, I don't have much experience working with gold in general, repairing jewelry, or setting faceted gemstones-- skills essential to bench work. So, when I apply for those jobs, I'm at disadvantage when compared to someone who has done jewelry repair for a couple of years and already knows half a dozen different ways to resize a gold ring. (Which would be a large part of why I decided that I should update my web design skills. There’s more openings for tech people for bench jewelers, too. )

Favorite track? I dug most of the Web Design one, except for Sass. It's had two of my favorite courses- Design Basics &, surprisingly, Illustrator.

I liked the Illustrator course because it was surprisingly in-depth. I’d figured I’d breeze through it like I had all the other design-specific courses in the track, but instead I found myself really working. I even learned some things! Mat Helme did a great job setting up some great exercises that really made you learn the program. I wish that the Photoshop class had been similarly detailed-- although 90’s Web Guy totally cracked me up because I knew exactly what he was talking about (even if I question his musical taste- Counting Crows? Seriously? There were so many better bands in the 90s!)

I loved Design Basics for one reason—the section on Web Typography. I was so excited I cheered for days! I last did professional web design about 10 years ago, as an accidental tech in the Grad Office at my alma mater.** It was still in the era of having designers in one room and the coding guys in another & ne’er the twain shall meet. Also, FrontPage existed. I tried to straddle both as best I could but as a design person, I found the design capabilities in html hugely limiting. I’m also a big typography geek- my graphic design program put a massive emphasis on it. So, when I saw that section, I was ecstatic because OMG! Web people had learned about typography! They talked about readability! That was the clearest sign to me at just how far web design has come in the last 10 years. It made me happy. They just added a new Web Typography-specific course & I’m looking forward to taking.

I’m currently in the Front-End Web Development track, which is interesting- although I’m amused that the CSS course in it is a more basic one than the CSS course in the Web Design track. Still, I need to learn Javascript & JQuery & probably PHP & MySQL, too. I’d really like to get into UX- it feels similar to how I approach making functional metalwork, where a major concern is how the customer will use the piece, except applied to a different technology.

I know- now I’m writing like a typical college professor. Initially, I’m all concise & focused. Then I get asked a question & I give you more information than you ever wanted to know on subjects esoteric & only tangentially related to the original subject.

** Totally a case of, "Wait, you've seen html code & not fainted? You get to do our web site!" For the entire graduate program for my university. As a work study. My previous experience was updating the monthly menu on the website for Senior Center Services at the social services agency I worked at which I did in straight html & attempting to design a website for the senior center I directed in- of all things- Print Shop. I shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the grad site, let alone design & maintaining it, but the IT department at the time refused to give it proper attention. And hey, I figured out how to design & maintain a huge website from the ground up by the seat of my pants, so that’s something. Of course, using Dreamweaver helped considerably- yay for view in code&design mode! :-D (Why isn’t that working right? Oh, because there’s an extra comma over there.) It ended up being a very nice site, too. And then the IT department decided the entire university had to adopt their in-house content management system, which I can only describe as being so not user-friendly that it was actively user-hostile.

Shh. Don't say such things! You might accidentally invoke the infamous Imgur downvote fairies!