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Computers: My Lifeblood
 My first experience with computers dates
back to 1980, when I was among a select group of fourth graders who got to
watch a demonstration of a Star Trek game on an Apple II+. I was
enchanted. Within a year, I had convinced my father to enroll me in a course in
computer programming at a nearby college, where I wrote my first programs in BASIC on
an Atari 800. The seeds
were sown.
Computers have, of course, changed a great deal since then, but my interest
in them has only grown. I have written programs in a number of languages at one
time or another, including C, DCL, PostScript, Unix
shell scripting (Bourne
shell, ksh, and csh), Perl, C++, Visual Basic (v4), Lingo, HyperTalk, HTML, Modula-2, TPU, and assembly language (6502 and
VAX). Beyond programming, my interests include networking, interface design,
and data security.
I currently own three computers: a Power Macintosh G4
("Quicksilver"), an iBook, and a Sun Ultra 10
workstation. The G4 is fully loaded, and does more than what I need it to
do for now. My trusty iBook is great for the road, where I have fairly simple
needs. My Sun workstation is for experimentation with Solaris, which is currently the
flavor of Unix I use the most at work.
Personal Projects
I have several personal projects that I work on, as time allows:
- Learning to program in C
for Mac OS. I already know how to do it pretty well under Unix. I've
largely stopped learning C under “Classic” Mac OS, as I want to learn Cocoa API
programming under Mac OS X.
- The dictionary project. I wasn't satisfied with the accuracy and
scope of word lists I found out there for use with building spelling
checkers. So, I've set out to make my own list.
- Learning Perl. I can now say that
"I know Perl", but I still consider myself a beginner.
- Spam filtering tools. I don't believe in blocking content. Instead,
I've written some scripts and C programs that filter based on the source (IP
address) of e-mail. This is, of course, a work in process. It works especially
well for me because my ISP allows a huge
amount of customization on
the mail server itself.
Computer Timeline
|
| 1980 |
First exposure to personal computers, an Apple II+. |
| 1981 |
First programming experience. My parents enroll me in a computer
programming class for kids at Union College, where I learn to program in
BASIC
using an Atari 800. |
| 1983 |
My father brings home a then-new Apple IIe, our family's
first personal
computer. The unit is purchased over my objections; I believe the Atari 800 would be a better
choice. (Nobody's perfect.) Nonetheless, I quickly embrace the machine. Over
the next six years, I will become proficient in Applesoft BASIC, 6502 assembly language, and
(Apple) 6502 machine code. |
| 1986 |
Our high school buys its first Macintosh, a 512KB "Fat Mac", to be followed
later by a laser printer. Since I can't program on it, I dismiss it as "an
interesting plaything". |
| 1987 |
I discover the Amiga (1000)
computer hidden in the office of one of the art teachers at my high
school. I become enamored with the machine, which
embodies a creative spirit with horsepower that simply wasn't being offered
elsewhere in the consumer computer market of the day. |
| 1989 |
After a long period of soul-searching, I purchase my first computer,
an Amiga 500, along with
plenty of software and hardware toys. Again, I demonstrate my naïveté of the
computer market by believing that the Amiga was, is, and will be a
superior computing platform. |
| 1990 |
After nearly flunking out of college as a film student, I decide to try
programming as a possible career path, and enroll in RIT's Computer Science
department. |
| |
While on leave from college later that year, I begin to fall in with a group
of students at RPI, and become a non-student member of their ACM chapter. I
receive my first introduction to Unix on a collection of 3B2/300s and 400s. While
unsophisticated even in 1991, they provide the basis for my enlightenment about
programming and system administration. Also during this time, I begin learning
how to program in C. |
| 1991 |
My father purchases a Macintosh
IIsi. After discovering the machine at my parents' house while home from
college, I begin to appreciate the Mac again. |
| 1994 |
After nearly flunking out of the computer science curriculum at RIT, I do
some soul-searching. I discover that I'd rather be in the Information Technology department,
which dealt less with pure coding and more with computer-human interaction
issues. I become successful with my new major, graduating in May 1998 with my
B.S. in Information Technology with a networking concentration. |
| 1995 |
This time, I do it right. I buy a Power Macintosh
7500/100. |
| 1996 |
RIT hosts a conference on privacy ethics. Because I am taking a class on
privacy issues from the host, a professor in the Philosophy department, I am
urged to attend. A number of participants speak on issues of electronic
privacy, which awakens an awareness of the social ramifications of computer use
(and misuse). |
| 1999 |
I begin my first official system administration job, the culmination of a
long and twisted academic path. And yes, I actually like it. |
| 2000 |
To the amazement of my friends, I purchase my first laptop, a tangerine iBook. The
reason my friends are shocked is that I've never owned a laptop before now. |
| 2001 |
My Power Mac 7500 is retired in October after six years of faithful
service. Replacing it is a dual 800 MHz
“Quicksilver” Power Mac G4. I also purchase my first uninterruptible power
supply (UPS). The new computer also marks the first time I used Mac OS X, which
I immediately fall in love with. |
| 2002 |
My "orange toilet seat" iBook is replaced after two years with a model
which is faster and has a larger display, a 700 MHz, 14.1"
iBook. |
| |
In December, I take my new iBook on a train trip to Schenectady for
Christmas. This isn't unusual by itself, but it marks the first time I do so
without a bundle of CDs. Five weeks earlier, using iTunes, I had begun
converting some of my CD albums to MP3 files for
the first time, now that my laptop has enough hard drive space to store audio
sampled with a high-resolution bit rate. |