My first true experience with computers was in high school with a teletype printer equipped with an acoustic coupler modem.
In college I began with punch cards and classes in PL/1 and FORTRAN. I purchases a Tandy 1000 PC and started to get comfortable with the VAX-11/780.
I got a job at a Heathkit/Zenith store and learned how to build and fix Apple, Mac and IBM compatible machines. While there I also became certified in Novell Netware, IBM Token Ring and AppleTalk networking.
After moving to the Boston area and working at another computer reseller, I began a ten year career with Ziff-Davis Publishing. This included stints at a software development startup called Interchange and many years at PC Week/eWeek where I managed their editorial production systems.
I wrote an advice column in PC Week called "The Net Adviser" and for several other publications. Osborne Mc-Graw-Hill published my book The IT Professionals Guide in 1999.
For the past two decades I have been teaching computer science at the high school level.