How would one go about getting "employment", testing cutting edge computer parts and writing reviews? I am a computer geek who knows his way around any flavor of Windows, and is just now teaching himself Ubuntu and liking it. Ironically, it was here at HWC I got my start in this hobby. I believe I am still something like #50 on the top posters list but have hardly been very active here much in years. I intend to get back to using this forum and helping give back to others what was so freely given to me at this very BBS.
You see it all started with my first "real" PC. My dad was throwing away an old 486 66MHz box and gifted it to me. He had been into computers for years and ran one of the first computer businesses in the United States for blind folks. It was called K Talker Sales, and my father was totally blind himself, so I got to watch the infancy of speech synthesis in progress, beginning with the old "suitcase" Kaypro "CPM" (I think it was called that) boxes. I remember endless hours of fun watching eerie bright green letters in a dark room playing scores of beautiful text based adventure games, like Zork, or the aptly names original "Adventure". I had B1 Bomber, and it took me some time to win a mission in that one, but I remember then the graphics card and flat panel was between my ears and all I had to do was close my eyes, until at least the TRS80 and the magical "Sands of Egypt", but I digress....
Long story short, that 486 didn't satisfy for long and as soon as I had saved the cash I went to the computer store for the first time. I bought a PC Chips Motherboard, a Cyrix 233MHz, and 32, yes count them! Thirty-freaking-two, megs of ram! My excitement knew no bounds as I embarked on the adventure. I went home hardly being able to endure the ride there to start assembly. I was careful. I read instructions before I did anything. I slowly and methodically disassembled the AT form factor case noting exactly how it was. I methodically replaced the motherboard, with CPU, and memory pre-installed, with heatsink and fan, and plugged everything in almost exactly like it was when I found it.
I then made my first real mistake. I closed up the box, before it was tested, and prepared to inspect my work. I turn it on and it does power up, but no post. I open it and check everything and can't for the life of me figure what I had done wrong. I was sure something was defective and I was PISSED.
I took the whole mess back to the shop to ask them, and they told me the IDE cable was just backwards. I went home and sure enough had successfully built my first computer.
MANY lessons were soon learned via trial and error, via some slow dialup modem, and lots of questions here. If your archives go that far back I am sure you could still find some of my fledgling posts. Everyone here was so patient, understanding, and helpful. I posted so much here that soon you could Google "markjs" and get hits. My 15 minutes of fame perhaps?
In any case I could go on, but I think you get my point. I have the time, the passion, and the writing skills to be one of the BEST at this job, and if there is any money to be made I will excel at this. It is my life’s passion. If anything can be said for a man who loves his job, it's probably that he is happy and a master at what he does. It is the IDEAL job for me and a long held far off dream that only recently became known to me. I have decided to chase down my dream. Can you help?
-MITD
