Fred Wilson did a nice post on his personal history in computing, which inspired me to recall my own history.
I first used a computer in 1969. It was a time share service provided by NORAD to high school students. The free dial-in service prompted us to make long distance calls rather than program the computer. Missed the chance to invent VOIP.
In 1982 I invested in my first IT company, a provider of videotext. Learned the importance of not being ahead of the market when investing. The Internet came along about 10-12 years later. Went off to Japan for eight years instead of continuing to invest in IT companies.
In 1983 I had my first email account on Compuserve. Used the account to surf Compuserve content from hotels around the world on weekends. Licensed Compuserve in Japan, which lead to the first ISP there.
In 1995 I made my first Powerpoint presentation at a conference. Everybody else still used transparencies or slide dollies.
In 1996 I established the first networked company in Indonesia for email. Also I built the first private voice network using satelite. Saw my first business card with just an email address for contact information.
I bought my first personal organizer in 1997, a Palm 1000. I bought my first BlackBerry in 1999 when it was an email only device. Wish they still made the email only version.
In 1999 I raised $35 million for an Internet-based company. The first Internet bubble burst shortly thereafter.
In 2000 I ran a telephone company and correctly called the growth in data services. Data service revenue grew to $18 million in one year. Experimented with private wireless networks for companies, which never caught on.
Started blogging in 2007. July will be five years. Great decision for me and hopefully the readers.
Started tweeting in 2008. Spanish language tweets give me great access to links and info I do not normally see. Have met some great people through Twitter (and blogging).
Joined OLPC in 2009 and began a serious education in operating systems and hardware components. 40 years after my first use of a computer I actually understand the engineering.
