So, why does that matter to you? Who am I, and what do I have to offer that other bloggers can't or won't? Why should you spend your time here?
My name is Aaron Cheatwood, and I am a student of technology. Yep, that sounds corny, but bear with me.
I was born in 1984, which means that I am old enough to have used computers back when POGS were big in 1990. I played The Oregon Trail on the Macintosh system, suffered through DOS-based authoring and printing and Corel word processing, and got really really lost in the text-based game Adventure. My first paint program was MacPaint in grayscale, which wasn't much, but it was a start.
My family's first computer was an HP with a user-interface that made Windows 95 look just like a house, complete with wallpapered hallways and chintzy rooms for the applications (luckily that didn't catch on). I bought my first computer, in 1999 with my entire summer's earnings and it had a whopping 5 gigabyte hard-drive. I used Napster, I had an MP3 player that wasn't an iPod, and my favorite game was a flight-simulator on a single blue floppy disk.
The point of the narrative is this: I fell in love with computers and technology at an early age. I learned how to work with them at a time when, despite advancements outside Utah, nobody here had a clue what they were. When I goofed with the settings or disconnected that vital cable, it was up to me to figure out how to make it all work again, and I loved it! That love has never left me. I built basic custom computers in high-school, played with linux in my spare time, and studied computer science in college. Now, I run a computer repair and technology services company here in Heber City, Utah while finishing up Grad School and I still love it.
I decided to write a blog at the suggestion of Mitch Joel in his book titled "Six Pixels of Separation". Why? Because I feel like I have a unique point of view on technology, and I can offer you something from my experiences that will allow you to fall in love with it as I have (if you want to).
I am amazed at the current state of technology users. Even today, many of you who will read this are still apprehensive about technology. Let me clarify a bit. I'm not really talking about your HDTVs, DVD or Blu-Ray players, video game consoles or cell phones. Most people I meet have those down pretty well. Computer repair, networking, print and file sharing, software, media servers, backup drives... those are the topics that draw some blank stares.
The reality is that if you are much older than I am, you have seen the development of these things, but maybe really never dug in yourself. And, if you're younger than I am, you know this stuff like the back of your hand, until something goes wrong, because most of the time it doesn't. Even out of my friends from school that were into computers, only a few remain involved enough to help when things aren't working right.
This is where I come in.
I don't care which group you fall into. To me, technology has made my life easier, more enjoyable and simpler. I want it to do the same for you. If yours is acting up, I can help. I can fix it for you, or teach you how to fix it yourself. I can offer you ideas for changing your life through technology, and I want to do just that.
This blog is going to serve a few purposes.
- First, it's going to allow me to teach anyone that wants to learn what I know. I get asked similar questions all the time in my computer business that are going to end up here explained.
- Second, it's going to allow me to record my writings on technology subjects from some local media outlets to share more broadly.
- Third, it's going to be a place for me to comment on the tech world as it changes from day to day, and to draw your attention to things that might change our world as we know it.
- Lastly, it's going to allow me to let you know when I'll be doing public classes or outreach events. I would love to meet you in person.
-Aaron Cheatwood
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