Re: What do you do in real life?

[Mark McDougall <msmcdoug@no.spam.iinet>]

Boot Zero wrote:

> Eight bit computing is a nice escape from modern computing.  So I ask 
> readers of c.s.apple2 -- what do you do in the real  life?  What do you 
> do for a living?

My father came home with a TRS-80 Model I Level I 4KB machine in '79. That 
was pretty much a defining moment in my life as it turns out. He and I 
competed for computer time until he finally bought me a TRS-80 Coco some 
years later. From there I owned a TRS-80 Model 4P, then an Amiga 500, then I 
finally received an IBM PC XT? from him when he upgraded to an AT.

In '84 I started my Computer Science Degree, which I completed with the aid 
of my trusty TRS-80's - doing 'Programming Principles 1' assignments in 
Turbo Pascal, 'Programming Principles 2' assignments on Z80 assembler on 
CP/M, ray tracing for 'Computer Graphics' in monochrome hires and 
'Commercial Programming' assignments in RS-COBOL. Ah yes, switching floppy 
disks between 10-minute compilations and 5-minute assembly/linking - those 
were the days!!!

Fast-forward to the 90's - I'm working as a programmer/analyst in C on 
DOS/Windows for an insurance company, when a colleague shows me a Galaxian 
emulator for the PC. That was also a defining moment in my life!

Initially interested in arcade machine emulation (this was pre-MAME days!), 
I soon discovered a TRS-80 emulator. I then started getting interested in 
other microcomputer emulation, for machines I had encountered in my youth 
but never actually owned. The Apple II is a prime example.

These days, I'm working as an electronics design / software engineer, having 
returned to uni to study EE. My hobby over the last decade or more is 
collecting and emulating - in both software and hardware - retro video 
arcade, console and microcomputer systems. I own dozens of classic video 
arcade PCBs, several 8/16-bit consoles (and a few modern one), and various 
computers including TRS-80s, Apple IIe, BBC Micro, Commodore 64 & Amigas.

Working in contract R&D, we get a good variety of work and with that, the 
opportunity to dabble in a variety of technologies - most recently FPGA 
work. That's ideal for my hobby as it has given me the opportunity, and 
experience, to work on a number of retro-related hardware projects (mainly 
emulation).

My dilemma is that my interests in all things retro are perhaps a little too 
broad - there's not nearly enough time to devote to each aspect or platform 
that I've acquired. Considering that the Apple II scene alone offers more 
than enough interest/potential for one person to tinker indefinitely, spread 
across arcade, console and all manner of micros it's terribly frustrating - 
in a good way! ;)

Anyway, there's little doubt that the TRS-80 Model I Level I 4KB machine is 
the very reason I'm doing what I am doing today!

Regards,

--
|              Mark McDougall                | "Electrical Engineers do it
|  <http://members.iinet.net.au/~msmcdoug>   |   with less resistance!"