HUSBAND - Nickolas A. Avdonin: Chief Technologist
I was there at the start of the microprocessor revolution of the 70's. Fresh out of the University of California at Berkeley with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, I was fortunate enough to work for a small company in Silicon Valley, California - the birthplace of the microprocessor. I remember attending a seminar in 1974 where Intel Corporation clearly told us young engineers that the "microprocessor" was the next technology that everyone should be using. They were right!
So our little company jumped on the 6502. The microprocessor was eventually used by Apple in their personal computer, the legendary Apple II. In the late 70's I even owned an Apple II; but my first personal computer was what they called a "homebrew". It was put together using parts found around the engineering lab. We used a Teletype, paper tape, hex keypads and paper "coding forms" to develop our products. We finally developed a magnetic stripe security access system and an energy saving controller for supermarket stores. Talk about being green! But my "calling" was secure: I would work with these small machines.
Skip to the 80's. I was working for Xerox Corporation when we saw the first IBM personal computer. Sure, it had a beautiful "sculptured" keyboard; and a cool green monitor, but where was the software? Still to be written and developed.
So came the 90's with Windows and the Mac computer, things were rolling very nicely; we even had hard disks to store our data. Networks were just developing and by 2000, the Internet had its golden days. I was developing color printers, GPS navigation aids, and radio communication with the use of the personal computer, in which I received two US patents; U.S. Patent
5,613,201 Automatic Call Destination and U.S. Patent
5,901,341 Land Mobile Radio System.
Flash forward to the start of the Millennium. I was wrapping up my radio communication experience by designing a "monster" of a program, controlling radio resources and networking telephone communication. And the personal computer has almost become a commodity in every household.
With 35 some years of working with personal computers, I want to impart my knowledge and experience to help people. With simple techniques, so much anger, frustration, and pain can be avoided. Let me be "in your corner" too!
WIFE - Sandra M. Avdonin: Technical Writer & Web Developer
Since the late 1990's I had been working for VDV Media Corporation as their Documentation Specialist. I was in charge of developing and maintaining the corporate website. And I was responsible for publishing their technical manuals, spec sheets, technical description papers and brochures for various products such as their voice and data network system, digital switch, RF base stations and radio subscribers; not to mention the numerous engineering changes that goes along with it!
This required in-depth knowledge using various versions of office publishing software, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, PDF files, HTML editors, animation, audio and video files, GUI and CorelDRAW, etc.
It's been my experience that although there will always be software programs that are ill-written, design advancements have made significant improvements. We live in the exciting times when new and innovative design tools are available for the personal user. No longer are these tools exclusive to only a select few. With a little bit of knowledge and training, anyone can become a master in no time.
Let us teach you how to put your computer to work for you!
