User:Rob Napier

Hi, I'm Rob Napier. Hope I can be of help.

I'm an Australian electronics engineer with a background in software engineering dating back to the mid 60s.

My first gig was on an ICT 1905A at the Queensland Main Roads Department in 1967. (I still have my old flow chart template.) Later I worked at the Bougainville copper mine, then joined the RAAF where I trained and worked as a radio technician, then studied engineering.

My main interest is in getting the history of computing more accurate. (I collect old adding machines and electronic calculators.) Because so much happened in the computer industry in such a short time, important facts are lost or the focus can be one-sided. Having been there in the days of rotating drum memories (pre-ferrite core and RAM/ROM) through to the development of the BBC Micro, parallel processing and more recently, AJAX and other web technologies, I hope I can add a little to the project.

Looking back on a career spanning more than 40 years, I have to say it was one hell of a ride! I just hope it's as much fun for future generations of engineers.