Junkies Who E

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Junkies Who
E - J

Who are They?

My first contact with computers was in 1966. You hard wired a program board, punched holes in cards, twice, to verify first punch was correct. Physically put cards in a verifier to come up with a total, manually pulled paid items out of an invoice file, manually filed cards in order in drawers. This "computer" was in an air-conditioned room of substantial size. At the time this was better then what was being done previously, so we were lead to believe. By the way I was born in 1931.

Computers have come a long way since those days. My first contact with the PC as we know it now was in 1973. I was presented with an Apple 64+ a business software package, word processor and spreadsheet, with instructions to computerize the office. After I found out how to turn it on and opened the manual I was hooked and still am. I took as many courses that were available in our small city and to this day am still as fascinated as ever with programs and computers.

A few courses that I have taken were programming courses, never wrote anything of any consequences other than required exercises but it has left me with a great admiration for people who do and can come up with a workable good program.

I like to look at programs from a "dummies" point of view. Many people who try to use computers get so frustrated with unclear instruction, unrealistic expectations. I feel strongly that instructions and descriptions of what the program will do, be presented accurately and clearly.

I have just put up my first web page which reflects my other interest, check it out if you feel so inclined. http://tnt.vianet.on.ca/pages/etaylor

Eric Brantner

My name is Eric Brantner and I am a 22 year old college student. I am studying Computer Technology specializing in Networking. I also manage several websites for various organizations in my area. I go to school in Omaha, NE but live in a small town in southwest Iowa. I love trying out new software and seeing what's out there to make my many, many hours in front of the computer more enjoyable than it already is. I am always looking to learn new things regarding the industry and get involved in something new. I am not very good at writing these things, so if anyone has any more ?'s e-mail me at ericbrantner@gmail.com.

Eric R. Natanael

The guy is only 22 years old, and actually his major concern is the environment. Computer was just a hobby, now it's a bit more than that. Living in a country where there's sun 365 days a year, he's been dealing with computer since 1984, that's when people around him hardly knew the word "computer". Since then he's been Mr Trial and Error. Every aspect of computer knowledge he has comes from messing around with it. It's not a rare occasion that his computer had to take several days off just to "recuperate" from his bashing. His interest lies in many types of programs including graphics, audio, file utilities, Internet software, HTML editor, games, and other stuff. Besides the environment he's also interested in design and music. Hey, if you're interested in being an environment friendly computer user, mail him! you can get his email address from the junkies.

Fantasy

I'd rather just be known as Fantasy and I hope you like 'Fantasy's reviews'. I am a mother of 2 little boys, who love playing on the computer as much as if not more than mom does. I am a true internet junkie. I know there is lots of junk out there, for I've been weeding through it. When I do finally find something worthwhile, I love sharing it with everyone. Watch for my review items and you can tell what I am currently into. (winks at you) Catch you later.

Fantasy can be contacted through the Junkies.

Gail Marsella

Gail Marsella teaches chemistry (mostly) and a science fiction seminar (occasionally) at
Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. She also freelances as a technical/science writer. She is a
devoted follower of both the X-Files and Babylon 5, actually pays for the shareware she uses
(including PKZip), and hopes eventually to rewrite all the bad software documentation in the
country (which should keep her out of trouble for several lifetimes.)

Grant Smith

My name's Grant Smith I work for CompuServe UK technical support and as such hate all things dial up and internet <g> My big thing is operating systems and networks so I love Unix, Netware and NT and have set up a Netware Network 4.x in my house because I am an anarak. I use Windows3.1x at work and Windows95, NT 3.5x and 4 at home so those are the main platforms I will be reviewing for but as soon as possible will also have an x86 running Linux and will review for that platform too.

Grant Smith can be contacted thru the Junkies

Hai Li

I'm a Chinese student. I was born in Beijing, the capital of P.R. China, June 1972. I'm studying in the Dept. of Electronic Engineering of Beijing Institute of Technology, and will get Master in 2000.

I'm the creator of Zeal SoftStudio, a noncommercial developers team. I'm skilled in Visual Basic, Borland & Visual C/C++, FoxPro, Delphi, etc. I have published a lot of articles in some top magazines and papers, such as PC Magazine Chinese Edition, PC Computing Chinese Edition, PC World China, Computer World China, China Computer Users, International Electronics, Software World, etc.

Harlan Bemis

Harlie Bemis is an Episcopal Priest and Psychotherapist living in rural Rhode Island, USA. His hobbies include:
---keeping Old English Mastiff -- the world finest house and companion dogs,
---gardening, with a special fondness for lilies,
---and, parapsychology, spending regular time on the paranormal and magick related newsgroups and practicing spiritual dowsing.

Secretly, he has been a computer addict for about 10 years and now admits to being a shareware junkie.
Harlie@Ix.netcom.com
Harlie Bemis, 16 Paris Olney Hopkins Road, Foster, RI 02825
(401) 647-7927 Voice (401) 647-5444 Fax

Harry Philips

Harry Philips -- Bethlehem, Pennsylvania USA

Harry is a retired programmer with 28 years of IBM service. Before IBM he worked about a year with a now defunct software house and before that he worked for 4 years with a now disbanded computer, radar and electronics manufacturing company. His last six years at IBM were spent on software and system design related to printing, publishing and fonts. The other 22 IBM years were spent designing and developing communications software. In that capacity he was the programming member of the design team for the Binary Synchronous (BSC) protocol which was an industry standard from 1988 to 1980. He also worked to ensure IBM software was able to cope with languages other than English and he represented IBM on an industry standard committee. While with the software house he worked mostly on a savings account system for a bank and an assembler for a computer manufacturer. His career started with the development of a debugging system and contributions to the development of an air traffic control system.

Contact the Junkies if you would like his Email address

The Plymothian

Hi, I am a 52 year old permanently retired computer fanatic, I spent most of my school life
trying to find a career for myself and went to Southampton University where I gained a degree
in Computer Sciences and promptly went to work in the public house trade where I met my wife
Ruth who I fell in love with at first sight and married three weeks later and who presented me
with my son Andrew.We left the pub business and after a while settled in Plymouth where I once
again took up computing and started to dabble in pc`s It took a few more years before I bought
my first P.C. which was an Amstrad with which I tried to design Business Cards and to build up
a Shareware Library. At this time I had a collapsed Lung which caused me to stop work and I
have since devoted most of my time to computing and teaching people the fundamentals thus
passing on my own knowledge.

MY HOME PAGE URL IS
http://www.saqnet.co.uk/users/belsoft

Istvan Beck

My name is Istvan Beck, born in Hungary many years ago. Lived in Israel several years and I am now working as a mathematician in Stavanger, Norway. Try to teach very resistant students combinatorics and logic. I like many kinds of games, but my favorite is still Civilization II, but I also enjoy all kind of arcade games. I still miss a good Win95 version of the old game LodeRunner.

If you know how to solve the equation
xxx-47xx-425x-825=0
then you have my age.

Istvan Beck,

HiS, Tek-Nat
Box 2557, Ullandhaug,
N-4004 Stavanger,
NORWAY.

Phone: +47-51 83 18 82
Fax: +47-51 83 17 50
E-mail: istvan.beck@tn.his.no

J Musil

I work at an elementary school where I try to keep all sorts of different computers (Apple IIes, 8088 IBMs and Mac Power PCs) up and running. I help train the teachers on their computers and the best part is that I teach them how to surf the Internet. It's fun to watch the excitement of a new surfer.

I'm very interested in educational shareware for the school and for my own two children, ages 7 and 9. And since I'm a big Mac fan, I'm always looking for kid-appropriate Mac games.

j. renee

I'm 21 y.o. female with an associate degree in computer science. I work for Sandhills Publishing and PcToday magazine testing corporate hardware for the readers and I keep user administration of the phone system under control as a day job. Beyond that, I have a three year old little terror that keeps me playing computer games or reruns of last summers nascar races. I live about a mile south of bfe and the internet and my computer is one of the few links I have to the technology world. I'll just include this link to a picture http://incolor.inetnebr.com/jillr/car.htm It's me, Kaleb, and my new car....

Janice Chandler

When I got my first modem and connected to my first bbs and downloaded my first file, the modem made a sort of shush-shush sound to connect and b-ba-beeped when the download finished. The rush was incredible! From that day on, modem noises became the most erotic sounds I could imagine.

Naturally, I almost lost my husband over my obsession, but we managed to work it out. Ten years and six computers later, I am still downloading and playing with files. My husband watches reruns on TV and falls asleep on the couch.
After years of extolling the virtues and pitfalls of numerous applications to anyone that would listen, I decided to start writing reviews. While I am primarily a fiction writer and poet, such dalliances do not pay the bills. I am using the reviews to hone my journalistic skills in hopes of getting a paying job.

Please visit me at http://www.geocities.com/janicechandler/index.html and let me know what you think of my endeavors.

Jan MacLean

25+ years as professional artist, last 4 years graphical artist
Use Win98
Interests are Graphic, Desktop, Email, Games, Browsers, Web Tools, Writing &
other fun Utilities
I've been a Beta Tester and 3rd party Graphical Add-on Designer for games
for the last 4 years.
Love trying out new and unique to unusual programs :)

Jc Cowles

Jc, which stands for James Cowles, is a 23 year old male. He currently resides in a rural suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His main interests are web publishing and graphic design. He is also consistently searching for the latest and greatest in shareware. For some reason, the current versions of any program are rarely good enough. If there is an update to a program, he surely has it and most likely has something to say about it.

Jc is proud that he put together his own computer. Everything from choosing the Intel 486DX4 motherboard, to jumping off the bandwagon and investing in an AMD 120Mhz processor. 16 Megs of RAM help tame the Windows 95 operating system he runs.

When it comes to shareware, his love for uploading and downloading shows if you consider he is the File Area Coordinator at a local Excalibur BBS. His job there is to ensure all visitors have access to the latest shareware. Via his USR 28.8 dialup, Jc has logged over 700 Megabytes of uploads and downloads within a five month period. Three of those months were using his Zoom 14.4.

Regardless, Jc could be stuck with a 386SX/33 with 4 Megs of RAM and a 2400 baud modem and you still couldn't sway him away from his love for shareware.

Contact the Junkies for Jc Cowle's Email address

Jeff Luebke

My name is Jeff Luebke, and I live in Plano Texas. I'm 43, and have been selling semiconductors
since I was 19 years old. When I eventually grow up I want to stop selling semiconductors.

I'm married and together we run our business...selling obsolete and obscure integrated circuits
to electronics companies worldwide...

Generally speaking our life, our job, and our hobbies, all blur into one big download... We
spend our days selling parts, so others can make computers which we buy and use to locate and
track parts, which are used to make computers. Which eventually need repair, and older
integrated circuits to bring them back up to speed...

Some of our friends say we are stuck in a rut..

Since we upgraded to ISDN, it isn't a rut.. Its just a never ending want list.

We don't really NEED to download software every day...We just really like doing it.. Besides we
can quit anytime we want. (Sure)

I focus mainly on business & office related software in my reviews..

Got an idea for software that should be reviewed? Or just feel like writing?

You can reach me at jeff@plano.com

Jessica Piper

I was born in De Aar, a small town in South Africa. I went to school at Hoër Volkskool, an Afrikaans School in Graaff-Reinet, the gem of the karroo. I am still living in Graaff-Reinet. I’m working as a secretary/trainer for a training company. We do all kinds of training from Supervisory training through to Computer Training and training school-leavers to be successful in applying for a job. When I’m not busy at work I like downloading new programs and using them to see what it can do and how good it is doing what they were designed for! That’s also why I became a shareware junkie…I like using new programs. To be a junkie is a pleasure for me as now I’ve got the chance of telling people, what programs are really working, and what not.

Jeff Wing

Hi! I'm Jeff Wing and I am an alcoholic...Oops! Netacholic, I mean. Well, it's just as bad. Instead of writing stories, teleplays and screenplays to sell and put food on the table, I've been monkeying around in the net and writing software reviews. My wife was real pissed with me but I told her to blame it on her karma....Luckily, I also added that it was my good karma to have a wonderful wife like her."

Jeff can be contacted at: suntan@poboxes.com

Jennifer Bowers

jenbow.gif (4955 bytes)

My name is Jennifer Bowers.I am 16 years old, and am home schooled in Lake Wales, Florida.I have lived there my whole life.Not much around here, but it's ok.My hobbies are playing baseball,football,soccer and bbsing.I collect stamps, coins, old toys and Stephen King books. I have three cats(Tiger,Tommi and Ki-Ki) and one dog(Muggs). Oh and of course I also spend "a lot" of time on the computer surfing the net or just playing games.My favorite Stephen King book is "IT" I loved it...very scary and cool.I like all kinds of music from alternative to country. Oops...forgot to mention I play an electric guitar...Cool huh?
I have been using computers since I was 12 years old...I learned everything I know from experience...my parents are not that "computer" smart, so I had to learn from scratch and tech support (hehe), but it was fun.Well I guess that's all I have to say for know.Oh, some of you may know me as EAGLE on the bbs boards around here. Feel free to give a hollar.My email is Eagle747@hotmail.com.Sorry I couldn't get a picture, I haven't gotta scanner.Cya!

Jim Northrup

I am 20 year old male college student, most likely headed into Forestry or other outdoor/nature related work. My first computer was an Apple IIe, on which I learned BASIC and wasted far too much time ;) When time came to go off to college, I moved on to a PC with WinDoze. At first, compared to the old text based Apple, I thought it was wonderful, but as I delved more into the computer world I found WinDoze rather inadequate, and eventually stumbled upon OS/2 Warp. I was hooked, and currently run *only* OS/2 Warp ver 4.0 on a machine with nothing but HPFS partitions :) I am certainly addicted to shareware, evidenced by the many floppies of zip files in my house.

I enjoy the outdoors, reading, cross-stitch, and computers of course :) I also collect Teddy Bears, and nothing comes between me and my favorite bear, Pendleton.

Email address: Jim Northrup northrup@mboxes.com

John Guilfoil

Name: John Guilfoil
Hometown: New Haven, CT
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Single, but taken :-)
Computer: Pentium II MMX 233, 48 MEGS of RAM, 8X CD-ROM
Hobbies: teaching computers, and reviewing software :)
Occupation: Student
EMail: johnguilfoil@juno.com
URL: The Video Game Centre
http://www.Geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/5907

I've got 6 years of computer use, 4 years of computer teaching. I love flight simulation games, and I will review any game or software title that is sent to me. My favorite flight sim is US NAVY FIGHTERS GOLD

Game Philosophy

There are two things in my mind that really make a game great, sound and graphics. If a game does not have good graphics, then, it will be harder to play, and a lot less enjoyable. If the sound is not too good, or if there is no sound at all, then the game will eventually become boring, and the game will not be as fun from the start.

Juanita

I work in the Metro Detroit area designing/programming databases and websites. I pull together my own web graphics, I like to fiddle with Photoshop. I also teach a computer class for students ages 6-60. I love to upgrade old information systems with new more efficient web based webware. My last really big project was redesigning Ford Motor Company's PC lease/tracking/billing application. Since then I enjoy playing with any new technology that may come out in IT Land. I have even had my stint with a T-Mobile Sidekick phone. I work full time in the retail sales industry and that to me is just work paradise. I have two rabid hobbies - reading and scrapbooking. http://www.juanitachronowski.com

Justin Bozonier

There are many companies I see out on the web that should have a lot more exposure than they currently receive. I aim to help as many of those developers as I can to get more exposure and secure a larger customer base. My belief is that if they make great software without a big budget I'd like to see them once they have secured a following giving them more money than they know what to do with.

This might make me seem biased to certain companies, but it is on the contrary, the companies that I hope to review have created products that I always wished someone would create and they have proven themselves to be the worthy producers of livid dreams not of commercial exploitations gone stale.

As I find new developers who also seek to make great products and push the threashhold on what we call great software I will review them as well. Those who send out software that is unoriginal will also receive a review, but its only purpose will be to warn those who might waste their time and precious money.

In closing I hope that some people might eventually listen to the warnings and joys that I will come to place on these pages and at some point maybe some of the ailing companies will reevaluate their strategy and find the spark of creativity that unwittingly exists in all... especially those who can create.

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