I don't know why I like computers, but ever since I was a child I've loved playing with them. It's not games I want to use them for, it's applications. Give me a new computer and I'll spend hours installing little programs that do stuff, or I’ll try to find shareware that I can load to change the desktop wallpaper or pop up a quote. Maybe this goes a long way to fulfilling my need to tinker, or maybe I'm just a geek at heart and I don't want to admit it.

Whatever the reason I've grown up with computers and I still love messing with them. My entry into the microchip world wasn't the conventional one for someone of my age. I never owned a Sinclair Spectrum or a Commodore 64. My first computer was a Texas Instruments TI99-4A. I played around with it for a while and then later I got a Commodore Amiga. After that it all went downhill as I purchased a succession of PCs, and it's now got to the point where I have four desktop PCs, two laptops and three palm tops.

A few years after getting the Amiga (and trading away the TI, a decision I regret to this day) bulletin boards lured me in. My first excursion into the world of modems came with the help of a Supra 2400 Plus. I logged onto a few BBS's, downloaded some files and sent a couple of messages. At the time it seemed like a really wild world and in comparison today's networks it was.

About eight months after getting my first modem I discovered The Crypt, a BBS in the Nottingham area and from this I found EM Net - a small network of local bulletin boards which hosted various forums. My messaging shot up, my file grabbing dropped, and I began to realise what comm's was all about - talking to people.

Things progressed even further when the internet became a viable option and I was forced to buy a PC so I could use Netscape (well okay so there were a few games I wanted as well). Internet Relay Chat and Usenet became great places to hang out, and then as these died away the web started to take over.