I started RDSD Communications as a hobby website some time in 1998. Initially it was nothing more than a place to drop a website and experiment around with different technologies that came about, while not having to pay an ISP for all the special services required to do something like this.

With the help of a friend who has available bandwidth, I was able to drop a box on a T1. By the way, you should check out Why Develop. This is my host and Jay does an execellent job of web development and hosting.

I've been in the computer industry since 1991. Starting out as the first employee of a small internet service provider that grew into the largest in the area. That led to a job offer from Microsoft as a Build Engineer. I've worked on a lot of different products and have had a hand directly in a lot of what is used today. Except for a brief stint at another company during the dot-gone boom, I've worked at Micosoft since 1996.

Projects that I have worked on as a Build Engineer include:

• Windows 2000
• Windows XP
• Windows Device Driver Kit
• Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
• Windows CE versions 4.1, 4.2, 5.0, and 5.1
• DirectX v3
• Services For Unix v1
• Exchange Server

While you may look at this list and think that my experience is all in windows, I got my start with Linux. Right up until I started at Microsoft, I used Linux exclusively. I've couldn't completly give in to the dark side and have kept a hand in Linux since. Mostly by running this server and by setting up various computers here and there to experiment with.

Most of my computer skills lie in the realm of automation. I don't program a lot even though I can, I usually write scripts that help automate process to allow me to do less work and/or support more projects. I use a heafty dose of cmd scripting on Windows and use Bash on Linux. I also use a lot of perl on both. From time to time I use a database server for tracking information related to the build process or if it makes sense in terms of automation.

I fully understand what it takes to create a build system that spans multiple computers and environments.

What does RDSD stand for? When I first started working with computers computers didn't come preconfigured with the ability to connect to the internet. You had to buy a special device that sat on top of or next to your computer. On this magic little white (or black) box there were a bunch of blinking lights that told you what it was doing. Two of these lights were called "RD" and "SD" for send data and receive data. So there you have it.