PART IICURIOUS ABOUT … TECHNOLOGY
Why Am I Curious About Technology?
Having grown up in a very technically focused household, and played with technology from an early age, I’ve had a curious streak since childhood. As I explained in the Introduction, my early experimentation with electronic circuits, programming personal computers such as the ZX80, and dialling up bulletin boards over 40 years ago have instilled in me a permanent curiosity about all things technical. It is fair to say that my training as an engineer has prompted me to always want to know more and ask the question: “How does this work?”
Around age 13, I remember being on holiday at the seaside town of Aldinga, 45 km south of my hometown of Adelaide. I was with friends when I found an old black-and-white television that did not work. I wanted to take it apart to see if I could bring it back to life.
When I was around 22 years old, I had a part-time job with Motorola Communications while studying; my job was to repair broken two-way radios. I had to learn very quickly how to use all the diagnostic equipment to perform the right checks to fix these broken devices. I even built my own Motorola professional walkie talkie from second-hand parts.
This deep level of curiosity about technology has continued to the present day. As I write this chapter at Château Santa Anna in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France, I’ve just installed a Wi-Fi network for my friends that covers the whole property – something they had been struggling ...
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