I first started programming aged nine in Basic on a Sinclair ZX80, quickly progressing onto Z80 machine code on the ZX Spectrum. This led to the PC platform, an Amstrad 1512, where I learned various flavours of BASIC and 8086 programming, even doing some very rudimentary 3D graphics. Up until this point, everything had been self taught.

In 1988 I went to Bradford University to study for an Electronic / Software Engineering degree. This was a thin sandwich style course over four years, the first three were split six months at university and six months on placement in industry. The first year introduced the Pascal programming language and the Unix operating system at university and C during the placement. Subsequent years concentrated on C and assembly language for various platforms – mainly Motorola and Transputer based as well as Sun Unix systems.

Upon completing my degree I developed and had published my first PC game. This led the way to further jobs in the games industry and it wasn't long before C++ became the language of choice for work. In 2004 I began branching out on my own to work on business solutions.

My interest in programming goes beyond work related projects. I spend my spare time looking into new technologies and new languages. I have recently configured a linux server for my home network, built some small, personal websites and tools to update the databases that sit behind the sites. I purchased a Raspberry Pi which I use to develop linux based software using python, OpenGL|ES, etc., as well as building some electronic circuits to interface to the device.