Enough of Background Noise. What about the background of the author of The Windows Chronicles. What does he bring to the table?
So who is this guy who is the writer of The Windows Chronicles? You can find the full scoop by looking up Eric Niewoehner on LinkedIn where the resume still resides like the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian desert. I am retired after all, so a resume is basically an historical document. You can also scan over the roster of technical documentation that I have edited or co-edited. You can also look over the Technology section of the EricN Publications website and see other contributions.
But what matters in this discussion is what I bring to the table in regards to Windows. My journey began way back in the 1980’s when I started experimenting with a doggish user interface called Windows 2.0. I ran an IT consulting business at the time and I had only one customer delving into the program as a platform for Pagemaker. While I found the interface interesting, it did not gain traction for my other clients.
Things changed considerably, however, with the advent of Windows 3.1 and the introduction of the 80386 Intel processor. The emergence of the 386 computers coincided with my transition to a real “job” where I actually got a paycheck every two weeks with benefits (you discover that running your own business does not guarantee either). I worked in a research clinic and they were struggling to integrate PC networking and database solutions that extended to several workstations. It was at this time that I started using Microsoft Access to design database solutions. In the process of introducing the new application to the clinic I integrated standardized menus and documentation links on the staff workstations utilizing Windows 3.1 features.
My expertise was soon introduced to a new department where my staff support went from a dozen to ten dozen. It would be at this time that the department wanted to move into Windows 95, essentially skipping Windows 3.1. This was an exciting time to be in IT. The 386 was being supplanted by the 486 and later the 586 computers. The servers were getting more robust. Windows 95 was a huge change in the IT world. And applications were quickly evolving from the text-driven screen to the graphical interface. And then there was this other thing that came along – The Internet.
Needless to say, the next seven years would see me compressing into my small head a boatload of new information and, for all practical purposes, poorly tested technology. But it was fun. It certainly was not boring. I discovered this thing called The Registry in Windows 95. Combined with Netware’s ZEN technology, I was able to standardize the desktops through automation. Active Directory would come along with the advent of Windows NT, enabling control of the configuration of the features in Windows and other Microsoft applications.. And then Windows 98 appeared, an operating system that I still consider to be the most well-done desktop interface in the history of IT.
Understanding how an operating system is shaped enabled me to design automated updates and introduce pro-active security solutions. Gone were the days when I had to visit each workstation to update their software or to “harden” their systems from malware. Virtually all IT support was now possible from my desk. Using McAfee software I was able to track malware identification from a central source, enabling virtually a real-time capability in removing malware, trapping malware code and adjusting workstations to close off vulnerabilities. With the help of a cooperative executive staff, the “personal computer” evolved into the “workstation,” desktops were standardized, training streamlined, documentation provided at a click of a button and productivity enhanced.
I would move up to Alaska in 2003 and teach at a university for five years. This was also a fun time as I was able to explore aspects of IT that I had not done before, setting up labs and experimenting with operating system design and security. Bu in 2008 I was hired by the United States Forest Service to run the regional computer center. My focus shifted from workstations to servers and the operating system of choice was AIX, IBM’s version of UNIX. I would later move into the world of Linux. This would continue for the most part for several years as servers were consolidated from the regional computer centers to national data centers and later to a cloud center. It was only when a set of recurring performance issues emerged with the Windows servers that my boss consented to let me delve into the Microsoft world once again. It wasn’t long that I was able to utilize my experience at the med center to systematically identify problem areas and work at resolving recurring issues.
In essence, the basics had not changed since 1995 when I first started working with Windows 95. The Registry had grown from a rather elegant database to a behemoth. But I was able to navigate through that. The Event Viewer (Microsoft’s log engine) had dramatically expanded, but I was able to cull it back enough to find what I needed. Alas, compared to the simple elegance of Linux, the Windows operating system was a challenge. But the tools of the trade had not changed. And it is these tools and techniques that will be introduced to readers of The Windows Chronicles.
As I point out in my article on Age Discrimination, there is a lot that is not in a resume. Solving riddles in Windows does not require a certification. I have only one simply because I was too busy to bother. The element that is difficult to list is curiosity, my lifelong interest in how things work. It started with about a dozen workstations in a research clinic, and the journey would end thirty years later managing the performance of roughly 1500 Windows servers. It was fun. I learned a lot and when I retired, I had much left to learn.