Herb Benton: coding guru / project manager… well, almost
Greetings! I’m Herb Benton, and I’ll be your guide to the latest and greatest in web development – html, css, JavaScript, Ajax, asp.net – and software engineering: vb.net, c#.net, ado.net, oop, design patterns – you name it. Sure, many of the topics I’ll be covering have practical, sensible uses such as image roll-overs for your web-site, creating a graph using GDI+, and applications for portable devices such as a pocket pc. But I’ll also be writing about applications that are just plain cool. If you’re craving, say, an application that is multi-threaded using reflection to connect to a web service displayed via AJAX; you’ve come to the right place:HerbBenton.com.
But first, a little about me: I’m based in West Allis, WI, and I’ve been in school studying computer technologies for nearly five years. My interest in computer science started when I was assigned the position of Internet Manager at Griffin Dodge. That eventually landed me the position of Web Master at Lake Country Powersports, coding in asp.net. Most recently, I have worked as programmer for small companies in Franklin and Hartland, WI, creating applications for internal projects and Intranets. In addition, I have created my own proprietary applications. In addition to software engineering and web application development, I’ m also interested in Information Technology Project Management. I hope to use my programming and engineering skills to serve as lead on projects involving information technology.
My education thus far consists of: an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science – Programmer/Analyst and advanced technical certificates in Intranet/Internet development and Information Technology Project Management from Waukesha County Technical College. Currently, I am working toward a Computer Science Bachelor’s degree at Carroll College with an emphasis in Internet Software Development. Furthering my education, I hope to round my knowledge off with a Master’s in Software Engineering and Business.
More importantly, however, is my gear. I run several different computers in my office: one is for gaming, another acts as a server, and I use my main machine for development. My main machine is set up with two different operating systems: Windows XP and Windows Vista. I work with the following applications on a regular basis: Visual Studio, MS Office, MS SQL 2000 and 2005, Ultra Edit, NUnit, ADOBE CS2, Macromedia Suite, and many, many more … .
Do you have any suggestions for bleeding-edge development you'd like to see covered in my tutorials? Just let me know. Also, please send along your tips and questions; I'll feature as much as I can in upcoming posts to my blog and tutorials sections.
Finally, the most important thing about me is my family! I have a beautiful daughter and a wonderful wife. Both of them encourage me to continue with my education, and they both deserve a lot of credit for their patience and the sacrifices they’ve made while I play with technology to better our lives!