Deborah Shadovitz – Segment Producer for Travel, Apple, Efficiency, and Green Topics
Deborah Shadovitz has always been enthralled with discovering how things work — and considering, thinking, and examining how things might work better. It’s not a surprise that Deborah became a Macintosh computer instructor, author and radio regular.
As a child, she loved taking apart a broken transistor radio and soldering across its broken circuit board to make it work, pulling the motor from a clothing dryer to create a polisher for her silver jewelry creations, and building her own basement room side by side with her father. She also obtained a broadcasting license to work her ground-breaking high school radio station. That license saw her through college Broadcasting studies, then working professionally as a broadcast engineer in Connecticut and video producer in NYC/NJ.
After backpacking much of the world in her late 20s, Deborah moved to So Cal and bought a newfangled DOS laptop (two floppies!) to write about her travels. Prior to that, her computer use was audio-visual based. That dive into a PC led to a stint selling computers and thus, her discovery of Apple’s computers and an on-going love of introducing people to the Macintosh computer.
Deborah didn’t just introduce people to the Macintosh or help people with their Macs. She started writing about the Macintosh for then-popular Mac Home Journal and became a world-loved columnist at MacCentral.com. She penned ClarisWorks For Dummies, the Macworld Office 98 Bible, AppleWorks For Dummies, chapters for several other Macintosh and internet books, then the Adobe GoLive 5 Bible. (Although her focus is Macintosh, three of her books were cross-platform books; she knew her way around Windows quite well.) Deborah later became a columnist for Mac Design magazine, focusing on web design there. She was named Contributing Editor for Mac Addict magazine and wrote many a feature for Mac Addict, moving with it as it evolved into MacLife. She has also written for other magazines, including doing several articles for Macworld magazine.
Deborah sometimes lives in Los Angeles, and at other times, travels about the world, learning and discovering more new and unique items to be had.
Mark Hartman – Segment Producer for Home Automation, Gaming, Web, and Amateur Radio
Mark has been involved with computers since 1971, when he was asked to be a teaching assistant for a university Introduction to Computer Science class – as a sophomore in high school! He continued developing his interest and expertise through his college career, and since then has held pretty much every IT job from programmer to Chief Technical Officer.
Mark describes himself as “a problem solver, who sometimes uses computers for it.” He’s been a computer consultant professionally since 1977 in a very wide range of industries, and his former clients include The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Walt Disney Imagineering, and McDonnell-Douglas Space Systems Company (now a part of Boeing). He’s an Amateur Radio Operator, licensed since 1978, and helped pioneer early use of computers in Amateur Radio.
Mark met his wife Kimberly at a science-fiction convention in 1979, and they were married in 1980. They have five children, three of whom are avid gamers with active or developing careers as independent game developers, and another who is an active web application developer. They live in the San Diego area.
Benny Rockwell – Segment Producer for Gaming (aka “The Gamer”)
Better known on Computer Talk Radio as The Gamer, Benny Rockwell was brought up with access to computers and gaming that rivals,competes with most teenagers his age. Disney’s original coaster program was one of the first adventures that Benny had in gaming, and he progressed through a variety of programs, games, handheld gaming devices, and consoles.
Benny’s experience includes playing early versions of Counter-Strike alongside his father, Quake III, as well as Sim-Tower, Sim-City, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and many more. His exposure to gaming runs an entire on-line universe of space, action, and adventure, in all areas from XBox to Wii, Gameboy to DS, Arcades to PC. Even when he is unfamiliar with a particular game, he takes the time to quickly research and discover new trends in the industry.
This passion contributes towards making a better show for people who want to know more about what their peers, children, grandchildren, and so forth, are interested in. Benny also has strengths in the fields of social media, graphic art design, and his passion for helping the show has developed into a valuable asset for Computer Talk Radio. Progressing from simply chiming in once in a while, to developing his own segments and material for the show, Benny has amazed the staff, listeners, and guests at every turn.
Mark Jackson – Segment Producer / Analyst for Religion
Pastor and a Dad, Mark is one of many who provide a positive spiritual influence on Benjamin, guiding him towards being a better person. Mark has a fondness for technology, a knack for working with people, and an incredible understanding of God’s word. While not aspiring to be the next Gutenberg, he is hoping to reach out to people and encourage them to use technology in the right way and for the right reasons.
Miralyn Keske – News Analyst
Married to Steve Keske, Miralyn consults with Benjamin through the week, and keeps him updated with pertinent news items. Scouring the various news resources across the Internet daily, she points out items that have bearing on a weeks set of topics and guests, but also some of the items that may get overlooked in the rush to air. Miralyn’s balance makes sure that Benjamin doesn’t get too nerdy, or too far astray from the core concepts of Computer Talk Radio.