about brent

Hi!  Thanks for dropping by my site.

By way of brief introduction, I am a technologist and marketer at Microsoft. These days, I focus on interoperability between Windows and Linux with an emphasis on Microsoft’s partnership with Novell.  For more on that, please see moreinterop.com. I also have an interoperability blog which can be found here.

My personal site is somewhat of a hodge-podge that combines focused thinking on the business of digital space with a few random interests that pop-up from time to time. Historically, I have updated the site in a rather sporadic fashion – often with weeks (or longer) of downtime. I’ve challenged myself to pick up the pace a bit in 2009. We’ll see how that goes.

10 mostly tech-related things about me…

  1. My first computer was an Atari 800, followed soon after by one of the earliest Macintosh Computers (256K, BW).
  2. I learned to code early in life by modding BASIC on some of the  the Atari games.
  3. I programmed “Celestial Adventures” (an interactive learning game) in 8th grade with a couple of buddies on an Apple IIe (also played a ton of Karateka).  The project stemmed from a statewide competition among science teachers to develop a new learning experience for middle-schoolers. We won an honorable mention from the Dept. of Physics at the North Carolina State University
  4. I continued to take programming classes through middle school and into high school…These days, I am learning c# and Silverlight (as time permits) and have a solid background in web design, web application development, Flash, and related code and scripting. I am also work with 3D modeling tools and dabble in animation.
  5. I have worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer and have co-owned my own web marketing firm.
  6. I play guitar recreationally and have played bass in a band. I currently own a Takamine acoustic/electric, and a Schecter electric.  I play both through a small Crate amp with a Zoom digital effects pedal.
  7. I speak French but not often.
  8. I’m a native of Raleigh, NC have lived in Savannah, GA; Woodinville, WA; and now, just north of Atlanta, in Acworth, GA.
  9. Other interests include crossfit (death by exercise - lol) a wide range of music, reading (mostly social, economic, technology, and marketing), movies – especially science fiction.
  10. Last but not least, I’m married to Jen and have three awesome kids (6,5, and 4).

Thanks again for dropping by. If you want to get in touch, I’m brent [at] brentphillips.com…

Cheers,

Brent