About

Hi! My name is Jack Browning, and I'm an IT Consultant, with over 20 years consulting experience.

I grew up in coal mining country in Southwest Virginia. My introduction to technology was HiFi stereo equipment in the 1970's, which led to building a stereo amplifier from a kit, including soldering components, etc. My first interaction with computers was a BASIC computer programming class at The University of Virginia's College at Wise in 1979. It was taught enthusiastically by a physics professor and was surprisingly fun. So, I proceeded to take almost every computer-related course they offered during my 4 years of work towards my BS in Business and Public Administration with a Concentration in Data Processing.

During college, I almost partnered with 2 other people to open a stereo store. After college, I was still interested in this idea, so I thought working at Circuit City, which was like Best Buy, would be a good way to learn about the industry. I ended up learning a lot about how to work with customers; understanding their needs and working to help meet them. We even sold computers. Ever heard of a Commodore 64?

I took a few detours after Circuit City, eventually ending up working as a Senior Management Analyst on a Navy Contract.

Then, I moved to South Florida and worked for a large global insurance broker. While there, a coworker talked me into helping his friend with his small business computers. So, I created this company in 1993, and started helping his friend after normal working hours and on weekends. Turns out it was fun, so I kept at it, going full-time before long from referrals. I ended up working for my first client for about 19 years, until I turned over the consulting practice to another company to pursue a software development project which involves sharing user level encrypted data. After I'd worked for this client for many years, he told me one reason he liked having me help him with his business's technology is that I didn't make him feel like an idiot regarding technology. After I realized my software project should be open source so I can give it away, I got back into IT consulting in Florida. So far, I have over 20 years in IT consulting and about 35 years of being heavily involved with computers in my working life.

I've worked with computers and devices running Microsoft DOS and Windows, Novell (a long time ago), Linux, macOS, Palm OS, Android, and iOS. I've managed just about every type of device used for a small business. I've spent a lot of time working with Windows and Windows Server versions, Linux, and macOS.

I installed my first production Linux server at a client's site in 2005. The client had a very small IT budget, and no server, so I took a 5 year old Dell PC they weren't using, installed two new hard drives, and a device that allowed the system to keep working if one of the drives failed, and a tape backup drive. This server ran for at least another five years, and I continued installing more Linux servers for a few clients.

My primary computer has been a MacBook since about 2013, but I still spend a lot of time working with Windows and Linux computers.

I like the variety of challenges that comes with IT Consulting, especially things I've never previously encountered. One fairly recent interesting challenge was working with some attorneys on an 8-figure case. While I'd worked for various law firms for many years, I had never worked directly on a lawsuit before. One of the tasks was setting up a system to manage the discovery process. Part of what I set up was some Google Sheets (cloud spreadsheets) with various groups for attorneys and other service providers with appropriate access levels, etc. I also extracted digital information from various devices and combined it into PDF files that closely matched the style of the files created by the company that handled scanning of paper documents. One of the lead attorneys with decades of experience said he'd never seen anybody handle managing the discovery process like this. He liked it so much he said I could buy a few Google Ads, and in a few months have a business just working the discovery aspect of lawsuits. He said if I pursue this he'd happily provide a testimonial. I declined to pursue this narrow line of work, but the it was nice to hear how much he liked what we ended up creating. And the client got a favorable settlement.

In 2022, I moved to Durham, NC, to work on my software project. It's still a work in progress. As an open source project that will be given away at no charge, it's not likely to produce much income from its subscription model. So, in 2025 I decided to go back into IT Consulting, in the Triangle area, and will pursue the project as time permits.

In my spare time, there are quite a few things I enjoy. Outdoor activities are among my favorite pastimes; bicycling, jogging, hiking, long walks, tennis, and most anything else. Reading, watching movies, and listening to a variety of music have always been something I've enjoyed. Although I haven't done much lately, I love to travel to new places and meet new people, whether inside or outside of the US. Probably as a result of various jobs working with a lot of different people, and of travel, it turns out I can talk to pretty much anybody, anywhere (as long as they speak English), which is fun. Trying to understand the nature of dreams, and the meaning of my own dreams is a big part of my life too. I've had a number of interesting and fun experiences participating in groups working on understanding dreams.

A little travel fun, hanging out on a bench with a "local" in Florence, Italy.

Kayaking on the Loxahatchee River, in South Florida; glad I didn't flip and end up as alligator bait.

Flying through the air in Helen, GA.