Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Keith D. Adams, childhood friend and Renaissance man; Mr. Morgan Gasior and his computer-scientist wife, Darlene, who provided an endless supply of visionary ideas and showed me the sky; John Dilenschneider, gentleman and computer scientist extraordinaire, for his guidance and friendship; my long-time mentors—Dean Helmut Epp, Ph.D., Dr. Martin Kalin, and Dr. David Miller—for their wit, intelligence, and vision; and Jeff Optholt for seeing things as they really are.

Extra special thanks to John Pierce and Jim Fuchs of Microsoft Press. These two gentlemen worked tirelessly and with impeccable professionalism to make this book into something special. Thanks, John and Jim. In spite of the hard work, you both made this project fun and never lost patience.