Welcome

My name’s Rose Vines. I’m an Australian writer, editor and activist, working in New Orleans. I write for computer magazines in Australia and the US and act as the technical dogsbody for the Death Penalty Discourse Network and Sister Helen Prejean. I’m interested in making technology accessible to people and helping people use technology to make the world a better place.

I’m also a sponsor of four girls at the Mehan Orphanage run by the extraordinary Afghan organisation, AFCECO. I’ve built a website for AFCECO sponsors, called Hope for Afghan Children.

Blog
Subscribe

feed-icon32x32.pngSubscribe via blog reader

 

email_small.jpg Subscribe via email

 

Bookmark and Share

Show your support

If you find the articles on Geekgirl’s blog and website useful and would like to show your appreciation, please think about making a donation to the AFCECO orphanages in Afghanistan, or consider becoming a child sponsor. These orphanages don’t just provide food and shelter for hundreds of girls and boys, they provide education and an environment of mutual respect. They are raising a generation of Afghan leaders.

Visit Hope for Afghan Children to learn more, or click one of the buttons below to make a donation directly.

 

 

This area does not yet contain any content.
Tutorials & Guides
Background Info
Search

Sponsors

Bits & Pieces

About Geekgirl’s

Geekgirl’s Plain English Computing contains in-depth tutorials and articles on Windows, Vista, databases, computer security and the Internet.

Geekgirl’s has had the same look and feel for almost a decade now, but I’ll gradually be shifting the content over to this new site, which currently houses my blog.

About Before Hours

Before Hours is the companion blog to Geekgirl’s Plain English Computing. In the blog, I talk about all the other good stuff which doesn’t quite fit on the mothersite: hardware and software reviews, quick tips, observations about technology done right and technology run amok.

About the author

Geekgirl’s and Before Hours are created, produced, directed and maintained in their entirety by Rose Vines, a long-time, award winning Australian computer journalist. (So, if you’ve been wondering about the rosevines.org address you see in your browser, there’s the reason.)

I’ve been writing about computers since 1982 when I began working as a programmer and journalist at Federal Publishing in Sydney. My computing days began before that, though, with my first IT job as a mainframe programmer churning out COBOL at the Banque Nationale de Paris. That was followed by a stint as a microcomputer programmer at Federal Publishing (in dBASE on micros running MP/M, if anyone remembers that). When my employers discovered I could write in English as well as code - my first degree was in English Lit - they invited me to join the staff of Your Computer magazine, while continuing as a part-time programmer and PC support person for the company.

In 1986 I went out on my own, working as a computer consultant and as a freelance journalist for a couple of dozen publications around the world. These days I write for Australian PC User, Australian NetGuide and New York based Harris Publications (the PC How-To Guide series).