I was born the same year as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Except they were born in the United States, and I was born in Venezuela. For a long time I believed that made a real difference between us. Looking back now, I think I was mistaken. Geeks have no

Before a single home computer existed, the geek world was already immense — it simply hadn't encountered itself yet. We were scattered across a dozen small tribes, each with its own territory, its own aromas, its own rituals. There was the ham radio operator, sequestered at night in pursuit

I have already told you about the screwdriver terror in my house. But that is barely half the story. Because while other children begged to go to the cinema or the park, I had my own list of paradises — and not one of them contained a ride. I did not

In 1977 — when Microsoft was barely a company, when personal computers were sold in the thousands rather than the millions, and when the typical computer client was a bank, a government, or some large corporation — someone asked a young Bill Gates what future he perceived for personal computing. His response

I was reading back what I had just written about Apollo, and a thought landed on me that I had not planned to have. Gosh, I thought. This is why I love America. Not because of where geeks happen to be born — I was living proof that geography has nothing

"Ma'am, there's nothing wrong with your son. He's a born explorer. Did you know that all children are born scientists? Some stay that way their whole lives and make it their profession. Others are forced to postpone it, or to do it only