Michael Jay Geier has been an electronics technician, designer and inventor since age 6. He took apart everything he could get his hands on, and soon discovered that learning to put it back together was even more fun. By age 8, he operated a neighborhood electronics repair service that was profiled in The Miami News. He went on to work in numerous service centers in Miami, Boston and Seattle, frequently serving as the "tough dog" tech who solved the cases other techs couldn't. At the same time, Michael was a pioneer in the field of augmentative communications systems, helping a noted Boston clinic develop computer speech systems for children with cerebral palsy. He also invented and sold an amateur radio device while writing and marketing software in the early years of personal computing. Michael holds an FCC Extra-class amateur radio license. His involvement in ham radio led to his writing career, first with articles for ham radio magazines, and then with general technology features in Electronic Engineering Times, Desktop Engineering, IEEE Spectrum, and The Envisioneering Newsletter. His work on digital rights management has been cited in several patents. Michael earned a Boston Conservatory of Music degree in composition, was trained as a conductor, and is an accomplished classical, jazz and pop pianist, and a published songwriter. Along with building and repairing electronic circuitry, he enjoys table tennis, restoring antique mopeds, ice skating, bicycling, and banging out a jazz tune on his harpsichord.