Get to know some of our talented authors featured in our author spotlights. Here you can see interviews, detailed biographies, and book summaries of some of the best in the industry.
PITZER: I'm Bill Pitzer, a Consultant for Divine, Inc out of their Cincinnati, Ohio office. I work as a manager in Advanced Web Technologies group where I get to work with all kinds of interesting web-based technology in order to deliver the best solutions for our clients. It's been a great place to work since they do encourage employees to be innovative and push themselves beyond what they do in the day-to-day. I'm a regular contributor to different publications, but now concentrate primarily on my contributions to WebTechniques magazine. I am also currently in the process of writing a book on an application based on Peer-to-Peer technology.
On a more personal note, I've experienced a few changes in the old Pitzer household. I have a son Liam who was just born on October 7, 2000 so you can imagine what occupies my free time lately. My wife Rose keeps things running on the home front while I'm chasing my latest technological fascination.
Here are a few links to articles I've written over the years:
A Better View with Broadvision
http://www.webtechniques.com/archives/2000/07/pitzer/
Do you XML? Then you need to XSL!
http://www.xml.com.br/msdn/pdf/DoYou_XML_Then_XSL.pdf
Persistence and the userData Behavior in IE5
http://www.elementkjournals.com/mit/9907/mit9971.htm
PITZER: I really was interested in writing ReviewNet tests because I think it's a great tool to aid in the hiring selection process. There are times I had wished I had something like this at my disposal, it would have save a lot of money and time. As a consultant, I've hired some subcontractors that were probably not as skilled as they claimed to be. Unfortunately, by the time you figure it out, you've already set yourself back by losing some valuable time. Using ReviewNet to screen applicants would have paid for itself several times over. In addition to benefits for an employer, I also think preparing the tests have helped give me more credibility. You undergo strict scrutiny by other with your same technical background so there's no pulling the wool over anyone's eyes!
PITZER: I think one of my biggest accomplishments has been finishing my MBA at Xavier University. It's a tough road when you don't always get the luxury of 9 to 5 days all the time, studying time can be a little tough to find. My wife has been a great supporter, even when Accounting Analysis made me a little crabby sometimes. In addition, my employer has been super when I've needed a little bit of flexibility. I am very happy I waited to go back for graduate school. I think it means so much more when you have some real experience to relate the academic work to.
PITZER: As far as keeping up with the latest trends in technology, it's tough. When I started in IT about 10 years ago, it was much easier to keep up with the latest hardware and software to hit the market. However, times have really changed. I can't realistically hope to take the nitty gritty details technical innovation, so I rely heavily on great magazines like WebTechniques and Information Week to at least get an overview of what is going on. Writing articles and preparing the ReviewNet tests is also a great way for me to "force" myself to stay informed.
PITZER: Unfortunately for the IT industry, there are a lot of "paper certifications" floating around. These are individuals that have obtained their certification, but have no real experience using the product. I designed my test in such a way that simply reading the book is not going to give you the correct answer. My questions are based on situations that only true experience with the product is going to enable you to provide the correct answer.
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