Jim Kyle is a professional software developer and writer based in Oklahoma City, OK. He is known in cyberspace as the Head Barkeep of the Programmers' Pub (the Software Development forum on CompuServe, sometimes described as "Cheers on the Net") and held that position from 1985 until late 1999. Until January, 1999, the forum was sponsored by Software Development Magazine, the successor to Computer Language Magazine. At that time the magazine dropped its sponsorship, and the Windows User Group Network (WUGNET) took the forum under its umbrella. In November, 1999, CompuServe merged the forum into another area and Pub I came to an end.

First published in 1949 (with two articles in the predecessor of Modern Photography magazine) he has earned his keep with a keyboard ever since. Trained as a news reporter, he spent 5 years on the staff of The Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City. In 1959, he switched to electronics technical writing for economic reasons, moving to the Los Angeles area where he eventually became chief technical editor for the Ramo-Wooldridge division of TRW Inc. As ham radio licensee K5JKX, he soon became known as a leading member of the electronics press. In 1962, he returned to Oklahoma City and has lived there ever since.

During the years from 1960 through 1975 he contributed prolifically to 73 Magazine, Popular Electronics, RadioCraft, Electronics World, Radio-TV Experimenter, Electronics Illustrated, and other magazines of the times, and also wrote a number of books (now out of print) published by TAB. He was 73's first contributing editor when it began publication in 1960, and remained on the masthead for 10 years. Possibly his best-known work from this period was the "Sweet Sixteen" loudspeaker system, published in the January 1961 issue of Popular Electronics.

After joining the General Electric Company in 1965 as a tech writer in the Oklahoma City plant, his interests turned from ham radio to computers, and by 1967 he was deeply involved in creating a mainframe system for Automated Document Editing and Publishing Techniques (ADEPT). Although never released to public view, by 1975 this system was in use to create all service manuals for the Honeywell Page Printing System. It was a forerunner of today's desktop publishing systems, although it ran on a timeshared mainframe.

Kyle returned to writing for publication in 1988 and has since authored or contributed to a number of books together with many magazine articles. He was editor at large for Windows Tech Journal and a member of the Editorial Review Board for VB Tech Journal, until the owners shut down both magazines in December, 1997.

Besides writing, Kyle was a co-founder of ARI Incorporated, a small software development firm (now defunct) that specialized in custom workflow systems. Before helping establish ARI, he worked for Norick Software Inc. where he developed their Document Imaging System, and prior to that spent 24 years in the mainframe peripheral industry with G-E, Honeywell, Magnetic Peripherals Inc, and BTI Systems Inc. Since late 1996, he has been semi-retired and works from a home office. He does, however, continue to consult and do Btrieve data retrieval.

Kyle welcomes questions and suggestions from readers, though it's possible that replies may sometimes be delayed. Send mail to jim@jimkyle.com.