{"id":2,"date":"2009-08-14T16:06:21","date_gmt":"2009-08-14T20:06:21","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2012-08-20T19:49:58","modified_gmt":"2012-08-20T23:49:58","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/dave-brendle\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Dave <\/span>is a computer engineer and works\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>with NTM’s Computer Services Department.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here’s his story:\u00a0\u00a0Dave majored in electrical engineering in college, and got his initial work experience in power systems. When he was first in NTM, he ended up using his degree and some further training to develop an Avionics Department for NTM.<\/p>\n

Then came the question, \u201cDave, can you help us figure out how our missionaries can use these new-fangled computers?\u201d<\/p>\n

The year was 1980, and personal computers were just breaking into the market. Dave researched and experimented, and by the next year, he had determined that the H-89 was the way to start. These were Heathkit \u201cbuild-your-own\u201d computers, with industrial-grade components. By the time he was ready to demonstrate it,\u00a0three NTM translators were lined up to buy it, eagerly anticipating that it would\u00a0reduce the work and time of producing Bible translation. The very first system (computer and printer) purchased by a New Tribes missionary cost nearly $5,000, a bargain in those years.<\/p>\n

And wow\u2026 the changes since then.<\/p>\n