William R. Vaughn

WILLIAM R. VAUGHN has worked in the computer industry since 1972. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Mary Hardin-Baylor and a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas. He’s also been awarded an Honorary PhD. from the University of Advancing Computer Technology in Tempe Arizona. Bill spent his early years working in the mainframe data processing industry and transitioned to the personal computer side in the late 70s. Along the way, he worked for the Texas DPS Narcotics Service, EDS (where he was recruited by and worked for Ross Perot), at Mostek/United Technologies, Challenge Systems, Digital Research, and CPT Corporation. After having surfed the PC industry for many years, he began his Microsoft years in 1986 working for the Windows developer liaison team at Microsoft in 1986. For the next 14 years, he worked in various divisions at Microsoft including Microsoft University, the Visual Basic documentation and Visual Studio marketing and Internal Technical Education teams before retiring in 2000 to form his own company, Beta V Corporation. Bill has written seven editions of the popular Hitchhiker’s Guide (the 4th, 5th and 6th published by Microsoft Press) and books for APress, including the bestseller ADO and ADO.NET Examples and Best Practices. Peter Blackburn and Bill also coauthored the Hitchhiker’s Guide to SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services (Addison- Wesley). His latest work is Hitchhiker’s Guide to SQL Server Everywhere–his first e-Book. He writes lead articles for SQL Server Magazine where he is a contributing editor, MSDN, and others. Bill also writes a bi-weekly editorial for Processor.COM magazine. Bill is a top-rated speaker at conferences worldwide, including keynotes and sessions at TechEd, DevWeek, Dev Connections, SQL Connections, VBUG, and many others. He is a Microsoft MVP and a member of the INETA Speaker’s Bureau.

PETER BLACKBURN has worked in the computer industry since 1981. He studied computer science at Cambridge University, England from where he holds an M.A. degree. Through his consulting company, Boost Data Limited, Peter has designed, built, and implemented small- and large-scale database systems including reporting systems based on SQL Server. He has contributed countless hours to the development and honing of Microsoft Reporting Services and remains directly involved with the development team. He is also a Microsoft MVP. He supports developers through newsgroups and beta programs, and trains teams of developers working with SQL Server and Reporting Services. Having worked closely with .NET since before the launch, Peter and Boost Data have ensured the technical accuracy of many leading .NET books. Peter lives in the United Kingdom and travels all over the world to consult, speak, and provide support for his fellow developers, fellow MVPs, his writing team, and Microsoft itself.