I was born in the late ’70s and raised in Bolton, Lancashire (near Manchester) in England. I now live in Sheffield where I work for one of the world’s leading translation and localization companies. In my spare time, I’ve developed a number of websites since 1997 and started my first weblog in 2002 when I finally managed to register the ruscoe.net domain.

Google

In October 2005, my name was mentioned in The New York Times, The Guardian and hundreds of other blogs and websites when I accidentally discovered the Google Base subdomain. Realising that people on the Internet like Google-related geeky stuff, I created the Google Brin Creator parody based on Google Page Creator in February 2006.

From time to time, I still search for undiscovered Google services and was even linked to from the front page of Digg for a short time in July 2006 when I revealed more secret Google services.

I am now co-editor of Philipp Lenssen’s Google Blogoscoped where I make occasional posts and help look after the forum. I also featured in his book, 55 Ways to Have Fun With Google.

Computers

My first computer was a ZX Spectrum 48k, which I later upgraded to a ZX Spectrum +2A with 128k and a light-gun. By the mid-80s I was writing my first computer programs in Sinclair BASIC. For some reason, I never owned a Commodore 64, Amiga 500 or Atari ST. Instead, I jumped straight from the ZX Spectrum to the much more serious Amstrad PCW8512 which helped me get my A* GCSE in Information Systems. I got my first (IBM compatible) PC in 1995 at around the same time that Microsoft released their Windows 95 operating system; I’ve only upgraded twice since then! My first games console, albeit a handheld one, was the Nintendo Game Boy. More recently, I sold my Microsoft Xbox and Sony PSP to buy a Nintendo Wii.

Education

Between 1984 and 1990, I attended St Matthew’s School in Little Lever, Bolton. I then went on to Little Lever School where I gained eleven GCSEs. Without really knowing what I wanted to do next, I was accepted at Turton Sixth Form to study for A-Levels in English Language, Maths, Further Maths (which I stupidly dropped just a few weeks before the exam), Theatre Studies and General Studies. After completing my A-Levels in 1997, I moved to University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England where I studied Computer Science and graduated in 2000.

Genealogy

At some point in 2000 I developed an interest in my family’s history and I occasionally did some half-hearted research on the Internet into my ancestry. Over the past couple of years, however, I’ve become more and more involved with this. I recently setup the Ruscoe Family Genealogy website and Ruscoe Family Genealogy Google Group as an attempt to create an online community and a definitive resource for anyone interested in the Ruscoe surname. My ultimate goal is to gather as much information as possible on every single Ruscoe ever known to have existed. This is, quite obviously, a nearly impossible ongoing project! If you have links to the Ruscoe surname, please contact me and tell me how you can help!