Rob O'Hara
| Rob O'Hara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Rob O'Hara August 22, 1973 Oklahoma City, OK, United States |
| Residence | Yukon, OK |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Author, Blogger, Podcaster |
| Years active | 1991-Present |
| Website |
robohara |
| Internet information | |
Rob O'Hara (born August 22, 1973) is an American author, blogger,[1] and podcaster.[2]
Books
In 2006, O'Hara published Commodork: Sordid Tales from a BBS Junkie.[3] Jason Scott, director of the BBS Documentary, dubbed Commodork "the world's first BBS memoir," stating the book "does what my film couldn't; go front to end on one boy's story to turning into a man online. And for that, I thank him, and I think a lot of others will too." Brett Weiss, author of the popular Classic Home Video Games book series, says he "recommends the book without reservation. Initially I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's obvious that (O'Hara) is a writer and a gamer, not just a gamer who happens to write. His style is clear and unpretentious, and the hilarious anecdotes alone are worth the price of admission."[4]
O'Hara's second book, Invading Spaces: A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Arcade Games,[5] is a beginner's introduction to the arcade collecting hobby. Earl Green from The Log Book stated "Rob O'Hara knows a couple of things about collecting arcade machines. Invading Spaces is where he shares that obvious wealth of knowledge with coin-op newbies like myself."[6] Antique Week called the book an "amusing and informative tome."[7]
Published Articles, Essays, and Writing Positions
O'Hara began his career writing music, movie, and video game) reviews on websites such as Review to a Kill[8] and Review-o-Matic.com.[9] In 2000, O'Hara was paid to write several DVD reviews for IGN.[10][11][12][13] Recently, O'Hara has expanded into writing and submitting fiction.
- 2600: The Hacker Quarterly (Contributor)
- The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature (Contributor)
- Digital Press E-Zine and Website (Staff Writer)[14]
- El Reno Light (Intern/Reporter)
- El Reno Tribune (Intern/Reporter)
- IGN.com (Paid Contributor, DVD Reviews)
- Forever Retro (Paid Contributor)
- Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman (Foreword and Article Contributor)[15]
- Minco Millennium (Columnist)
- Retro Gaming Hacks (O'Reilly Books) (Paid Contributor)
- Retroist.com (Staff Writer)[16]
- TheLogBook.com (Staff Writer)[17]
- Video Game Collector Magazine (Staff Writer)
- Video Game Trader Magazine (Staff Writer)
Podcasts
O'Hara has hosted and currently hosts multiple podcasts. His first podcast, You Don't Know Flack,[18] began in 2008 and currently has a 5-star rating on iTunes.[19] In 2013, O'Hara co-founded the retro-themed podcast network Throwback Network[20] with his Throwback Reviews co-host Sean Johnson. The network currently hosts more than two dozen retro-themed podcasts.
Current Podcasts
- You Don't Know Flack[18] (Retro/Stories)
- Sprite Castle[21] (Commodore 64)
- Cactus Flack's[22] (Arcade)
- Multiple Sadness[23] (Bad/B-Movies)
- Throwback Reviews[2] (80s Movies)
Former Podcasts
Guest Appearances
- Adventure Club Podcast (Episodes 59, 68, 72, 74, 75, 83)[26]
- Eight and a Half Bit (Episode 96)[27]
- Flux Capaci-Cast (Episodes 3, 13)[28]
- Retrobits Podcast (Episodes 71, 72)[29]
Presentations
O'Hara is a subject matter expert on Commodore computers, vintage video and arcade games, and self-publishing, and has spoken at multiple conventions on these topics.
- Def Con (2007): Self-Publishing in the Underground[30]
- Notacon (2009): The World of Free Book Publishing[31]
- Oklahoma Electronic Gaming Expo (2009): Collecting Arcade Machines[32][33]
- Oklahoma City Community College (2009): A History of Computer Games
Software
O'Hara has written and released several freeware programs, including:
- GP32 Renamer: a Windows utilitiy that converts long filenames to 8.3 filenames for the GamePark 32 handheld console.[34]
- ShadowPrint: a Windows utility for getting text directory listings.[35]
- Batch-O-Matic: a Windows utility for processing batch files with external variable lists.[36]
- eCoder Ring: a Windows message encryption utility.[37]
- eCoder Ring included a coded message that users were challenged to crack.[37] In 2008, O'Hara offered a cash reward of $100 to anyone who could crack the code.[38] In the weeks following leaked information about the NSA's practices, eCoder Ring was downloaded an additional 3,000 times.[39] The code remains unbroken. In her abstract titled A Summary of Hacking Organizations, Conferences, Publications, and Effects on Society, Alisha Cecil called eCoder Ring a "fun, friendly, easy to use program that allows two people to send secret messages to one another" that "is capable of producing nearly unbreakable ciphers."[40]
Personal life
O'Hara currently resides in Yukon, Oklahoma with his wife, two children, and collection of vintage electronics.[41]
Work
During the day, he works for the Federal Aviation Administration, where he has worked as a "Helpdesk/Technical Support Analyst, Computer Specialist/LAN Administrator, Senior Network Engineer, IT Security Specialist, member of the IT Communication Department, and Domain Admin/Enterprise Administrator."[42]
Education
O'Hara graduated from Yukon High School in 1991. At Redlands Community College, O'Hara served as the editor of the school's newspaper and yearbook from 1991-1993. O'Hara graduated from Oklahoma City Community College in 2001 with an AA in Journalism, and earned a BS in Organizational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University in 2005. He is currently enrolled in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Oklahoma.[43]
Hobbies
O'Hara refers to himself as a "collector of collections," and is working on a book with the same title.[44] O'Hara frequently blogs about his Star Wars collection.[45] In an interview with Oxford Karma, O'Hara discussed his collection of 30 arcade cabinets located in his home arcade.[46] O'Hara was interviewed by the Associated Press about his arcade collecting hobby.[47]
References
- ↑ "RobOHara.com".
- 1 2 "Throwback Reviews Podcast".
- ↑ "Commodork: Sordid Tales from a BBS Junkie".
- ↑ "BrettWeissWords.com: OVGE 2008 Report".
- ↑ "Invading Spaces: A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Arcade Games".
- ↑ "Invading Spaces Review".
- ↑ "BrettWeissWords.com: Collecting Classic Arcade Games".
- ↑ "Wayback Machine: Review to a Kill".
- ↑ "Review-o-Matic.com".
- ↑ "IGN.com: Beyond the Mat".
- ↑ "IGN.com: Edward Scissorhands".
- ↑ "IGN.com:Pantera's 3 Vulgar Videos from Hell".
- ↑ "IGN.com: Lake Placid".
- ↑ "Digital Press: Staff Writers".
- ↑ "Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman: What's Inside?".
- ↑ "Retroist.com: Author Profile Page".
- ↑ "TheLogBook.com: Author Profile Page".
- 1 2 "Podcast: You Don't Know Flack".
- ↑ "iTunes.com: You Don't Know Flack".
- ↑ "ThrowbackNetwork.net".
- ↑ "Podcast: Sprite Castle".
- ↑ "Podcast: Cactus Flack's".
- ↑ "Podcast: Multiple Sadness".
- ↑ "Podcast: No Quarter".
- ↑ "Podcast: Rusted Metal".
- ↑ "Podcast: Adventure Club Podcast".
- ↑ "Podcast: 8 and a Half Bit".
- ↑ "Podcast: Flux Capaci-Cast".
- ↑ "Podcast: Retrobits".
- ↑ "YouTube.com: Self-Publishing in the Underground".
- ↑ "YouTube.com: YouTube.com: The World of Free Book Publishing".
- ↑ "TriplesDedicated.com: Rob O'Hara at OEGE".
- ↑ "ClearlyOKC.com: Rob O'Hara to appear at Oklahonma Electronic Game Expo".
- ↑ "OpenHandhelds.org: GP32 Renamer".
- ↑ "RobOHara.com: ShadowPrint".
- ↑ "CultDeadCow.com: Batch-O-Matic".
- 1 2 "RobOHara.com: eCoder Ring".
- ↑ "RobOHara.com: Break this Code, Win $100".
- ↑ "RobOHara.com: A Resurgence of Interest in eCoder Ring".
- ↑ "Alisha Cecil: A Summary of Hacking Organizations, Conferences, Publications, and Effects on Society".
- ↑ "CNN.com: Frogger, anyone? Old-school gamers revel in nostalgia".
- ↑ "About Rob O'Hara".
- ↑ "LinkedIn.com: Rob O'Hara".
- ↑ "RobOHara.com: How (Not) To Get Rid of Things".
- ↑ "RobOHara.com: Star Wednesday".
- ↑ "OxfordKarma.com: Rob O'Hara Feature".
- ↑ "FoxNews.com (AP): Classic Video Games Make Comeback".