About Us

Zack Urlocker
Sunday, March 05, 2006

Valley of the Geeks is an award winning non-commercial satirical web site I developed in 2002 and occasionally update when I’m not busy with my full-time job in a Silicon Valley startup company or training for a marathon. The site attracts thousands of readers from around the world. There's also a book available and a movie starring Ben Affleck in the works.

The project began way back in the days of Windows 3.0, when I worked at Borland International. It was an exciting time to be in the PC industry. On the side, I wrote articles for magazines like Byte, Microsoft Systems Journal, the Journal of Object-Oriented Programming (no really) and other magazines that, oddly enough, all went out of business. I had a monthly column in Windows Tech Journal and was flat out of ideas, so I wrote something funny. In short order, I became chief joke writer for some of the execs. Not only did my humor not get me fired, but I eventually became Vice President. Mostly because all the other execs kept getting fired, but that’s a different story.

I moved on to other companies, had great success with several startups and continued to write on occasion, blasting emails out to friends and colleagues with the occasional jab at companies like Amazon, Sun, Borland, Napster (remember them?) and others. Eventually, essays were published in book form. But remember, this is a work of fictional satire. If you’re at all offended remember Victor Hugo’s memorable words: "Good taste is the first refuge of the witless." Lawyers please note that parody is protected by the First Amendment and Fair Use copyright laws. 

We definitely appreciate your support of the site. You can also get some cool looking logo mugs, hats, shirts at our RTFM Store. And don't forget to buy the Vally of the Geeks book!

About the author
Zack Urlocker is a pseudonym for a Silicon Valley software executive rapidly approaching his mid-life crisis.