Skillset

My skills have developed through a lifetime of curiosity, experimentation and practical experience, from building electronic circuits as a child to managing mainframe systems, developing businesses, flying aircraft and exploring artificial intelligence.

Some qualifications were earned formally. Others came from decades of hands-on work, occasionally learning the hard way.

The technologies listed below reflect both my current capabilities and the many systems I’ve worked with throughout my career. Not everything is still in daily use — particularly the punched cards!

What matters most to me is understanding how things work, recognising opportunities to improve them and finding practical solutions to real-world problems.

Mentoring & Philanthropy

My initiatives focus on creating sustainable residual income streams to support various causes, using the wide-ranging skill set I’ve developed over the years. To grow and accelerate Ubuntu Synergy globally, I’m mentoring proactive affiliates who understand the big picture, with the aim of helping each achieve meaningful monthly earnings. Charity begins at the cash register — and together, we can make a distinct difference. Mentorship is delivered through my professional website for anyone willing to learn and earn.

Herby Olschewski

Aviation

• CAA (UK) Private Pilot.
• FAA (US) Commercial Pilot.
• Single & Twin Engine Land.
• SE & ME Instrument Rating.
• High Altitude Certification.

I obtained my PPL in 1988, Cannes, France. Primarily for pleasure and quicker commuting throughout Europe. With 1000+ flying hours, the longest flight from Rock Sound, Bahamas to Geneva, Switzerland in a Piper PA32-300 Cherokee Six. A direct Atlantic crossing from St. Johns, Newfoundland to Shannon, Ireland – on a single engine. I am currently working towards my (ATPL) Airline Transport Pilot License.

Yachting

• RYI – Coastal Skipper License.
• English South Coast & Channel.
• Bay of Biscay & Northern France.
• Mediterranean, Corsica & Greece.
• US East Coast & greater Caribbean.

I learned to sail out of Brixham and the River Dart, with extensive training along the south coast of England and into the Bay of Biscay. Through the years, I have skippered yachts around the Med & Caribbean. I’m currently working towards RYA Ocean Yachtmaster. Planning for life fully off the grid.

Animal Welfare

• Shelter volunteer since 1974.
• Collecting and raising money.
• Finding foster & forever homes.
• Developing software and websites.

I’ve been helping out at animal shelters since the 1970s. Saving, feeding, walking and caring for the lost, rejected and discarded four-legged friends. I’m now able to help on a much larger scale, using a lifetime of Information Technology experience. Connecting thousands of animal shelter databases worldwide and managing websites. I believe a good shelter is an empty shelter. Several of my current projects focus on animal rescue and speeding up the adoption process. Speaking for our furry friends who cannot speak.

Nature Conservation

• Africans are born into conservation
• I grew up surround by fauna and flora.
• Lifetime supporter of various organizations.
• Spent many years in the field after retirement.

Once an African, always an African. I returned to the deep bush in 2012 to help full-time with nature conservation. Using my primary skills of Information Technology, developing software apps and several websites. Physically walking patrols more than 5000km, over a three year period, into the wild. Working both online and in the field, I believe sophisticated technology is the best weapon to combat poaching. Several of my online initiatives address the plight of animals in the wild, zoo cages and circus arenas.

Information Technology

Always a fan of technology, I built my first little crystal radio set at the age 7. My father was an electronics technician and I learned a lot from being his under-aged apprentice. By age 10, I was building and selling circuit boards for disco lighting and CB radio sets. My compulsory military service was done primarily as a communications centre instructor. First exposure to the Internet was in 1981, sending Morse code over packet radio on VHF & UHF around the globe. Discovering the AX.25 protocol and AMPRNet opened a wonderful world via bulletin boards. I was totally hooked, and now into my sixth decade of learning.

Hardware Platforms

• Apple II built from plans.
• Various VHF & HF radio sets.
• Morse code keys and couplers.
• Commodore 64 and Atari 4/800.
• BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum 16K.
• Burroughs B3900, B5900 & CP95.
• DEC PDP 11/23, 11/44, Rainbow.
• DEC VAX 780, 4000, 6000, 8600.
• IBM 3031/2/3, 4041/2/3, 4341.
• IBM PC (1983 onwards).
• IBM System 36 & 38.
• AT&T 3B2/300/400.
• ICL DRS20/40.
• WANG V80.
• NCR 8575.
• GEC 4000.

Operating Systems

• MS-DOS.
• MCP, DMS.
• IBM VM, VSE.
• RSX11M, Plus.
• VRX, COS, BSC.
• Windows Server.
• UNIX, LINUX.
• CPF, DMX.
• VMS, DCL.

Programming

• Basic.
• Dibol.
• Cobol.
• Fortran.
• Assembly.
• Python.
• HTML.
• Ruby.
• Perl.
• C++
• PHP.
• REST API.
• JavaScript.

Networking

• Token Ring.
• Ethernet.
• ARCNET.
• DECnet.
• FDDI.
• BGP.
• IS-IS.
• RIP.
• OSPF.
• IGRIP.
• PRTG.

Databases

• Lotus.
• dBase.
• Oracle.
• MySQL.
• SQLite.
• Adabas.
• MariaDB.
• IBM Db2.
• FileMaker.
• MS Access.
• SQLServer.
• PostgreSQL.

CAD/Graphics

• AutoCAD.
• Adobe.
• Corel.
• GIMP.

Cloud Services

• Amazon Web Services.
• Adobe Creative Cloud.
• Microsoft Azure.
• Google Cloud.
• IBM Cloud.
• pCloud.
• OpenStack.
• Panorama9.
• Oracle Cloud.

DNS Management

• Cloudflare.

Server Management

• WHM/cPanel.
• ConfigServer.
• ModSecurity.
• Various CDN.
• ManageWP.
• LiteSpeed.

Remote Management

• ZaGenie Suite.
• Kaseya/AutoTask.

Content Management Systems

• Raw HTML.
• FrontPage.
• Artisteer.
• Plesk CMS.
• WordPress.
• HubSpot CMS.

Customer Relationship Management

• Salesforce.
• Mautic CRM.
• Fluent CRM.
• HubSpot CRM.

Computer, Internet & WWW Timeline

• 1977 – Built an Apple II computer from plans in Byte Magazine.
• 1978 – Started coding in Basic and developing software games.
• 1981 – First connected to the Internet via packet radio VHF & HF.
• 1983 – Active on BBS(Bulletin Board System) via 1200 bit/s links.
• 1983 – Bought my first IBM PC 5150 – 64kB RAM & 2 x floppies.
• 1984 – Bought my first Apple Macintosh 128K computer, mouse.
• 1984 – User, Sysop, Moderator on Usenet, BBS & Fidonet,
• 1985 – Started focusing on TCP/IP, X25, OSI, CMIS.
• 1986 – Developed email and Usenet interfaces.
• 1988 – Heavily involved in the Usenet community.
• 1989 – Moved to Ferney-Voltaire, France near CERN.
• 1990 – First awareness of the World Wide Web @ CERN.
• 1992 – Became a member of the ISOC – Internet Society.
• 1993 – Discovered the joys of the Mosaic – NCSA browser.
• 1994 – Established The CyberChateau – Internet Training.
• 1995 – Opened Internet Commerce Centre in Switzerland.
• 1995 – Opened an Internet Café in ICC Building, Geneva.
• 1996 – Organized Internet Cruise from CERN to Montreux.
• 1997 – Developed affiliate programs for online marketing.
• 1998 – Moved to Silicon Valley and DotCom bandwagon.
• 1999 – Focused on Internet affiliate marketing strategies.
• 1999 – Founded the Internet Affiliate Marketing Association.
• 2000 – Staged the AffiliateFORCE conference in Miami, USA.
• 2001 – From DotCom to DotBomb and downscaling ensued.
• 2003 – Hosted affiliate marketing conferences in the USA.
• 2004 – Moved back to South Africa to share IT experience.
• 2005 – Managed Internet Cafes and ADSL development.
• 2006 – Designed remote IT support systems over TCP/IP.
• 2007 – Autonomic computer repair over low bandwidth.
• 2008 – Managed Services Provider throughout Africa.
• 2009 – Content Management Systems with ASP .NET.
• 2010 – Web development agency using WordPress.
• 2011 – Started philanthropic initiatives on the InterWeb.
• 2012 – Nature conservation using drones over UDP, TCP/IP.
• 2013 – Developing 30+ websites that constitute Ubuntu Synergy.
• 2016 – Set out to travel the world, as a seasoned Digital NOMAD.
• 2019 – Official launch of Ubuntu Synergy with 20-year game plan.
• 2020 – Made use of the pandemic lockdown to create 45+ sites.
• 2022 – Finally got that first book done ~ The Art of Living Freely!
• 2023 – Pivot towards AI. Fastest growth of anything I’ve seen.
• 2023 – Founded aviation solutions company – RapidSky Ltd.
• 2025 – Started delving very deeply into Artificial Intelligence.
• 2026 – Infused and re-launched all my websites using AI.
• 2027 – Deep dive into AI, LLMs, MCP and more.