Hi Everyone; Im not really this yellow in real life, and have more than four fingers

If you haven't guessed by now; this is another home for Anthony Sherwell.

I am the owner of the Computer Business Terrorbyte.com.au & TerritoryMail.com that is situated in Palmerston NT Australia.

Over the years I have built up a very good reputation with local residents and business around Palmerston, Darwin and other communities across the Top End by giving a lot of honest free advice on how to solve problem with computers and a variety of systems.

I originally moved to the Top end from Ballarat Victoria back in 1999 after a break one day in my university studies where I decided to jump in the car and go for a drive. (It was a little bit more planned than that; but still pretty spontaneous). Darwin is where I ran out of Car and Money.

So what was I to do. I worked briefly (part time) with some local computer firms; but strapped for cash at the time; so as I had some past experience with the McDonalds Franchise both in Ballarat and Melbourne; I went to work for McDonalds Palmerston as a Manager there working under Rob Wilson. This really introduced me to the People of Palmerston; and Terrorbyte was born more out of a hobby of helping new found friends.

At some point Terrorbyte changed from being a growing hobby; to a business operated out of my house; to a Retail Outlet now in Essington Ave.

With this growth came many other opportunities within the business.

I have been involved with everything from Teaching Basic Computer Skills to Indigenous People out on the Tiwi / Bathurst Islands through to setting up Point Of Sale Registers at many locations stretching both the width and the length of the Territory.

Around the beginning of 2004 I expanded Terrorbytes services from simple consulting and repair to becoming an Internet Service Provider. We were already starting to develop web based applications for businesses, so offering Dial Up Access to our customers was the next logical step. (Also at this time unfortunately Darwins best Internet Service Provider got acquired by a company from down south which essentially carved up the company and laid off all their staff). 

Then towards the end of the year we ventured into the new Internet Broadband connection type called ADSL. This has been growing steadily for many years now because we give a local point of presence for people to come and see us if they are having problems; and since we don't have a complicated phone menu system to hide behind; our customers generally get straight through to us. - Finally just recently we have been about to add a further technology to the Internet Supply mix, and now offer wireless broadband over the 3G Mobile Phone Network.

Writing customised Business Applications to suit particular needs also was my strength over this period; with my most notable creation probably a School Reporting System that allowed teachers to write the end of semester school reports online, to which the system would then collate, print and give access to the students. This system although used primarily at Taminmin High School (now on their 6th year of it) was also used by another 4 schools.

In 2006 I won the NT Young Achiever of the Year award in the Drake Career Achievement Category. This apart from being a bit of a shock in winning, sent a message home that I was actually out there making a difference in helping people with their problems. In turn this gave me the drive and determination to continue working hard and create solutions for other peoples little IT problems and annoyances that they seem to put up with on a daily basis..

This gave the business a big jolt; and I could no longer stretch between doing the Teaching on the Islands, to running the shop with a few part time employee's, so things had to change. We started hiring some more staff; and luckily I have been able to source some very good people to work for me with the same goals and ideals that I have of trying to make computers simple to everyone. We have a very strong underlying theme at work that we are a service based business. We strive to help our customers; rather than just selling them retail items off the shelf. We listen to the needs and then find something that fits their personal situation.

Into 2007 I became a Myob Retail Manager Professional Consultant. This allowed me to explore many avenues in helping businesses with Point of Sale Solutions. (Well technically it allowed me to give qualified advice; as in the past I had been doing it anyway without the accreditation. This opened up a lot of strange point of sale customers; from Schools, Pharmacies, Pubs and Corner Stores.

Now Point of Sale Software doesn't fit every business; so that where my skills of application development have come into use again. I have been writing plug-in software that integrates into the Myob Retail Manager software to help with things like tracking the Centerlink Income Management plans that got introduced by the Government to restrict what indigenous people could spend their money on; or a DEET Voucher Acquittal Systems for the schools around town to make sure that students are spending their subsidised grant money on the correct things at school. Even simple things such as custom reports for places like art galleries that needed specific reports that Retail Manager simply doesn't provide. You have an IT need and I will find a solution.

2008 was time to start giving back to the community. I developed in my spare time (typically 11pm - 2am every night) a project for tracking the price of petrol around Darwin, Palmerston and Katherine. Petrol prices were soaring over this time due to high overseas prices; and I just wanted to make something simple to advise locals where the current best deals for fuel were. http://localfuelwatch.com.au was born; and now has over 1000 active members receiving emails on a daily basis of the best spot to fill up their car, truck or boat in the top end. This site has been free product (both the development hours and the ongoing running costs) that I have donated to the community and I have never receive any financial payment or other reward for it (apart from the glowing praise from Mix 104.9 who advertise its presence)

2008 & 2009 were volatile times for businesses the the economic down turn in Australia. Thankfully we are still here primarily thanks to I believe the continuing support of our loyal customers; and the fact that we cover such a wide portfolio of skills. Realistically when you think about what we do and services that we offer its a very long list; and its not surprising that we are working many hours per day simply trying to help our local community.

Outside of the business however I have also had many achievements. I was very lucky to find my wife Cerise, and we have since purchased a house and had 3 children of our own. We also have a foster child and look after an elderly grandfather of Cerise's who live with us...... that combined with all the dog's, cats, birds, chickens and turkeys don't leave us much room around the house :), and also leave us very short on spare time from month to month. (Im sure we have a competition each month to see if we can fill up every day's square on the calendar with an event that needs to be done)

Many people often ask what computer equipment I own and use; so here is a list for people who are extra inquisitive.

So their's a bit of an insight into me and what I do. I have an open door policy at work and are always happy to take phone calls or have visits from people; so if you think that I can help you or your business in any way please don't hesitate to say hello.

Cheers

Anthony Sherwell