Mitch Ratcliffe began his writing career as a film and book critic in Salt Lake City. He joined Mac Week after several years of high-technology writing as vice president of Moneyworth Watermelon Advertising. He served as associate news editor and editor-at-large of Mac Week until mid-1993.

He contributed to Mac Week's networking and telecommunications coverage and was later given reporting and investigative writing responsibility for emerging technologies. His work included stories about the health hazards of wireless networks and a series that exposed the National Security Agency's interference with public encryption standards.

A prolific writer, Ratcliffe, with co-author Andrew Gore, has written several books on mobile computing technologies which include PowerBook: The Digital Nomad's Guide; and Newton's Law. (both published by Random House). He is currently working on books about Microsoft's WinPad operating system for handheld computing devices, the WorldWideWeb and an analysis of the economic, social and political implications of software agent technology.

Ratcliffe's freelance work includes for PCWeek, Mac Week, PCWorld, Intelligent Newton, Mondo 2000, CeBIT News and other publications. He has also collaborated with Mitch Kapor on a computing-and-society column for Forbes magazine.

He speaks about the relationship between people and technology, privacy and open access issues and is often quoted in the national media on information technology and public policy issues, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the San Francisco Examiner. He has also appeared on National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition" and "All Things Considered".

Ratcliffe holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Washington State University.

Mitch Ratcliffe can be reached at:
e-Mail: godsdog@netcom.com