History

'Exenvoid' was registered as a sole trader business in December 2001 in Queensland Australia. My name is Jon Benjamin, and I am the owner / operator of the business. Being a sole trader business, this means that Exenvoid is actually me. That being the case, I guess this is more of a story of how I came to become Exenvoid.

Born on the 14th of October 1960, I was raised by a loving Irish mother and a serious but supportive Australian father. Dad was serious ( and still is ) because he is a scientist and has more understanding of the mechinations of machines and humanity than any other I have met. His support for my endless curiousity of the universe and the toys within it helped shape the love for computers that I chersih today.

Whilst working at the Hoover factory in Meadowbank Sydney in the late 1970s to the early 1980s
I started to grow more and more interested in the computerised robotics used in the factory and soon left to fulfill my dreams to work in one of the first home computer stores around 1984.

In 2001 I left Sydney to it's crowded insanity with an invitation from my best ( female ) friend Joanne to find a greener saner place to park our souls. I live now in the heart of the Glass House Mountains and I have to admit I have never been happier in my life. My business 'Exenvoid' has operated for around 5 years now and is growing every day. I specialise in home and small office computer system sales and services along with training users to get the most out of their computers so that they will appreciate them us much as I do.

Yes that silly looking boy in the black shirt is me. The 1980s was the era of the birth of the home computer and names like Commodore VIC20, C64 and Amiga will only be remembered by those who were around at the time.

From left to right, the images above are the Commodore C64, The Amiga 1000 and Amiga 2000
computers. These things were the 'must have' systems of the times and my memories of selling and servicing these wonderful machines will always bring warmth to my heart. For those of you out there who remember these days, you know what i mean.

Though the 1980's was my favorite time of computers, time goes by and eventually with the demise of companies such as Commodore, Atari, Osborne, Sinclair, Microbee, etc .. came the rise of the giant Microsoft with it's overwhelming support for IBM compatible designed computers. Apple was the only rival to survive the evolution so most home computer technicians ( and users ) had to make the choice of which side to back. Today it's still a 'holden vs ford' argument, but there are still the select few who drive neither and will always know that the Commodore Amiga computer systems were the best computers ever designed in the history of human kind so far.

'Perfection is useless' still echoes with any man made product and the Amiga had it's own way of telling you to pull your hair out. Click the picture below to read a bit of nostalgia behind the famous 'Guru Meditation' error we all loved to hate.

Anyway, enough of that. IBM compatibles took over the world and when you're a tech monkey, you go where the circus takes you! So I eventually got involved with servicing and selling PC's and worked for many different companies as the years crept on.

My real experience with learning the true ropes of the world of IBM compatible computers started when working at a place called the 'Discount Inn' in North Ryde, Sydney. This was the era of the Intel 386 and 486 machines into the birth of the Pentium class systems. I worked as head technician there for 8 years and also watched and learnt from the management skills of the best businessman I have ever met, the famous 'Jimmy Sydo'. The best customer service possible was his business motto and our customer care policy was impossible for any of our competitors to match. Sell good quality products and look after your customers was the key to good business success and I have never forgotten it.

Peter Bloom ( Captain Floon ) is not only my best mate but also shared the unfolding shape of the computer industry with me as we watched our wonderful Amiga computers dissapear in time. We worked together for many years at Discount Inn and prior to that at the most ridiculously insane company called 'The Computer Spot'. By the way, if anyone else out there reading this also survived the 'evil clutches' of the owners of that business, i would love to hear from you.

Peter Bloom 'morphed' into a corperate wiz kid soon after leaving the Discount Inn and remains my best gift to the industry as although he was once my apprentice he is now the master of thousands of computers spanning the continents of the earth.

'Thank you' to all my past, present and future customers and friends for supporting my business and allowing me to enjoy this wonderful place on earth, the Glass House Mountains and the sunshine coast of Queensland.
I am so greatful to have discovered a place where 'real' people still exist that appreciate good quality equipment and service ~ and are all such wonderful people to meet and support.