Biographical note

David Mercer was born in August 1976 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Having always had a strong interest in science, David came into regular contact with computers at university where he graduated cum laude with majors in applied math and math (although he minored in computer science). As a programmer and professional writer who has been writing both code and books for about ten years, he has worked on a number of well known titles, in various capacities, on a wide variety of topics. His books have sold many tens of thousands of copies and have been translated into over 9 different languages to date. David believes that everyone should be able to benefit from the vast potential of the Internet. He founded Site prebuilder (http://www.siteprebuilder.com) to provide hassle free, all-in-one web packages to reduce the barrier to entry for Internet newcomers. Site prebuilder also provides free Drupal distributions, mentoring services, and educational material including courses. The aim of Site prebuilder is to empower ordinary, non-techie people with the knowledge and skill required to run any website efficiently. When he isn't working (which isn't that often) he enjoys playing guitar (generally on stage and unrehearsed) and getting involved in outdoor activities ranging from touch rugby and golf to water skiing and snowboarding.