DESERT AIRE - Watch out what kind of questions you ask. You may just become a success in the leading technology of your time.

That's what happened to Dave Bevers, owner of Desert Computer Services Inc., based in Desert Aire.

A young Dave Bevers was working at a Portland, Ore. sporting goods store in the 1970s when a change of technology triggered his mind. All of the mechanical cash registers were replaced by computerized cash registers.

"I became very interested in how this machinery could do all these calculations so quickly," he said. "They were teaching us how to program sales and discounts into the cash registers. I loved it."

Bevers was staring at his future, and he knew it. He took a computer programming and hardware repair course at Portland Community College in 1979-80 and went to work as a programmer in 1980.

"I started before IBM brought out its first PC," he recalled.

Bevers was so enthralled by computer technology that studying was easy. He graduated with a 3.85 grade point average.

"The tests were an annoyance," he said. "I knew the answers. I just wanted to keep learning."

Bevers learned everything that was thrown at him. He learned how chips are made. He learned the special language programmers use, Fortran, Basic and Pascal.

"I was fortunate the course included hardware repair. It made me a better programmer," Bevers said.

Years later, that aspect of the course would come in especially handy in the desert of central Washington

Bevers' first programming position was with Hayes Micro Computer Products in Atlanta from 1984-93. He wrote communications software that allowed modems to talk to each other.

Bevers worked his way up to manager of product management, in charge of hardware and software design engineers. His subordinates included groups in Toronto and San Francisco.

Then Bevers jumped at an opportunity to work for Attachmate of Bellevue. He was offered the position of director of product management.

"My wife and I had been wanting to move back to the West Coast," he said.

Bevers worked for Attachmate for five years (1994-99), working his way to senior director of product management. Then the economy and the industry started to struggle, and layoffs came.

"They tended to lay off the highest paid people first, and I was one of them," Bevers said.

Bevers took a job with Merant, a British company with a branch in Portland. That lasted only a year and a half. A merger led to new layoffs.

Bevers volunteered to leave with severance pay early in 2001. It was time for him and his wife Maggie to plan the rest of their lives. They had recently bought a property at Desert Aire and built a retirement home.

Maggie was working for high-tech Watchguard Technologies at the time. Because it was a telecommuting job, she could do it from anywhere, including Desert Aire. The move was made.

"With Hanford nearby I figured I might be able to find a job," Bevers said.

While Bevers waited for such an eventuality, residents of Desert Aire and the area started to ask for computer help. They knew of his background. Then neighbor Bob Sleagel planted a seed.

"He said, 'Dave, you seem to be pretty good at this. Why don't you do it as a living?'" Bevers said.

Bevers launched Desert Computer Services in 2001 and has been growing ever since. He has customers all over the Basin from Quincy and Moses Lake to Tri-Cities.

"Some ask me to give their computers a complete cleaning once a year," Bevers said.

Bevers operates six days a week. He makes himself available on Saturdays for people with home computer issues. It's hard to connect with them during the week when they, too, are at work.

Some customers, such as Grant County Fire District No. 8, the Mattawa Police Department, Mattawa Medical Clinic, Mattawa City Hall and Desert Aire Home Owners Association, are on monthly contract.

For those contracts, the major tasks are network and computer maintenance. But there are usually additional requests at each stop.

"Somebody will say, 'Hey Dave, my computer is doing this. Can you check it out?'" Bevers said.

Generally, Desert Computer Services offers computer hardware and virus damage repair. It also offers tech support. It offers the designing and building of local area and wide area networks.

"It's worked out wonderfully," Bevers said. "I love what I'm doing. I don't think I'll ever retire."