Jay Lee, Houston Chronicle Help Line columnist and co-host of KPFT/90.1 FM's Technology Bytes, makes understanding the oft-frustrating wired world of computers possible for even the most basic of users. Lee's strength is in his simple instructions and advice. But if you want to get hard-core, he can also out-geek any challenger on the methods of machinery. Lee first became interested in computers in high school in 1978 with a Tandy TRS-80 (that sleek design, the sensuous hot buttons...oh, wait, we're talking about a machine here...), but he didn't own his first system until the late '80s. "It didn't work when I took it out of the box, but I was able to sort it out myself. That's when I knew I had a knack for computer troubleshooting," he says. Lee notes that spyware is now the "single most common cause of computer performance problems today" and preaches with the zeal of Jimmy Swaggart in a whorehouse about the urgency to back up, back up and back up your computer's data and files.