Life of a Freelance Developer in the 90s in Singapore

Exploring the Evolution of Tech, Challenges, and Triumphs in the World of Freelance Programming

Anees Khan
4 min readNov 19, 2023
Programming in the 90s

A client recently asked me this: Tell me about your freelance programmer life in the 90s.

This is what I replied, with some literary fluff padded around my words. And also calling my hidden keyboard warrior / writer to my aid as well.

The 1990s were an era when the digital landscape was just starting to take shape, and the term “freelance programmer” was often met with puzzled looks. As I reminisce on those early days of my career, it feels like a journey through a time warp, witnessing the evolution of technology from the primitive internet to the sophisticated, interconnected digital world we live in today. Being a freelance programmer back then wasn’t just a job; it was an exploration of uncharted territory, navigating through the infancy of the web, experimenting with code, and witnessing the birth of what would become the foundation of modern technological advancements.

The Dawn of the Dot-Com Boom

The ’90s introduced me to the mesmerizing world of code. It was a period of dial-up internet, pixelated graphics, and the birth of the World Wide Web. Back then, freelance programming was more…

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Anees Khan

Anees Khan is a freelance web and mobile app developer, and a software developer, for the past 28 years, and is running Getcha Solutions (getcha.com)