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Countdown to CGE 2010 ~ July 31st & August 1st, 2010 ~ 31 JUL 2010 |
Classic Gaming Expo Distinguished Guest:
RUSS WETMORE
Russ Wetmore pioneered many of the technologies that we take for
granted today.
His Atari game Preppie! was amongst the very first number one
video games in the 1980's. Russ had spent several years marketing
programs for the TRS-80 before joining Adventure International as a
"talent liaison." After acting as the go-between for the company and its
freelance game designers, Russ convinced its CEO, the legendary Scott
Adams, to give him a chance at writing his own games (and advance him an
Atari computer against future royalties in good faith.) His generosity
was rewarded--Preppie! and Russ's subsequent games were all
best-sellers for the company. He also collaborated with Scott on one of
his famous text adventures, video games that launched the retail
software industry.
In 1986, Russ joined Apple Computer. Within a year, he was one of the
principle engineers working on System 6, the first commercial
object-oriented application framework (MacApp) and then one of the
founding engineers in the Pink/Taligent initiative.
In 1990, Russ left Apple to partner with Nolan Bushnell in a new venture
called Aapps. He directed the development of the first plug-in
television card for personal computers. He innovated the recording of
synchronized audio and video to hard disk, and its transmission over a
network, serving as the foundation for what later would become
QuickTime.
1992 found Russ back at Apple, this time directing system software
development for its hardware division. Apple shipped 20 Macintosh models
under his watch, including the wildly successful Performa product line
that introduced personal computers to the consumer retail market. His
many innovations (Applications and Documents folders, quick launch
toolbar, built-in failsafe partition and integrated backup software) are
in use in Mac and Windows models almost 20 years later. Russ garnered
three software patents along the way, all in technologies enabling Apple
to transition their OS from Motorola 680x0 processors to PowerPC
gradually without impacting new model releases.
In 1994, Russ collaborated with two ex-Infocom executives on Apple
Newton software. He personally wrote Notion: The Newton List Manager
which was the best-selling Newton product. It was eventually licensed by
Apple for inclusion on all Newtons sold worldwide.
Starting in 1996, Russ was involved with a startup that produced one of
the first object-oriented Internet application frameworks and then
guided an HMO in upgrades to its systems for Y2K compliance. He then
joined USWeb (which subsequently became USWeb/CKS and then marchFIRST)
in the dual roles of Partner and VP of IT Strategy. Based in London,
Russ helped close millions of dollars of consulting business, built and
maintained close relationships with clients, and then overseeing a
practice earning 13M Euros in its first year of business.
After the dot-com bubble burst, Russ came back to the US and formed his
own consulting company, the easydesign company, LLC. He enjoyed success
in IT systems design, US/EU business consulting, and recently iPhone
development. After several high-profile applications for several
companies, Russ accepted a position with The Weather Channel where he
still works today as its Mobile Technical Lead. In this role he is
responsible for all technical design and development issues for mobile
application development, including spearheading the development of its
recent iPad release.