Christopher Chabris is studying computer science in the Division of Applied Sciences at Harvard University. His fields of interest include artificial intelligence, analysis of algorithms, and parallel processing. Christopher is a regular contributor to Antic magazine and other Atari-oriented publications. He has extensive experience with 68000 systems programming, and his "Introducing 68000 Assembly Language" appeared in the November 1985 issue of Antic.
An internationally-ranked chess player, Christopher has represented the United States in competitions abroad and is among the top 50 players in the United States under 21 years of age. Currently, he is developing ST software and writing a book on artificial intelligence programming in Pascal.
Twenty-two-year-old Joe Chiazzese, together with his partner Alan Page, is putting the finishing touches on Flash, an ST terminal program. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. After completing high school, Joe attended Dawson College with every intention of becoming a nuclear physicist. But, during his first year, he purchased an Atari 800 and quickly decided he preferred programming. He moved to Toronto where he enrolled at DeVry Institute of Technology
Joe wrote many small public domain programs with the 8-bit Atari, but nothing of commercial value. When the 520 ST was announced, he immediately bought one. At the end of September 1985, he met Alan Page; Flash is their first major project.
Corey Cole joined the "micro revolution" shortly after the introduction of the Apple II. He has been programming professionally since 1975, and creating word processing and typesetting software since 1981. When Atari announced the 520ST in January of 1985, Corey saw a new revolution beginning, and decided to join the cause.
Corey is the president of Visionary Systems, which is currently developing state-of-the-art word processing and personal publishing products for the ST. Like the Atari ST, Visionary's products will feature "power without the price." Corey shares his San Jose, CA home with his wife Lori, two dogs, and an assortment of computers and musical instruments. Not content with traditional software marketing practices, Corey and Lori expect to have their own small computer user in late June.
Jim Dunion worked for the old Atari, first in the Software Development Support Group and later in Alan Kay's research group. While there, he authored DDT-Dunion's Debugging Tool, probably the best known debugger for the 8-bit Atari.
Jim has worked in the computer field since the early days of microprocessors and was a founder of a small retail computer store in Atlanta, GA, that eventually became Peachtree Software. At present, he is at The System Works in Redmond, WA, where he is working on the user interface portion of a maintenance planning and control system.
Tom Hudson is the creator of DEGAS, the popular ST paint program. Currently a freelance software developer, Tom was head of programming for ANALOG Computing magazine from 1982 to 1985. He first worked with computers on an IBM 1620 during his high school years. While earning an Associate of Science degree in data processing, Tom taught non-technical people how to program microcomputers, and from 1978-1982 he worked as a programmer/operator at a savings and loan association while earning his Bachelor of Science degree in data processing.
After leaving ANALOG in the summer of 1985, Tom wrote DEGAS for Batteries Included. He lives in Mission, Kansas where he is hot at work completing CAD-3D, a three-dimensional graphics system for the ST. If you want to talk to Tom, you can often find him on-line on the 16-bit section of CompuServe's SIG*Atari, where he recently became a SYSOP.
Tom Jeffries has been a professional musician for more than 15 years. He has played first trumpet with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the San Jose Symphony; he has recorded with Dave Brubeck and numerous TV and radio shows. Though members of his family have been involved in computers since the 1950's, Tom managed to avoid serious work with them until 1984, when he became interested in the Commodore 64's SID chip.
Tom currently heads a company called Singing Electrons, developing and translating soundtracks and music-related software for microcomputers. He has written programs for most available micros, including the Atari ST, the entire Atari 8-bit line, the Amiga, the Apple II, the Commodore 64, and the IBM PC. In addition to the ST version of MlDImagic, mentioned in his article, Tom is currently completing an ST version of CZ PATCH, for Dr. T's Music Software.
Daniel Matejka has been programming professionally, on and off, for seven years. Three years ago, in Colorado Springs, he stumbled upon the crowd that makes and markets DB Master, a best-selling database on the Apple II which has been incarnated on several other machines as well. Dan was partially responsible for the IBM PC and Atari ST versions of that program.
Dan now lives in Fairfax, CA. He has since branched out and is writing programs independently Antic's Disk Doctor is his, and Antic's forthcoming game, Red Alert, is the result of a collaboration with Stanley Crane, one of the original DB Master programmers.
Tim Oren is a familiar name among the community of ST developers. He is the author of ST PROFESSIONAL GEM, a biweekly GEM programming column available on Antic's Online CompuServe edition, and was a member of the original, Digital Research GEM development team.
At Digital Research, Tim designed and implemented the GEM Resource Construction Set, and worked on parts of the AES and the Desktop. Since leaving DRI, he has been the GEM interface designer for KnowledgeSet (formerly Activenture), which is planning to release a CD ROM-based encyclopedia for the Atari ST. Tim has a master's degree from Michigan State University In his free time, he enjoys hiking throughout the glorious Monterey countryside, where he currently resides.
David Small was a longtime contributor to the now defunct Creative Computing magazine and a frequent contributor to Antic. His last piece demonstrated how to read and write IBM disks from the Atari ST (ST Uses IBM Disk Files, Antic, November 1985). David has published three books and written over a hundred magazine articles. He and his wife Sandy both have Computer Science degrees from Colorado State University. They are co-authors of "Guidebook for Winning Adventures" (Baen Enterprises, NY, NY), and their fourth book is due to be published January 1987.
Though their two children purportedly keep them busy changing diapers, the Smalls have, nontheless, found time to complete their latest project: tricking the Atari ST into thinking it is a Macintosh. David has worked for several computer companies, and today is a consultant, freelance writer, and diaper changer. He briefly existed in San Jose, spent some time in exile in Austin, Texas, and now lives in Denver, Colorado.
Russ Wetmore attended Morehead State University with the idea of receiving a degree in music composition, but somehow ended up in the computer field. Maybe it was the influence of his father, who designs flight simulators for the military. In any case, Russ started in the late 1970's as a programmer with Adventures International, the Scott Adams company famous for its puzzling text adventures. While there, Russ wrote his first big hit, Preppie, memorable as one of the first Atari programs to use the vertical blank interrupt to support continual background music.
Russ then went off to form his own company Star Systems. There, he wrote the integrated software package HomePak, which was snapped up by Batteries Included. He has since been kept busy adapting HomePak to most available microcomputer brands. The ST version should be available very soon. Russ is also a SYSOP on CompuServe's SIG Atari, and author of the terminal software for the 8-bit Atari's new XM301 modem.