ROFLcon II

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       (jg)

Tom Bio

Microcomputers

Self-taught electronics, programming
- Falmouth, MA
Ocean Research Equipment, 1973
Phoenix Software Associates, 1982
- Portable BIOS
- Porting DOS to numerous micros
Apple, OS/ROM work for Mac SE/ Mac II

Fido BBS, Fidonet

"The people's internet" -- http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.04/jennings.html?pg=2&topic=

Independently owned-operated
Decentralized store+forward architecture
Tried to operate non-hierarchical, anarchist fashion
INTERNET DID NOT EXIST
Circumventing steep cost of long-distance calling
50,000+ worldwide nodes by the 90s
- Cana Post Corp, US Forest Service
Used in places with oppressive regimes, e.g. SA during apartheid
Living in a punk house, doing fanzines
http://wps.com/J/FidoNet/index.html

Shareware, freeware, FOSS

"I am not an ideologue," Jennings insists. "I think Stallman's 'Free Software' stuff is a fantasy, and he's being propped up by money that's not his own." -- http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.04/jennings.html?pg=2&topic=

Homocore, Shred of Dignity

Skater's rights organization
- http://wps.com/J/HOMOCORE/shred.html
Early radical/queer/punk fanzine
Booking Gilman / Homocore shows with MDC, Fugazi, Op Ivy
- Helping set up an MDC show on the roof of a building opposite a church where the Pope is visiting
Huge letters section

TLGnet, Inc.

"TLGnet exercises no control whatsoever over the content of the information passing through TLGnet. You are free to communicate commercial, noncommercial, personal, questionable, obnoxious, annoying, or any other kind of information, misinformation, or disinformation through our service. You are fully responsible forthe privacy of, content of, and liability for your own communications." -- http://web.archive.org/web/19970716151955/tlg.org/Documents/terms

Shared internet connection becomes Bay Area ISP
No restrictions on use
Common carrier
"Affordable prices" for "real people", "real businesses"

"Freenets are such nonsense," he says. "No, the use of the Internet costs money; but yes, you can afford it." -- http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.04/jennings.html?pg=4&topic=

- http://wps.com/J/TLG/index.html
- http://web.archive.org/web/19970716151941/tlg.org/services/who-we-is.html
Encouraging resale
Hiring and training people
- http://wps.com/J/TLG/TLG.html

Lulz

Toilet Hoax
http://wps.com/J/personal/toilet/index.html

http://christian.org/

Archival / art

MFA from UC/Irvine in 2009
Now teaching and working in the department
History of character codes

Awards

March 1987, Andrew Fluegelman Award for 'significant contribution to the software community'
March 1992 the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award
1992 Dvorak/Zoom Telecommuncations award
1997 inducted into the Shareware Industry Conference's Hall of Fame