Welcome…

This is my personal homepage, recently rejuvenated to talk about new and old ideas, not just in computing but also in science, engineering, architecture, and philosophy in general.

These days I’m a principal engineer at Roku and have contributed to a variety of Roku products over the last decade. So, here’s the unabashed pitch: if you like streaming video, check out Roku. They’re great!

Back in 1985 I was lucky enough to introduce multitasking to the world of personal computers with the Commodore Amiga Operating System Kernel. Those were some fun days… back when home computers were a new and exciting concept, a dream for many of us.

I still enjoy designing operating systems and languages, although these days I tend to think most systems have become overly complex. But… I’ve got some theories on why that happens and some ideas on how to make things simpler, smarter, and just as effective.


Current and past projects, designs, architectures, and implementations…

  • Roku – Simple video streaming set-top boxes and TVs
  • Amiga OS – The first multitasking operating system for personal computers
  • Rebol Language – A next generation computer language
  • IOS – Internet Operating System for business collaboration
  • AltME – An instant messaging social network platform
  • CDTV – World’s first CD-ROM TV set-top box
  • ED-TV – Viscorp set-top box operating system
  • Bay – Real-time motion video editor on a home computer
  • SimCD – CD-ROM maker/simulator (ISO 9660)
  • WIP Wiki – A powerful website wiki engine
  • DevBase – BBS/Forum for REBOL developers (RebDev)
  • MakeDoc – One of the first markdown languages for web authoring
  • NGS Forth – From Next Generation Systems
  • Amiga Logo – Programming language from Commodore
  • SassenRanch – Designed and built in northern California