Radio Control Army Trucks
Terry Shannon – Mobile USB Power Adapter Manufacturer – Nicad Battery Charger
Early life
Terry C. Shannon was born in Syracuse, New York, USA. At the age of 17 he dropped out of high school and enlisted in the US Army in 1969.
He served as a spook in Vietnam at a Radio Reconnaissance Field Station (i.e., the 330th RRFS) with the 509th Radio Research Group of the Army Security Agency (ASA), a branch of the National Security Agency (see NSA and/or SIGINT for explanation).. During his two years (1970-1972) of Vietnam War service, Shannon was a computer communications and traffic analysis specialist. Using his training in cryptology and signal-intelligence, his job was to triangulate North Vietnamese radio signals, request an airstrike, and then return to the original frequency and listen for the enemy channel to “go off the air.”
He was separated from the Army with an honorable discharge in 1972. After earning his GED, Shannon received his Bachelors degree from SUNY Empire State College. He was awarded the Bronze Star, about thirty years after separation, for his service in the Vietnam War.[citation needed]
Writing career
In May 1983, Shannon became self-employed as a writer. He published his first brief article in the May 1983 issue of DEC Professional. About two years later, in September 1985, Shannon began working as a contributor for Digital Review. During his tenure with Digital Review, Shannon began using the pseudonym “Charlie Matco”.
While Shannon also frequently wrote under the pseudonyms “Digital Dog” and “the notorious Belgian hacker Cedric Zool,” Charlie Matco was by far his best known nom de plume. Under the “Charlie Matco” byline, Terry Shannon combined a humorous writing style with erudite and timely prognostications about IT industry trends, product releases, and major business transactions, often well in advance of the public release of such information, in the “Rumor Roundup” feature at the end of each issue of Digital Review magazine. This information was obtained as a result of Shannon’s well-polished skills at schmoozing his vast network of friends and colleagues in the IT industry, and of astutely combining information they provided.
Shannon’s use of the “Charlie Matco” nom de plume is said to have originated when, after drinking with friends in Massachusetts, Shannon walked out of a bar and saw a Matco Tools truck at a service station across the street.[citation needed]
Charlie Matco coffee mugs
“Charlie Matco” was usually depicted as a cartoonish, “private eye” sort of figure, after the fashion of Nick Danger, but without any facial features (i.e., just a fedora, a trenchcoat, and a cigarette in one hand). That logo, which appeared next to the “Charlie Matco” byline on every “Rumor Roundup” article, was also depicted on the coffee mug, which Shannon would send to anyone who (intentionally or otherwise) provided useful information. According to Jeffrey Steinberg, former Technical Editor of Digital Review, the signature on the mug was in the handwriting of Deborah McDonald, the publication’s managing edtior at the time. In fact, a “Charlie Matco” mug now lives in the Computer History Museum.
Over the next two decades, Shannon wrote about trends in the IT industry. An advocate of the VMS operating system, he wrote the first version of the VMS user guide, Introduction to VAX/VMS through Professional Press in May 1985 (ISBN 096147291X). This ran for five editions. According to those associated with its original publisher, Professional Press, the first edition of the book sold more than 100,000 copies.[citation needed] The latest (5th) edition was called Introduction to OpenVMS (ISBN 1878956612). It is required reading for some Computer Science college courses.
Shannon began to publish a newsletter in 1994, Shannon Knows DEC, which eventually became Shannon Knows Compaq, after the firm’s acquisition, and then Shannon Knows HPC. His insider knowledge constantly frustrated those he wrote about, and HP pursued a love/hate relationship, occasionally citing him in press releases. The newsletter ran until his death in 2005.
Analysis and citations
As a well-known expert in the field, Shannon was also widely quoted in the independent trade press, such as in The Register as well as in Computerworld, TechWeb ITNews,, and Cnet
Shannon played an important role in the publishing industry competition between Ziff-Davis and International Data Group, the two largest technology publishing firms of the 1980s. During his tenure at Ziff’s Digital Review semi-monthly, Shannon reported on unannounced products from DEC and other companies; this provided important content for Digital Review in its competitive battle with Digital News, a competition that reflected the larger rivalry between the publications’ parent companies.
Shannon’s reporting on the minicomputer industry included extensive analysis of the inroads made by IBM’s AS/400 line of minicomputers against Digital’s VAX line. The competition among minicomputer vendors would prove to be a turning point in Shannon’s career, as eventual mergers led to his DEC newsletter shifting its focus to Compaq (later, HP-Compaq).
During the early 1990s, much of Shannon’s focus was on DEC’s development of the Alpha chip, a processor intended to replace its aging VAX CPU line. As DEC prepared the Alpha chip for release, Shannon was widely used as a source of advance information on the new processor.
Shannon also reported extensively on Digital executives and their comings and goings within the company. Shannon analyzed the controversial departure of Robert Glorioso from DEC in terms of the struggle for control of the company as it began to founder in the 1990s.
User groups
Shannon was active in HPC user groups and the DEC community, including DECUS and Encompass. He served on the Encompass Board of Directors. He gave frequent lectures and seminars., including the 2005 Keynote address.
References
^ a b “Chipzilla becomes Gorgonzilla”. The Register. 1999-03-15. http://www.theregister.co.uk/1999/03/15/chipzilla_becomes_gorgonzilla/. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
^ a b About Terry Shannon
^ a b c d e f Graham, Lamar B. (1992) The Nerd Who Came In from the Cold, Boston Magazine, February 1992, 52-55, 90-91.
^ Old Spooks and Spies
^ Defcon meets Cedric Zool
^ Charlie Matco as an alias
^ Alias Charlie Matco
^ Charlie Matco mug donated to the Computer History Museum
^ BSU CS required readingWatrburg CS240 required reading
^ Shannon declares Chipzilla Open Source word
^ “Compaq, One Year Later”. Computerworld. 2000-03-04. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;709804404;fp;;fpid;;pf;1. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
^ “Processors: Silicon roadmaps to cheaper chips”. Computerworld. 2003-07-14. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1038074087. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
^ “VMS’s Stability Prompts Move To Itanium”. TechWeb. 2004-01-20. http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20040120S0004. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
^ “HP could use Opteron in ProLiant servers”. ITNews. 2004-01-30. http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=14077. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
^ “HP-Compaq merger worth the wait?”. Cnet. 2002-09-02. http://news.com.com/HP-Compaq+merger+Worth+the+wait/2100-1001_3-956202.html. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
^ “Compaq finds new clients for luxury servers”. CNet. 2001-05-10. http://news.com.com/Compaq+finds+new+clients+for+luxury+servers/2100-1001_3-935816.html. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
^ “The war among the Digitals: Bitter competition reflects growing rivalry between Ziff, McGovern empires”. Boston Globe. 1985-05-17.
^ “Digital turns up the power in battle with IBM”. Boston Globe. 1989-04-11.
^ “Digital ready to unwrap Alpha: Ailing computer maker will introduce new line after a year of “fantasy talk.”". Boston Globe. 1992-11-09.
^ “Software executive quits Digital in power struggle”. Boston Globe. 1992-11-12.
^ DECUS bio of Shannon
^ HP Interex Belux
^ Encompass 2005 Keynote address (PDF)
External links
ShannonKnowsHPC.org Shannon’s HPC newsletter, with archives of his writing and presentations.
networkworld.com Profile in Network World.
Photographs of Terry Shannon at CANACU Ottawa, Canada (2003)
Obituary: Encompass Canada
Obituary: Terry Shannon is dead in The Inquirer (UK)
Categories: 1952 births | 2005 deaths | People from Syracuse, New York | American journalists | American computer specialists | Computer science writers | DEC peopleHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from February 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements from March 2007
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