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aboutme.htm
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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>All About John Honniball</TITLE>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffcc">
<FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">
<H1 ALIGN=CENTER>About John Honniball</H1>
</FONT>
<A HREF="index.htm">HOME</A> > <B>About Me</B>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
I was born in
<A HREF="http://www.colchester.gov.uk">
Colchester</A>
(yes, that means I'm an Essex man)
and went to the
<A HREF="http://www.colchesterhigh.essex.sch.uk">
Boy's High School</A>
there.
I then went on to the
<A HREF="http://www.crgs.co.uk">
Colchester Royal Grammar School</A>, where I spent many happy
hours with the glowing valves in the school radio station,
<A HREF="rlb.htm">Radio Lexden</A>.
At the
<A HREF="http://www.colch-inst.ac.uk/">
Colchester Institute</A>,
I passed an A-level in Computer Science with a BASIC program
for a Commodore PET.
This helped me
to go on to Westfield College, University of London (long since merged with
<A HREF="http://www.qmul.ac.uk">Queen Mary College</A>),
where BASIC was frowned upon and the Coffee Bar
became the best place to get advice on your Algol-68 programs.
Westfield's refectory, halls of residence and science block, Queen's Building, have now
been demolished and replaced by flats.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
My first job was with the
<A HREF="lsslogo.gif">London Software Studio</A>,
which subsequently became part of
Sapphire International.
I spent a lot of time there working on a presentation graphics package
called the Enhanced Personal Presentation System
(<A HREF="eppslogo.jpg">EPPS</A> —
anybody remember using it?).
It was mostly written in compiled BASIC,
but I managed to sneak in quite a bit of
<A HREF="http://www.sasktelwebsite.net/jbayko/cpu3.html#Sec3Part7">8086</A>
assembler code, too.
I moved on to
<A HREF="http://www.tmi.co.uk/">Time Manager International</A>
where I actually learned something about business, as well
as getting an introduction to making programs useable.
The outcome was a program called
<A HREF="tmikrsw.jpg">TMI Key Results</A>,
written in Turbo Pascal.
At INMOS (now part of <A HREF="http://www.st.com/">SGS-Thomson</A>),
I worked on the transputer and Unix.
Part of that work resulted in a hardware and
<A HREF="s720sw.jpg">software</A>
package that could run the
<A HREF="http://www.x.org">X Windows</A>
server on a transputer-based
graphics board (the B020) in an IBM-compatible PC.
I then continued to work with transputers and Unix at
<A HREF="http://www.submetrix.co.uk/">Submetrix</A>,
where the goal was to build a
<A HREF="sonar.htm">sonar</A>
without letting salt water into the high-voltage parts.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
I did some work towards a PhD at the
<A HREF="http://www.uwe.ac.uk/">University of the West of England</A>.
My research was in the field of metadata for image databases
(in particular problems of user interface and usability) at the
now-defunct Centre for Personal Information Management.
I also did some teaching on the Human-Computer Interaction
course (UQI120S2), mostly in the practical sessions.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
Back in the commercial world, I joined
<A HREF="http://www.eurologic.com">Eurologic</A>'s software
division (now a separate company called
<A HREF="http://www.elipsan.com/">Elipsan</A>), building a
<A HREF="http://www.linux.org/">Linux</A>-based network appliance for
Storage Area Networks (SANs).
Moving on from there, I worked for
<A HREF="http://www.hp.com">Hewlett-Packard</A>, at the
<A HREF="http://www.hpl.hp.com/bristol/index.html">HP Labs</A>
in Stoke Gifford.
The job (a one-year contract) involved looking after some
HP Jornada handheld computers that belong to a wearable and
mobile computing research project,
<A HREF="http://www.mobilebristol.com">Mobile Bristol</A>.
I also developed new hardware and software for the wearables,
and went on to work for the
<A HREF="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</A>
to carry on with the project.
After that research ended, I went to Hambrook to work for
<A HREF="http://www.adelix.com/">Adelix</A>, once again
using Linux.
I worked for a while at
<A HREF="http://www.tek.com/">Tektronix</A> in Bristol,
where I wrote C++ software for digital TV quality-control.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
I went back to
<A HREF="http://www.uwe.ac.uk">UWE</A>, studying for a
postgraduate degree in Robotics.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
Back at work, I designed a time-lapse camera controller around an Atmel AVR microcontroller.
Moving on, I did some firmware work on a traffic light controller based on the
Microchip PIC32.
That must have done me some good, because my next job was also based on the PIC32,
this time in a video-game robot.
But the good luck didn't last and I'm now back to a 16-bit dsPIC in a gadget that
steers the drilling bit of an oil rig.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
I used to drive a
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Cervo#SC100" TITLE="Wikipedia: Suzuki Cervo">Suzuki SC100</A>,
which everybody referred to as the motorised roller-skate.
I liked that <A HREF="sc100.htm">little car</A>, but sadly it's now "resting".
Or should that be rusting...
My next motor was a
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobianchi_Y10" TITLE="Wikipedia: Autobianchi Y10">Lancia Y10</A>,
a Fila special edition with the funky bright-blue interior.
After driving two unusual cars, I had a go with something mundane but
practical, a <A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Polo_Mk2" TITLE="Wikipedia: Volkswagen Polo Mk2">VW Polo</A>.
However, the urge to get back to a
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car" TITLE="Wikipedia: Kei car">K-class</A>
was just too strong, and I acquired another Suzuki,
this time the two-seater, convertible, turbocharged, fuel-injected
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Cappuccino" TITLE="Wikipedia: Suzuki Cappuccino">Cappuccino</A>.
The Cappucino was a great little car, but it's not really a bubble-car;
nor is it electric.
For that, I had a
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityEl" TITLE="Wikipedia: CityEl">CityCom City-El</A>,
which is pictured
<A HREF="https://www.flickr.com/photos/anachrocomputer/albums/72157594555949572/">here</A>.
What could I go for after a Cappuccino?
A white
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Cube#Z11" TITLE="Wikipedia: Nissan Cube">Nissan Cube</A>
was less than successful, and too big for my liking.
K-class wins again with my present car, a yellow
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Copen#L880" TITLE="Wikipedia: Daihatsu Copen">Daihatsu Copen</A>.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
I wrote my first BASIC program in 1978 on a
<A HREF="http://oldcomputers.net/pet2001.html">Commodore PET 2001</A>.
Soon after this, I built a
<A HREF="uk101.htm">UK101</A> from a kit and learned
<A HREF="http://www.6502.org">6502</A>
assembler programming.
I can still remember the 6502 opcodes, in hex, and I've been
told that there's no cure.
I have since written code on all sorts of machines, notably the
<A HREF="http://www.malch.com/prime/">Prime P750</A>
and
PDP-11/44
at Westfield,
the
IBM PC,
the
<A HREF="http://www.atari.st/">Atari ST</A>,
the
<A HREF="http://www.sasktelwebsite.net/jbayko/cpu7.html#Sec7Part5">INMOS transputer</A>
and
<A HREF="http://www.sun.com">Sun</A> workstations.
Most of it worked, too.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
I've never quite made up my mind whether I should work on hardware
or software, and most of my computing work has involved a bit
of both.
I put together an
Acorn System One
in 1979 (for my school electronics lab) and of course the
<A HREF="uk101.htm">UK101</A>
in 1980.
At Westfield, I built a
<A HREF="http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/jbayko/cpu1.html#Sec1Part4">Z80</A>
project as part of my degree work, as
well as several add-ons for the
<A HREF="uk101.htm">UK101</A>.
In later years, I've done
<A HREF="http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/jbayko/cpu7.html#Sec7Part5">transputer</A>
designs for
<A HREF="http://www.submetrix.co.uk">Submetrix</A>
and even dabbled in analog electronics.
For a while, I built wearable computers around the
<A HREF="http://www.sasktelwebsite.net/jbayko/cpu1.html#Sec1Part9">PICmicro</A>
chips.
But nowadays, my microcontroller of choice is the
<A HREF="http://www.atmel.com/">Atmel</A>
<A HREF="http://www.atmel.com/products/avr/">AVR</A> chip.
</P>
<P>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
These are some of the technological things (apart from computers)
that I get enthusiastic about:
</P>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.hpmuseum.org">Hewlett-Packard</A>
Reverse Polish calculators
<LI>Trimphones
<LI><!-- HREF="http://people.clarkson.edu/~stokessd/quad.html" -->
Quad ESL 57 electrostatic loudspeakers
<LI>Sony Elcasets
<!-- HREF="http://members.nbci.com/chintze/audio/elcaset/default.htm" -->
<LI>Philips DCC
<LI><A HREF="http://www.8trackheaven.com/">8-Tracks</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw/jcgm-io.shtml">Pen plotters</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.thereminworld.com/">The Theremin</A>
<LI><A HREF="avo.htm">AVO Model 8</A> multimeters
<LI>Magic Eye tuning indicator
<A HREF="http://www.oldradioworld.de/teye.htm">valves</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/count.html">
Nixie Tubes</A>
<LI>Bubble Cars
(<A HREF="http://www.isetta-owners-club-gb.com/">Isetta</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.bondbug.com/">Bond Bug</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.3wheelers.com/">Three-Wheelers</A>)
<LI>Microwriters
(<A HREF="http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~len/boog/aghome.htm">AgendA</A>)
</UL>
<IMG SRC="key32a.gif" ALT="[]" HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32 ALIGN=LEFT>
<DL>
<DT>Favourite Pizza<DD>Ham and Pineapple
<DT>Favourite Coffee<DD>
Decaffeinated (I like to sleep at night)
<DT>Favourite Band<DD><A HREF="http://www.zztop.com/">
ZZ Top</A>
<DT>Favourite War Films<DD>Kelly's Heroes<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.dasboot.com">Das Boot</A><BR>
<DT>Favourite French Film<DD><A HREF="http://frenchfilms.topcities.com/nf_Diva_rev.html">Diva</A>
<DT>Favourite TV Programmes<DD><A HREF="http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam">Time Team</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/S/scrapheap">Scrapheap Challenge</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/S/salvage_squad">Salvage Squad</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.timhunkin.com">Tim Hunkin</A>'s
<A HREF="http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/index.shtml">Secret Life of Machines</A>
and
<A HREF="http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/">Hunkin's Experiments</A><BR>
<DT>TV Programmes of my Youth<DD><A HREF="http://www.goodiesruleok.com/">The Goodies</A><BR>
The Hair Bear Bunch<BR>
Hong Kong Phooey<BR>
Josie and the Pussycats<BR>
The Banana Splits<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.bigrat.co.uk/">Joe 90</A><BR>
Blake's 7<BR>
<DT>Favourite 8-bit CPU<DD>
<A HREF="http://www.sasktelwebsite.net/jbayko/cpu1.html#Sec1Part6">Motorola MC6809</A>
</DL>
<HR>
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<P>Return to <A HREF="index.htm">John Honniball's home page</A></P>
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by <A HREF="eee.htm">John Honniball</A>.
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