Sean Moran 8 Abduction and flying Saucers
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The RingTHE JOURNAL OF THE CAMBRIDGE COMPUTER LAB RING Issue XXVII — May 2011— £20 Ring news 2 The Cambridge Phenomenon 3 Ring AGM; Letter to the Editor Who’s who 4 Jeremy Bennett 6 Supplying industry with computer engineers Hall of Fame news 5 Sean Moran 8 Abduction and flying saucers Great East London Software 10 It’s a family business BlinkPipe 12 David Gwilt’s now-or-never moment Jamie Shotton 14 Graduate story Part IB Group Projects 16 Jack Lawrence-Jones www.camring.ucam.org 2 Ring news Ring news Ring AGM 2011 Letter to the Editor This year’s Ring AGM was held on March 7th. This June marks the 40th anniversary of the Chairman’s Report by Professor Andy Hopper. graduation of the first Computer Science BA students in Cambridge’s history. A single Part II course was announced late in the It gives me great pleasure to welcome you The date of the London summer BBQ is academic year 1969–70, and 27 natural once again to the Cambridge Ring AGM. always eagerly anticipated, and thanks again scientists, engineers and mathematicians go to Lorenzo Wood and LBi for hosting scrambled to register. It was a packed In terms of membership, the past financial another successful evening in 2010. We are year — some would say that it only took year has been one of consolidation with always keen to hear from Ring members a year to teach everything that was then membership remaining stable over the who would like to host an event, so please known about the topic! We romped through period. Indeed, we won’t be able to truly contact the Ring office if you are interested. measure our progress until 2012 when many numerical analysis, theories of computa- members come to the end of their free trial The 26th edition of The Ring newsletter tion, several then–current programming periods and convert to fully paid up status. came out in January. Its popularity lies in the languages (including, of course, BCPL), the While converting those with easy access to fact that it allows members to say connected fledgling field of graphics, and the features events in Cambridge and London will likely to this valuable network no matter where of the Titan operating system. We had a 4K be more straightforward, the challenge will they are based. So, if you would like to DEC PDP-15 to play with. In June 1971 we be to keep those who live and work further contribute to future editions, please get in graduated and went our separate ways. afield. We hope that proposed changes to the touch. Now I have been gathering together as many Ring’s Web site will do much to encourage as I can find, using this thing called the these members to remain engaged and Finally, I would like to thank two main- Internet, of course. I’m in touch with 15 of within the fold. stays of the Ring’s mentoring scheme — Peter Cowley and Stuart Newstead. Both the 27 so far. We were pioneers in a small We have continued to provide an interesting have worked very hard over the last year way, and it has been fascinating to find out and varied events calendar thanks to all the mentoring a number of Ring members, what has happened to everyone. We’ve had a hard work put in by the Ring Council and and the Ring office receives nothing but variety of careers, and about half of us have London Ringlet committee. Alastair Gour- expressions of gratitude for their advice and retired. Sadly, I know of one who has passed lay’s London Ringlet bars remain a stalwart support. If you are interested in becoming a away. At least four (including me) are living of the London calendar, and I would like mentor and would like to better understand overseas. Some of us are still in harness, and to thank him for making the events such a what it involves, please get in touch with the still programming; others have moved to success. Ring office. other careers. Over the past year we have also held round- I hope to be able to put together some more table discussion events in both London details for the next edition of the magazine. and Cambridge, and I would like to thank Meanwhile, think of us this June, and maybe Stephen Allott and Peter Cowley for organ- even raise a glass! ising two very well attended and well David Brooks (CC BA71) received events. I know that Peter Cowley has another Cambridge roundtable planned for May, and I hope that a many of you will come along. © The Cambridge Computer Lab Ring 2011 The Ring — Issue XXVII — May 2011 3 The Cambridge Phenomenon A richly illustrated book commemorating 50 years of the Cambridge Phenomenon, the technology cluster that has grown up around Cambridge, will be coming out towards the end of 2011. Not surprisingly, given the cluster’s nickname of “Silicon Fen”, the book will feature numerous stories about the people and companies that have come out of the Computer Lab. Charles Cotton (Sinclair, Virata, Level 5 Networks/Solarflare) started ming on his college room-mate’s BBC Micro and went on to found the project, and has collected a veritable who’s who of Cambridge Autonomy, the UK’s largest software company; David Braben’s first entrepreneurs as his Advisory Board, including Hermann Hauser, game, Elite, was written for the BBC Micro. Mike Lynch and Warren East. The book will feature a chronological view of the Cambridge Phenomenon since Cambridge Consultants Sinclair and Acorn had all but disappeared by the end of the 1980s, was founded in 1960, and also take a sector approach, exploring but this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for computing companies in how different technology sectors — particularly computing — have Cambridge — it led to the foundation of what began life as the Olivetti boosted the local economy. Research Laboratory and another string of start-ups, starting in 1993 with ATML, which changed business direction and became Virata. Ever since Maurice Wilkes set the computer legacy in train with When ORL was finally closed in 2002, its disbanded staff turned their EDSAC in the 40s and 50s, the Computer Lab has driven a lot of the on-going projects into yet more companies, like RealVNC, Ubisense innovation, and provided the inspiration for many companies, around and Level 5 Networks/Solarflare. Cambridge. The presence of an Atlas 2 computer in Cambridge along with the expertise in the department, especially Charles Lang and his Today, Cambridge is also home to Frontier Developments and Jagex, computer aided design (CAD) group, led the Labour Government to responsible for a number of hugely successful games, including Fron- pick Cambridge as the site for a national CAD facility in the 1960s. tier: Elite II, Dog’s Life, Runescape and War of Legends. CADCentre would eventually become a private company in 1983, At the last count, graduates of the Computer Lab had founded 182 list on the Stock Exchange in 1996 with a market capitalisation of companies, with some still being within cycling distance of JJ Thomson £36 million, and change its name to Aveva in 2001. Headquartered Avenue. in Madingley and with some 750 employees around the world, 2010 revenue for Aveva was over £148 million. Shape Data and Topexpress were two companies that came out of Copies of the book can be pre-ordered via the publisher’s Web site, the Computer Lab in the 1970s. Founded by Charles and Jack Lang, http://www.tmiltd.com/shop/home/pId/150. respectively, Shape Data focused on CAD while Topexpress started out If you’ve founded or work for a technology company in Cambridge, as a software consultancy. Both companies were acquired in the 1980s, there’s still time to tell the editor of the book your story. Kate Kirk while the Lang brothers went on to found or get involved in numerous can be contacted at [email protected] other companies, including Three-Space Ltd, Electronic Share Infor- mation and Artimi. The 1980s also saw two more Cambridge companies, Sinclair and Acorn, capturing the UK home computer market between them, with the ZX81, the ZX Spectrum and the BBC Micro. These machines, in turn, played their own role in inspiring teenagers and students to get involved in computing — Mike Lynch started learning program- The Ring — Issue XXVII — May 2011 © The Cambridge Computer Lab Ring 2011 4 Who’s who Stephen Allott (T MA80) has been Tomas Cervenka (CHU BA09) works for Dan Greenfield (TH PhD10) has appointed Crown Commercial Representa- VisualDNA in London where he is technical co-founded Fonleap with fellow Lab grad, tive at the Cabinet Office. His task will be to lead for Science and Technology. Alban Rrustemi (ED Dip04 PhD09). build a more strategic dialogue between HM Government and smaller suppliers. Graham Cormode (K BA98) is a researcher Thomas Haggett (SID BA07) has joined at AT&T in New Jersey. FreeAgent Central as a senior engineer David Aspinall (SE BA91) is a senior working on a freelance/small business lecturer in the School of Informatics at Peter Cowley (F MA77) has been appointed accounting Web application. the University of Edinburgh. David is a as Investment Director of Martlet, a corpo- member of the Laboratory for Foundations rate angel initiative formed by Marshall of Andy Harter (F BA83 CC PhD90) has been of Computer Science and the Mathematical Cambridge. Martlet will invest in several awarded the coveted title of Businessman of Reasoning Group.