Jennings, Thomas Daniel
home address and phone: NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED!
Fido Software
164 Shipley St.
San Francisco CA 94107
home (415)-882-9832
work (415)-764-1688

Passport Number 051007005
DOB: 31 July 1955
Massachusetts
Expires Nov 1995

If you want a more complete history of FidoNet, I can supply one,
as an ASCII file, it is about 4 - 8 pages typewritten. I'll
attempt to condense it to a paragraph or two. Needless to say, I
may leave out terribly important things.



Fido and FidoNet were "just a hobby" until 1986, when it became
my full time project, such as it is. My personal goals for
FidoNet were and still are human, personal communications first
and foremost. The network was designed as totally decentralized
from the start, in 1984, to avoid take-overs by any single group,
regardless of intent.

Fido the bulletin board came first, in 1983. I designed it to be
a simple to use but powerful BBS to take advantage of MSDOS's
features. (The only other choice for MSDOS at the time was
written in BASIC.) By spring of 1984, there were six to ten BBSs
running Fido, on IBM PCs and DEC Rainbow 100's. 

The genesis of the network is a long story, but basically it
bagan in spring of 1984, with the first model operating that
summer. It was (and still is) a transaction based "packet"
system, with packets containing any number of messages,
transferred from network node (BBS) to network node. Packets can
contain any number of messages, each addressed to any node in the
network. 

The network topology progressed from simple point to point,
concentrated point-to-point (all messages to a far-away
destination in a single packet/phonecall), two-tiered, and today,
three tiered with intercontinental gateways. The original packet
and message design is still used. There is a very complete
routing language to define or modify topology arbitrarily.

I placed the protocol, also called "FidoNet", in the public
domain so that others could implement it. There are approximately
20 "work-alike" programs for all sorts of computers; most were
implemented using the protocol specification document "FSC-001",
using ISO state-machine terminology, which was written by Randy
Bush, at 1:105/6.


Fido was designed to run with the "lowest common denominator" PC
clone with at least 140K of free memory. Performance is by tight
fast code rather than fast processors: file transfers are within
5% theoretical maximum at 2400 baud and below. Above 2400 you
need more processor to get maximum throughput. Fido can be used
at any rate from 300 to 19.2K baud, with "AT command" modems, or
direct-connect if no call-origination is needed. 


As of today (December 1988) there are just over 4,000 nodes in
the net in five continents. Today, I am a mere participant in the
network, and only one of many authors. 

                             * * *

And if you care, here is my resume, in chronological order. The
dates are obviously very approximate.


Ocean Research Equipment: 1973 - 1976: Technician, computer
programmer; ocean-going side-scan sonar, accoustic navigation,
mechanical systems. Operated accoustic navigation and sonar
systems in the field (North Atlantic, Great Lakes, Buzzards Bay) 

Bose Corp: 1977: Engineering technician, Ericcson PBX
maintainance.

Solid State Technology: 1978: 8085 systems software for a (too)
early desk-top computer.

Computer Service Systems Network: 1979 - 1980: Z80 systems design
(hard disk, tape and floppies) both hardware and software, for
CP/M and proprietary PDOS O/S. 

Microft Inc: 1981: CP/M, CP/M-86, PDOS BIOS consulting services.

Avco Everett Research Laboratory: 1982: Designed a real-time 1
megabyte/sec data collection system using 24 Intel 8085's.

Phoenix Software (known as Phoenix Technologies starting 1986):
1982 - 1985: First employee after the owners partner. Mainly,
MSDOS system implementation and sundry utilities, from 86DOS 0.86
(MSDOS precursor) through MSDOS 3.05. Designed "portable BIOS"
that later lead to the Phoenix ROM BIOS. Ported MSDOS to IBM
Displaywriter, DEC Rainbow 100, Otrona Attache 8:16, and other
early (pre-IBM XT) computers. 

Apple Computer: 1985 - 1986: OS/ROM group, features and fixes to
Macintosh ROM (Mac SE and Mac II).


Since 1986, self employed (or, more accurately, "self-unemployed") as Fido Software.


PROJECTS

Fido/FidoNet
Serial device drivers (FOSSIL std)
DOS tools (z, tell, scavenge, formatters, )
Syva
DOS 1.x & 86DOS
DOS 2.x
DOS 3.x
CP/M & 86

SBC (microft) hardware
otrona attache
multibuss box

LPG car
machine tools

C, ass'y (8080, Z80, 808x, 8x300, 68xx, DG Nova, Sperry/Varian), fortran,