Chip Gracey
RiJoRi
Posts: 157
Just wondering: Is the Chip Gracey of Parallax fame the same one whose name appears as the author on the Needham Electronics SA-20 Device Programmer? The SA-20 is a good product, even though it is (apparently) no longer supported. (And for the cynics, no, I'm not looking for support for the SA-20! 
)
--Rich
)--Rich
Comments
There is no doubt in my mind that Parallax once had a line of Device Programmers. Whether that particular device programmer is one of the ones Parallax used to manufacturer and sell, is another matter. I suspect only Chip or Ken could answer that question with any authority. Additionally, I know that they sold the entire line, and those that Needham's sells may well be the device programmer in question. If I remember correctly, Needham's is a distributor, and not a manufacturer. As I remember it, it was a different company that actually manufactures and/or supports many of the device programmers that Parallax used to sell.
That's as much history about the device programmers as I know. A quick email to either Chip or Ken would·give you the answer you are looking for. PM me if you need an email address for either of them.
Regards,
Bruce Bates
(edited 12/01/08)
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When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
Post Edited (Bruce Bates) : 12/1/2008 10:01:33 PM GMT
Chip·was involved with the SA-20 development back in 1990. Interestingly enough I acquired an SA-20 around 1993 and did not know of Chip as being involved with anything other than the ISEPIC for the Commodore 64.
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Chris Savage
Parallax Engineering
When Chip was around 17-18 years old he started out with his own company called Innovative Software Engineering (ISE). ISE made the ISEPIC (no relation to Microchip PICs), a hardware duplication device for the C-64. And around the same time, Chip worked for Alan Needham, another hardware developer in the Sacramento area. Needham employed Chip for some code development around 1988 which was indeed a device programmer. Needham sold the line for many years. So, yes, they are the same "Chip". Chip and Alan are still friends today.
The stint for Needhams was really short, and although it was part of his working experience, I think Chip learned more from the ISEPIC project since it was his own design. Chip was not very employable, to say the least. First evidence was the paper route, which was a complete disaster. Older people would call our home to find out about their newspsper on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. while Chip was still in bed. There was another employer that hired Chip for some video game development ideas, and I think that went on for a couple of months. I'm pretty sure we bought him a beach cruiser bicycle to get to and from that place. Usually by the time Chip realized he was under control from somebody else's ideas a seperation would begin. These same characteristics are real qualities considering what he has designed since then.
Shortly after those projects, or maybe even concurrent, Chip and friend Lance Walley started Parallax. Some of the first products were TopRAM (for the Apple IIGS), a ROM emulator, and [noparse][[/noparse]get this] . . the HQ-1, a pool table timing console. It was amazing watching this progress from a distance, and even as an employee who answered some the first customer calls.
I'll put it all in order at some point for you.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 12/1/2008 10:47:04 PM GMT
I think this would make a good book...
"Parallax: A Change of Perspective"
"The Tale of how one company changed our apparent perspective while we stood still (in awe)"