227:, 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
216:
207:. 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
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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 flounder in the 1990s.
281:
after the HP takeover in 2002. 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.
211:
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.
254:). 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. The latest (5th) edition was called
347:. 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).
1040:
354:, a processor intended to replace the 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.
231:, the signature on the mug was in the handwriting of Deborah McDonald, the publication's managing editor at the time. In fact, a "Charlie Matco" mug now lives in the
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813:
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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
30:(August 16, 1952 – May 26, 2005) was an American information technology consultant, journalist and author. For over 30 years, he was involved in implementing
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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
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semi-monthly, Shannon reported on unannounced products from DEC and other companies. This provided important content for
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In May 1983, Shannon became self-employed as a writer. He published his first brief article in the May 1983 issue of
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868:"Digital ready to unwrap Alpha: Ailing computer maker will introduce new line after a year of "fantasy talk."".
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As a well-known expert in the field, Shannon was also widely quoted in the independent trade press, such as in
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838:"The war among the Digitals: Bitter competition reflects growing rivalry between Ziff, McGovern empires".
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at a Radio
Reconnaissance Field Station (i.e., the 330th RRFS) with the 509th Radio Research Group of the
223:"Charlie Matco" was usually depicted as a cartoonish, "private eye" sort of figure, after the fashion of
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a competition that reflected the larger rivalry between the publications' parent companies.
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190:. About two years later, in September 1985, Shannon began working as a contributor for
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91:(the Digital Equipment Corporation Users Society), the international users group of
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During the early 1990s, much of
Shannon's focus was on DEC's development of the
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Shannon played an important role in the publishing industry competition between
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57:. He was a respected journalist and analyst, paying particular attention to
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Shannon was active in HPC user groups and the DEC community, including
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266:). It is required reading for some Computer Science college courses.
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123:. At the age of 17 he dropped out of high school and enlisted in the
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Graham, Lamar B. (1992) "The Nerd Who Came In from the Cold",
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35:
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626:"News, Technology News, Videos, Podcasts | HP Newsroom"
579:"BSU 96-98 Undergrad Computer Science Course Descriptions"
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Shannon began to publish a series of newsletters in 1994,
87:
Terry
Shannon participated and was a keynote speaker at
339:
included extensive analysis of the inroads made by the
277:, after the firm's acquisition in 1998, and eventually
883:"Software executive quits Digital in power struggle".
150:
for explanation). During his two years (1970–1972) of
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Mikezilla • Get more from this author (1999-03-17).
199:, Shannon began using the pseudonym "Charlie Matco".
853:"Digital turns up the power in battle with IBM".
1041:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
714:"Processors: Silicon roadmaps to cheaper chips"
73:(HPC) space, writing a series of newsletters.
814:"Compaq finds new clients for luxury servers"
648:"Shannon declares Chipzilla Open Source word"
8:
716:. Computerworld. 2003-07-14. Archived from
691:. Computerworld. 2000-03-04. Archived from
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174:North Vietnamese radio signals, request an
764:"HP could use Opteron in ProLiant servers"
739:"VMS's Stability Prompts Move To Itanium"
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343:line of minicomputers against Digital's
246:through Professional Press in May 1985 (
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946:. Shannonknowshpc.com. Archived from
741:. TechWeb. 2004-01-20. Archived from
420:. Shannonknowshpc.com. Archived from
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410:
7:
1031:Digital Equipment Corporation people
901:. Decus.tacticom.com. Archived from
789:"HP-Compaq merger — worth the wait?"
766:. ITNews. 2004-01-30. Archived from
76:He has been credited with assigning
816:. CNet. 2001-05-10. Archived from
791:. Cnet. 2002-09-02. Archived from
162:specialist. Using his training in
14:
1046:Journalists from New York (state)
1011:20th-century American journalists
941:"Encompass 2005 Keynote address"
539:. Spyderbyte.com. Archived from
500:. 8 October 2013. Archived from
111:Terry Craig Shannon was born in
1051:Writers from Syracuse, New York
394:"Chipzilla becomes Gorgonzilla"
325:in its competitive battle with
518:. Techiegroups.com. 2005-06-02
458:, February 1992, 52-55, 90-91.
1:
1021:American computer specialists
93:Digital Equipment Corporation
67:Digital Equipment Corporation
581:. 2005-11-27. Archived from
1036:United States Army soldiers
927:September 28, 2007, at the
516:"Charlie Matco as an alias"
335:Shannon's reporting on the
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976:— Profile in Network World
565:September 4, 2005, at the
396:. The Register. 1999-03-15
71:high-performance computing
1016:American male journalists
219:Charlie Matco coffee mugs
195:. During his tenure with
1026:Computer science writers
689:"Compaq, One Year Later"
494:"Recent Posts - VMS One"
315:International Data Group
144:National Security Agency
302:, TechWeb, ITNews, and
256:Introduction to OpenVMS
244:Introduction to VAX/VMS
233:Computer History Museum
156:computer communications
154:service, Shannon was a
142:(ASA), a branch of the
899:"DECUS bio of Shannon"
286:Analysis and citations
220:
95:(DEC), later known as
42:with their respective
24:
537:"Alias Charlie Matco"
418:"About Terry Shannon"
337:minicomputer industry
218:
22:
603:Josef M Breutzmann.
585:on November 27, 2005
275:Shannon Knows Compaq
140:Army Security Agency
65:after the merger of
650:. Theregister.co.uk
607:. Mcsp.wartburg.edu
168:signal-intelligence
28:Terry Craig Shannon
16:American journalist
673:has generic name (
504:on 8 October 2013.
221:
25:
605:"CS240 home page"
279:Shannon Knows HPC
271:Shannon Knows DEC
170:, his job was to
78:Intel Corporation
44:operating systems
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160:traffic analysis
146:(see NSA and/or
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23:Terry Shannon
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985:The Inquirer
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955:. Retrieved
948:the original
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907:. Retrieved
903:the original
893:
885:Boston Globe
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870:Boston Globe
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855:Boston Globe
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840:Boston Globe
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822:. Retrieved
818:the original
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768:the original
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520:. Retrieved
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502:the original
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477:. Retrieved
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426:. Retrieved
422:the original
398:. Retrieved
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328:Digital News
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297:
293:The Register
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243:
242:user guide,
237:
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205:nom de plume
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191:
187:
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164:cryptography
129:
110:
86:
75:
27:
26:
1006:2005 deaths
1001:1952 births
362:User groups
225:Nick Danger
172:triangulate
152:Vietnam War
49:, VAX/VMS,
995:Categories
957:2012-12-09
909:2012-12-09
824:2007-02-23
799:2007-02-23
774:2007-02-23
749:2007-02-23
724:2007-02-22
699:2007-02-22
654:2012-12-09
632:2013-10-06
611:2013-10-07
589:2013-10-07
547:2012-12-09
522:2012-12-09
498:archive.is
479:2007-02-26
428:2012-12-09
400:2007-02-22
378:References
352:Alpha chip
341:IBM AS/400
311:Ziff-Davis
264:1878956612
252:096147291X
107:Early life
101:HP-Interex
55:Windows NT
372:Encompass
176:airstrike
127:in 1969.
125:U.S. Army
82:Chipzilla
980:Obituary
925:Archived
663:cite web
628:. Hp.com
563:Archived
345:VAX line
117:New York
113:Syracuse
69:and the
136:Vietnam
97:Connect
51:OpenVMS
262:
250:
148:SIGINT
59:Compaq
38:, and
951:(PDF)
944:(PDF)
368:DECUS
132:spook
89:DECUS
675:help
370:and
313:and
304:Cnet
260:ISBN
248:ISBN
166:and
158:and
61:and
53:and
982:in
240:VMS
134:in
84:".
47:RSX
36:VAX
32:PDP
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
