Alex St. John
Encyclopedia
Alex St. John, along with Craig Eisler and Eric Engstrom, created the original Microsoft DirectX
specification. Alex became a Windows game technology evangelist
for DirectX through magazine articles (notably boot
) and interviews on the newly created web.
Formerly the Chairman of WildTangent
software, a DirectX game development company
, Alex was appointed in December, 2009 as the President and CTO of Hi5, a social networking site with an emphasis on on-line gaming. Alex is also a frequent contributor to Computer Power User
magazine.
He described himself on USENET
as "Microsofts dually[sic] appointed DirectRepresentative for this technology." He is one of the main subjects of the book Renegades of the Empire and is mentioned in Masters of Doom
.
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
specification. Alex became a Windows game technology evangelist
Technology evangelist
A technical or technology evangelist is a person who attempts to build a critical mass of support for a given technology in order to establish it as a technical standard in a market that is subject to network effects...
for DirectX through magazine articles (notably boot
Maximum PC
Maximum PC, formerly known as boot, is an American magazine and web site published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs...
) and interviews on the newly created web.
Formerly the Chairman of WildTangent
WildTangent
WildTangent is a Redmond, Washington based game network, privately held in the United States that powers game services for several PC manufacturers including HP, Dell, Toshiba, Gateway, Samsung, Acer and Lenovo...
software, a DirectX game development company
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
, Alex was appointed in December, 2009 as the President and CTO of Hi5, a social networking site with an emphasis on on-line gaming. Alex is also a frequent contributor to Computer Power User
Computer Power User
Computer Power User is a monthly computing and technology magazine published by Sandhills Publishing Company in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. It has been in circulation since December 2001.-Content:...
magazine.
He described himself on USENET
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
as "Microsofts dually[sic] appointed DirectRepresentative for this technology." He is one of the main subjects of the book Renegades of the Empire and is mentioned in Masters of Doom
Masters of Doom
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture is a book by David Kushner about id Software and its influence on popular culture, focusing chiefly on John D. Carmack and John Romero.-Content:...
.