Mitch Altman
Encyclopedia
Mitch Altman is a San Francisco-based hacker and inventor, best known for co-founding 3ware
(with J. Peter Herz and Jim MacDonald), his pioneering work in Virtual Reality at VPL Research and inventing TV-B-Gone
. He is also President and CTO of Cornfield Electronics.
in 1975.
Altman is an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he earned an undergraduate degree (1980) and a master's degree (1984) in electrical engineering. While at the University of Illinois, Altman co-founded Hash Wednesday. Other sources claim Hash Wednesday was celebrated as early as 1973 making Altman's claim suspect.
Altman moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986 to work in Silicon Valley
.
. Altman left VPL Research when it started getting military contracts.
, to be used for turning off TVs in public places. According to Altman, "TV has become a worldwide epidemic and sadly, a way of life for some people". In an interview with the BBC, he stated "I don't want to make anyone's life more difficult. I just don't like TV, and I'd like people to think more about this powerful medium in their lives." Altman used money from the sale of 3ware to pay for the manufacture of the first 20,000 units of TV-B-Gone. Now he is currently selling the TV-B-Gone generation 4. He also invented a new product called the TV-B-Gone SHP (Super High Power).
began discussing the idea of a hackerspace
in San Francisco, which at the time lacked one. In October 2008 they and several others founded Noisebridge
. Altman also travels extensively, teaching electronics workshops and visiting computer and electronics enthusiast groups around the world.
3ware
3ware was founded in February 1997 by Mitch Altman, J. Peter Herz and Jim MacDonald. In April 2006, Applied Micro Circuits Corporation acquired 3ware for $150 million in cash and became a AMCC product line brand...
(with J. Peter Herz and Jim MacDonald), his pioneering work in Virtual Reality at VPL Research and inventing TV-B-Gone
TV-B-Gone
TV-B-Gone is a type of simple universal remote control device for turning off a large majority of the current available brands of television sets. It was created to allow people in a public place to turn off nearby television sets. Its inventor has referred to it as "an environmental management...
. He is also President and CTO of Cornfield Electronics.
Early life and education
Altman grew up in Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois. After kindergarten his family moved to Highland Park, Illinois. Altman graduated from Deerfield High School (Illinois)Deerfield High School (Illinois)
Deerfield High School, or DHS, is a public four-year high school in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Township High School District 113, which also includes Highland Park High School....
in 1975.
Altman is an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he earned an undergraduate degree (1980) and a master's degree (1984) in electrical engineering. While at the University of Illinois, Altman co-founded Hash Wednesday. Other sources claim Hash Wednesday was celebrated as early as 1973 making Altman's claim suspect.
Altman moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986 to work in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
.
Virtual Reality
Altman is widely regarded as a pioneer of Virtual Reality. He worked at VPL Research with Jaron LanierJaron Lanier
Jaron Zepel Lanier is an American computer scientist, best known for popularizing the term virtual reality .A pioneer in the field of VR, Lanier and Thomas G. Zimmerman left Atari in 1985 to found VPL Research, Inc., the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves...
. Altman left VPL Research when it started getting military contracts.
3ware
Altman co-founded Silicon Valley start-up 3ware in February 1997 with J. Peter Herz and Jim MacDonald (who is on the advisory board of Cornfield Electronics).Cornfield Electronics
Altman started Cornfield Electronics as a consultancy company. After the launch of TV-B-Gone Altman gave the company the tagline "Useful Electronics for a Better World".TV-B-Gone
In 2004 Altman released a one-button universal remote control called TV-B-GoneTV-B-Gone
TV-B-Gone is a type of simple universal remote control device for turning off a large majority of the current available brands of television sets. It was created to allow people in a public place to turn off nearby television sets. Its inventor has referred to it as "an environmental management...
, to be used for turning off TVs in public places. According to Altman, "TV has become a worldwide epidemic and sadly, a way of life for some people". In an interview with the BBC, he stated "I don't want to make anyone's life more difficult. I just don't like TV, and I'd like people to think more about this powerful medium in their lives." Altman used money from the sale of 3ware to pay for the manufacture of the first 20,000 units of TV-B-Gone. Now he is currently selling the TV-B-Gone generation 4. He also invented a new product called the TV-B-Gone SHP (Super High Power).
Other activities
In 2007, Altman and Jacob AppelbaumJacob Appelbaum
Jacob Appelbaum is an independent computer security researcher and hacker. He is currently employed by the University of Washington, and is a core member of the Tor project. Appelbaum is known for representing Wikileaks at the 2010 Hope conference...
began discussing the idea of a hackerspace
Hackerspace
A hackerspace or hackspace is a location where people with common interests, often in computers, technology, science, or digital or electronic art can meet, socialise and/or collaborate...
in San Francisco, which at the time lacked one. In October 2008 they and several others founded Noisebridge
Noisebridge
Noisebridge is an award winning anarchistic educational hackerspace in San Francisco, inspired by the Chaos Computer Club and other hacker organizations. It is a registered non-profit California corporation, with IRS 501 charitable status...
. Altman also travels extensively, teaching electronics workshops and visiting computer and electronics enthusiast groups around the world.