Jim Plamondon
Encyclopedia
James Plamondon is a technology evangelist
, technical writer
and inventor notable for his role at Microsoft, in the 1990s, in systematizing the theory and practice of platform evangelism
.
Technical Writer=
Graduating from University of New Mexico
with a Bachelor of Science
degree in Computer Science
in 1988, he relocated to Silicon Valley
and wrote technical articles for programming magazines such as the MacTech Journal, Frameworks Magazine, Apple's d e v e l o p Magazine, and the WinTech Journal, while working full-time as a computer programmer.
He founded the local non-profit Bay Area MacApp Developer's Association (BAMADA), which met monthly at Apple's
Cupertino headquarters, and was elected twice to the Board of Directors
of the international non-profit MacApp Developer's Association (MADA), both of which were focused on MacApp
, the first widely-used object-oriented application framework
. After defecting from the Mac developer community to Microsoft's Windows in 1991, he wrote a regular column for Mac developers in Frameworks Magazine called 'Postcards from WindowsLand.'
Technology Evangelist=
Mr. Plamondon's writings and community activities brought him to the attention of Microsoft, which hired him in 1992 as Technical Evangelist
in its new "Bay Area Embassy," which was intended to make the Washington State company more accessible to developers in California's
Bay Area (which includes Silicon Valley). At that time, he resigned as head of BAMADA, although he retained his seat on MADA's Board of Directors, as MADA sought to widen its scope to include application frameworks other than MacApp.
Mr. Plamondon later described his reasons for joining Microsoft as follows: "When Windows 3.0 caught fire, I realized that no matter how good my code, it would fail commercially if it targeted the wrong platform – so I became very interested in how platforms gained market dominance. Because Microsoft clearly understood how to make its platforms 'win,' in 1992 I joined its Developer Relations Group (DRG). There, I designed and executed strategies that established Microsoft’s new platform technologies as de facto industry standards
, and gave internal [i.e., Microsoft-only] courses on the theory and practice of doing so."
as the de facto standard PC operating system
. The Plamondon Files describe his systematic approach to technology evangelism. The widespread acceptance of his systematic approach within Microsoft is suggested by the statements of his contemporaries in Microsoft's Developer Relations Group, such as:
and Visual Studio.NET platforms, which were still in alpha testing. Mr. Plamondon is consistently cited as initiator and executor of Project 7.
He left Microsoft in early 2000 .
Inventor=
After leaving Microsoft in early 2000, Mr. Plamondon invented a novel musical instrument, the jammer keyboard
, which he intended to market as the "Thummer"
through his start-up company Thumtronics. The jammer combined several musical innovations in a novel way
and is notable for its being designed in accordance with diatonic set theory
, ergonomics
and psycho-acoustics. Although his evangelism of the Thummer attracted considerable media attention, it failed to attract sufficient investment capital to cover Thumtronics' excessive R&D, requiring Thumtronics to cease operations in mid-2009. Details of his work remain documented in the Thummer website.
His research on the Thummer was published in several patent applications and peer-reviewed scientific papers.
His evangelism of the Thummer's "Wicki-Hayden"
isomorphic keyboard
has led to its being adopted by DIY makers of jammer keyboard
s and multi-touch keyboard apps for the iPhone
and iPad
.
Return to Evangelism=
In July 2010, Mr. Plamondon took the position of Technology Evangelist
with The Midnight Coders, makers of WebORB Integration Server
. According to LinkedIn, he is now Director of Developer Experience for the Rackspace Cloud.
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...
, technical writer
Technical writer
A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, creates, and maintains technical documentation...
and inventor notable for his role at Microsoft, in the 1990s, in systematizing the theory and practice of platform evangelism
Platform evangelism
Platform evangelism is the application of technology evangelism to a multi-sided platform...
.
Technical Writer=
Graduating from University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
in 1988, he relocated to 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...
and wrote technical articles for programming magazines such as the MacTech Journal, Frameworks Magazine, Apple's d e v e l o p Magazine, and the WinTech Journal, while working full-time as a computer programmer.
He founded the local non-profit Bay Area MacApp Developer's Association (BAMADA), which met monthly at Apple's
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
Cupertino headquarters, and was elected twice to the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the international non-profit MacApp Developer's Association (MADA), both of which were focused on MacApp
MacApp
MacApp was Apple Computer's primary object oriented application framework for the Mac OS for much of the 1990s. First released in 1985, it is arguably the first such system to be widely used, notably on a microcomputer platform...
, the first widely-used object-oriented application framework
Application framework
In computer programming, an application framework consists of a software framework used by software developers to implement the standard structure of an application for a specific development environment ....
. After defecting from the Mac developer community to Microsoft's Windows in 1991, he wrote a regular column for Mac developers in Frameworks Magazine called 'Postcards from WindowsLand.'
Technology Evangelist=
Mr. Plamondon's writings and community activities brought him to the attention of Microsoft, which hired him in 1992 as Technical 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...
in its new "Bay Area Embassy," which was intended to make the Washington State company more accessible to developers in California's
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Bay Area (which includes Silicon Valley). At that time, he resigned as head of BAMADA, although he retained his seat on MADA's Board of Directors, as MADA sought to widen its scope to include application frameworks other than MacApp.
Mr. Plamondon later described his reasons for joining Microsoft as follows: "When Windows 3.0 caught fire, I realized that no matter how good my code, it would fail commercially if it targeted the wrong platform – so I became very interested in how platforms gained market dominance. Because Microsoft clearly understood how to make its platforms 'win,' in 1992 I joined its Developer Relations Group (DRG). There, I designed and executed strategies that established Microsoft’s new platform technologies as de facto industry standards
De facto standard
A de facto standard is a custom, convention, product, or system that has achieved a dominant position by public acceptance or market forces...
, and gave internal [i.e., Microsoft-only] courses on the theory and practice of doing so."
The Plamondon Files
Hand-outs and transcripts of one of Mr. Plamondon's internal courses, stamped by Microsoft as "highly confidential" and collectively known as "The Plamondon Files," were released into the public record of the Comes v. Microsoft anti-trust case. The Plamondon Files establish that by 1996 Mr. Plamondon had become a leading theorist, strategist, trainer, and practitioner of technology evangelism at Microsoft, during the time in which Microsoft established Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
as the de facto standard PC operating system
United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft was a set of civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Section 1 and 2 on May 8, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states. Joel I. Klein was the lead prosecutor...
. The Plamondon Files describe his systematic approach to technology evangelism. The widespread acceptance of his systematic approach within Microsoft is suggested by the statements of his contemporaries in Microsoft's Developer Relations Group, such as:
- "James [Plamondon] has become...the group's theoretician" (by Marshall Goldberg, p. 45)
- Mr. Plamondon is an "uber-evangelist" (by Darryl Dieken, p. 2).
- "everything James said is true" (by Marshall Goldberg, p. 66)
Project 7
His last known technology evangelism project at Microsoft was Project 7, begun in early 1998, which sought to get the top academic and commercial programming languages implemented on Microsoft's new .NET Framework.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
and Visual Studio.NET platforms, which were still in alpha testing. Mr. Plamondon is consistently cited as initiator and executor of Project 7.
He left Microsoft in early 2000 .
Inventor=
After leaving Microsoft in early 2000, Mr. Plamondon invented a novel musical instrument, the jammer keyboard
Jammer keyboard
A jammer is a new musical instrument characterized by#at least one isomorphic keyboard, and#thumb-operated and/or motion-sensing expressive controls.The instrument is designed to be fast to learn to play, very fast to play and very expressive....
, which he intended to market as the "Thummer"
Thummer keyboard
A Thummer is a proposed commercial musical instrument characterized byat least one isomorphic keyboard, andthumb-operated and/or motion-sensing expressive controls.The Thummer was to be a type of jammer keyboard...
through his start-up company Thumtronics. The jammer combined several musical innovations in a novel way
and is notable for its being designed in accordance with diatonic set theory
Diatonic set theory
Diatonic set theory is a subdivision or application of musical set theory which applies the techniques and insights of discrete mathematics to properties of the diatonic collection such as maximal evenness, Myhill's property, well formedness, the deep scale property, cardinality equals variety, and...
, ergonomics
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:...
and psycho-acoustics. Although his evangelism of the Thummer attracted considerable media attention, it failed to attract sufficient investment capital to cover Thumtronics' excessive R&D, requiring Thumtronics to cease operations in mid-2009. Details of his work remain documented in the Thummer website.
His research on the Thummer was published in several patent applications and peer-reviewed scientific papers.
His evangelism of the Thummer's "Wicki-Hayden"
Wicki-Hayden note layout
In music, the Wicki-Hayden note layout is a key layout for musical instruments that offers some advantages over the traditional keyboard layout.-History:...
isomorphic keyboard
Isomorphic keyboard
An isomorphic keyboard is a musical input device consisting of a two-dimensional array of note-controlling elements on which any given sequence and/or combination of musical intervals has the “same shape” on the keyboard wherever it occurs – within a key, across keys, across octaves, and across...
has led to its being adopted by DIY makers of jammer keyboard
Jammer keyboard
A jammer is a new musical instrument characterized by#at least one isomorphic keyboard, and#thumb-operated and/or motion-sensing expressive controls.The instrument is designed to be fast to learn to play, very fast to play and very expressive....
s and multi-touch keyboard apps for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
.
Return to Evangelism=
In July 2010, Mr. Plamondon took the position of 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...
with The Midnight Coders, makers of WebORB Integration Server
WebORB Integration Server
WebORB is an integration server developed and maintained by Midnight Coders Incorporated. It is used in SOA/Rich Internet Application development projects to connect browser clients and mobile clients with backend services and databases...
. According to LinkedIn, he is now Director of Developer Experience for the Rackspace Cloud.