View source for Biography:John Walker (programmer)

{{Short description|Computer programmer and co-founder of Autodesk}}
'''John Walker''' is a [[Programmer|computer programmer]], author and co-founder of the [[Engineering:Computer-aided design|computer-aided design]] [[Software|software]] [[Company:Company|company]] [[Company:Autodesk|Autodesk]]. He has more recently been recognized for his writing on his website Fourmilab.

== Early projects ==
In 1974/1975, Walker wrote the [[Timeline of computer viruses and worms#1975|ANIMAL]] [[Software|software]], which self-replicated on UNIVAC 1100 machines. It is considered one of the first computer viruses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/univac/animal.html|title=The Animal Episode|last=Walker|first=John|date=August 21, 1996|website=Fourmilab|access-date=March 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yhe0w_j1iiQC|title=Digital Contagions: A Media Archaeology of Computer Viruses|last=Parikka|first=Jussi|date=2007|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=9780820488370|pages=41, 239–40|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QwIAAAAAMBAJ&q=Walker&pg=PA70|title=White Paper: The Evolution of Viruses|last=Stern|first=Zack|date=May 2008|work=Maximum PC|access-date=March 20, 2012}}</ref>

Walker also founded the hardware integration manufacturing company '''Marinchip'''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/17/business/saying-goodbye-good-riddance-to-silicon-valley.html|title=Saying Goodbye, Good Riddance To Silicon Valley|last=Markoff|first=John|date=1999|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|access-date=2018-03-20|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Among other things, Marinchip pioneered the translation of numerous computer language compilers to [[Company:Intel|Intel]] platforms.{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}

== Autodesk ==
In 1982, John Walker and 12 other programmers pooled US$59,000 to start Autodesk (AutoCAD), and began working on several computer applications.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/28/business/company-news-autodesk-founder-saddles-up-and-leaves.html|title=COMPANY NEWS; Autodesk Founder Saddles Up and Leaves|last=Markoff|first=John|date=1994-04-28|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-08-22|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The first completed was [[Software:AutoCAD|AutoCAD]],<ref name="MM">{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E3MdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3877,8593585&dq=john+walker+autodesk&hl=en|title=Micro-miracle: Autodesk has 'image' of success|last=McCarty|first=John R.|date=May 30, 1986|work=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref> a software application for computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123187573419078157|title='Theocracy of Hackers' Rules Autodesk Inc., A Strangely Run Firm|last=Zachary|first=G. Pascal|date=1992-05-29|work={{wipe|The Wall Street Journal}}|access-date=2018-03-20|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> AutoCAD had begun life as ''Interact'',<ref name="3dcadworld/ancestor">{{cite web |last1=Yares |first1=Evan |title=AutoCAD's ancestor |url=http://www.3dcadworld.com/autocads-ancestor/ |website=3D CAD World |publisher=WTWH Media, LLC |access-date=21 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201201736/http://www.3dcadworld.com/autocads-ancestor/ |archive-date=1 February 2014 |location=AutoCAD's ancestor |date=February 17, 2012}}</ref><ref name="michaelriddle/myself">{{cite web |last1=Riddle |first1=Michael |title=Let me introduce myself |url=https://www.michaelriddle.com/?p=17 |website=Michael Riddle |access-date=21 November 2022 |date=October 1, 2009}}</ref> a CAD, written by programmer Michael Riddle<ref name="digibarn/Riddle">{{cite web |title=Mike Riddle & the Story of AutoCAD, EasyCAD, FastCAD & more |url=https://www.digibarn.com/stories/mike-riddle/index.html |website=DigiBarn |access-date=21 November 2022}}</ref> in a proprietary language. Walker and Riddle rewrote the program, and established a profit-sharing agreement for any product derived from InteractCAD. Walker subsequently paid Riddle US$10 million for all the rights.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}}

The company [[Finance:Initial public offering|went public]] in 1985. By mid-1986, the company had grown to 255 employees with annual sales of over $40 million.<ref name="MM" /> That year, Walker resigned as chairman and president of the company, continuing to work as a programmer.<ref name="Leaves" /> In 1989, Walker's book, ''The Autodesk File'', was published.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bqpUAAAAIBAJ&pg=3454,490477&dq=john+walker+autodesk+file+book&hl=en|title=Telling the Story Behind Autodesk|date=November 2, 1989|work=New Straits Times|access-date=March 20, 2012}}</ref> It describes his experiences at Autodesk, based around internal documents (particularly email) of the company.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Autodesk File: Bits of History, Words of Experience|last=Walker|first=John|date=1989|publisher=New Riders Pub.|isbn=9780934035637|language=en}}</ref>

Walker moved to Switzerland in 1991. By 1994, when he resigned from the company, it was the sixth-largest personal computer software company in the world, primarily from the sales of AutoCAD. Walker owned about $45 million of stock in Autodesk at the time.<ref name="Leaves">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/28/business/company-news-autodesk-founder-saddles-up-and-leaves.html|title=Autodesk Founder Saddles Up and Leaves|last=Markoff|first=John|date=April 28, 1994|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|access-date=March 20, 2012}}</ref>

== Fourmilab ==
He publishes on his personal domain, "Fourmi Lab", designed to be a play on [[Organization:Fermilab|Fermilab]] and {{lang|fr|Fourmi}}, French for “ant”, one of his early interests.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fourmilab.ch/nav/topics/faq.html | title = Frequently asked questions | author = John Walker}}</ref> On his Web site, Walker publishes about his personal projects, including a [[Hardware random number generator|hardware random number generator]] called '''HotBits''', along with software that he writes and freely distributes, such as his Earth and Moon viewer.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.fourmilab.ch/hotbits/| title=HotBits: Genuine random numbers, generated by radioactive decay| author=Walker, John|publisher=fourmilab.ch |access-date=March 30, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/| title=Earth and Moon Viewer|author=Walker, John|publisher=fourmilab.ch | access-date=March 30, 2006}}</ref> Another notable book was called [[Software:The Hacker's Diet|The Hacker's Diet]].

==The digital imprimatur==
Among other things, he is noted for a  frequently cited article entitled ''The Digital Imprimatur: How big brother and big media can put the Internet genie back in the bottle'', an article about [[Social:Internet censorship|Internet censorship]] written in 2003.<ref>[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2004/04/digital-imprimatur-nutshell "Digital Imprimatur in a Nutshell"], Donna Wentworth and Fred von Lohmann, Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 7 April 2004.</ref><ref name=Milberry-2008>[http://geeksandglobaljustice.com/?p=17 "The digital imprimatur and the right to read"], M. Kathleen Milberry, Geeks & Global Justice, 23 April 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2014.</ref> It was published in the magazine ''Knowledge, Technology & Policy''.<ref name=DI>John Walker (2003), [http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/digital-imprimatur/ "The Digital Imprimatur: How big brother and big media can put the Internet genie back in the bottle"], ''Knowledge, Technology & Policy'', Volume 16, Issue 3 (Fall 2003), Springer, pages 24-77, {{ISSN |0897-1986}} (print), {{ISSN |1874-6314}} (online), {{doi | 10.1007/s12130-003-1032-6}}. Retrieved 11 August 2014.</ref> In the article, Walker argues that there is increasing pressure limiting the ability for Internet users to voice their ideas, as well as predicting further Internet censorship. Walker said that the most likely candidate to usher what he calls "the digital [[Religion:Imprimatur|imprimatur]]" is [[Engineering:Digital rights management|digital rights management]], or DRM.<ref name=DI />

== In popular culture ==
[[File:Evil_empires_bumper_sticker.png|thumb|A famous "Evil Empires" (USSR and {{wipe|United States}}) bumper sticker made by J. Walker. It was first published in July, 1990.]]
Walker's interest in artificial life prompted him to hire [[Biography:Rudy Rucker|Rudy Rucker]], a mathematician and science fiction author, for work on [[Cellular automaton|cellular automata]] software. Rucker later drew from his experience at Autodesk in Silicon Valley for his novel ''The Hacker and the Ants'', in which one of the characters is loosely based on John Walker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fourmilab.ch/nav/topics/faq.html|title = Frequently Asked Questions}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Social:The Right to Read|The Right to Read]]''
* [[Engineering:Amazon Kindle#Criticism|Amazon Kindle remote deletion controversy]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==


{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, John}}
[[Category:Digital rights management]]
[[Category:Internet censorship]]

{{Sourceattribution|John Walker (programmer)}}