Mike Teener, the founder of the IEEE 1394 multimedia standard (better known as FireWire), will present a keynote address at this year’s 1394 Developers’ Conference, slated for June 25-27 at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington. The event is sponsored by Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Texas Instruments, Royal Philips, Newnex, Wipro and DAP Design.
Teener is currently working at Apple; he also worked at the company from 1988 until 1996. Between his two stints at Apple he was chief technology officer of Zayante, a company he co-founded in 1996 and was acquired by Apple earlier this year.
“By acquiring Zayante, Apple is extending its commitment to FireWire as the premiere, high-speed digital interface solution,” Jon Rubinstein, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, said when Apple bought the company. “FireWire is the best technology to connect digital devices that need to transfer lots of data quickly — such as transferring an entire CD from your Mac to your iPod in less than a second.”
The 1394 Trade Association is an international organization devoted to promoting the technology known to Mac users as FireWire. Speakers at the developers conference will be: Bob Perry, vice president of marketing, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America; Michael Toutonghi, vice president and Distinguished Engineer, eHome Division, Microsoft; and Brian O’Rourke, a senior analyst in the Converging Markets and Technologies Group at InStat/MDR.
Teener was chief architect of Apple’s FireWire technology, and a leading contributor to the technology now consolidated under the 1394 standards. He is former chair and editor of the IEEE 1394-1995 standard and the originator of the IEEE 1394b effort. Last month he was named chairman of the 1394 Trade Association’s newly formed Network Work Group.