Rich Williams, Apple employee from 1979 to 2009, will be coming in person to KansasFest 2024 as a featured speaker! Rich was an early member of the //c design team, and will share stories from that experience, as part of KansasFest 2024’s focus on the Apple //c on the 40th anniversary of its launch. On the //c team, Rich worked on the ROM code, and was specifically responsible for the mouse and serial port firmware.
But that is not all. That is not even remotely all. (He did write the firmware for the Apple iBook/iPod remote control, but even that is not remotely all.)
Rich was at Apple from very early on, and was project lead for the DOS Toolkit. He is the author of FID (FISHHEAD?!). He is the author of MUFFIN. (Yes, you read that right, the author of FID is coming to KansasFest 2024.)
Rich ported the MouseText, 65C02 support and other 80 column firmware changes from the //c to the //e to create the enhanced //e ROM. (You read that right, the orchestrator of the //e enhanced ROM is coming to KansasFest 2024.)
Rich also wrote the firmware for the Apple II Memory Expansion card, wrote the IIGS memory manager, RAM disk support, and LaserWriter interface. He was a member of the Twiggy drive project, and designed the data encoding method (which outlasted the Twiggy drive, and continued to be used for the 3.5” drive that replaced it). He wrote the drivers and firmware for the Apple /// Twiggy interface.
Beyond the Apple II days, Rich worked on the QuickTime 1.0 project writing demo applications. He wrote the tablet driver for the Newton MessagePad, and served as software lead for the MP 110, 120, and 130. In more modern times, the firmware for the HDD-protecting motion sensor on iBooks and MacBooks. And he wrote the firmware for the iBook/iPod remote control.
Rich was there, making important contributions to many projects that each had a big impact, and we are delighted to have him come and share his stories and his expertise with KansasFest 2024.
Register for KansasFest 2024 – there’s still room for both in-person and virtual!
Present a Session – we’re still looking for talks and would love to hear what you have to say!