Terry Shannon (writer)
Terry Craig Shannon | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 16, 1952 Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 26, 2005 (aged 52) |
| Occupation(s) | Information technology consultant, journalist, author |
| Years active | 1983–2005 |
| Known for | IT industry analysis, "Charlie Matco" pen name, VMS advocacy |
Terry Craig Shannon (August 16, 1952 – May 26, 2005) was an American information technology consultant, journalist, and author with more than three decades of experience working with PDP, VAX, and DEC Alpha computer systems and their respective operating systems RSX, VAX/VMS, OpenVMS, and Windows NT. He earned recognition as an analyst specializing in Compaq and Hewlett-Packard following their acquisition of Digital Equipment Corporation, as well as in the high-performance computing (HPC) domain, where he produced a series of well-regarded newsletters.
Shannon is acknowledged for originating the nickname "Chipzilla" for Intel Corporation.
As a keynote presenter at DECUS (Digital Equipment Corporation Users Society), which later evolved into Connect and HP-Interex, he was frequently referenced as an expert within IT and HPC communities.
Early life
Shannon was born in Syracuse, New York. At age 17, he left high school to join the U.S. Army in 1969. He was deployed to Vietnam serving at a Radio Reconnaissance Field Station with the 509th Radio Research Group under the Army Security Agency, affiliated with the NSA. Between 1970 and 1972, his role involved computer communications and traffic analysis, applying cryptographic techniques and signals intelligence to locate enemy radio transmissions for precision airstrike coordination.
Writing career
In May 1983, Shannon embarked on a freelance writing career, publishing his initial piece in DEC Professional. By September 1985, he began contributing to Digital Review, adopting the pen name "Charlie Matco". He also used other pseudonyms such as "Digital Dog" and "the notorious Belgian hacker Cedric Zool," but "Charlie Matco" became his most prominent identity.
Writing as "Charlie Matco," Shannon blended wit with sharp predictions about IT industry developments, product releases, and significant corporate transactions in his "Rumor Roundup" column. His reports were sourced from a broad network of industry insiders combined with his analytical acumen.
The "Charlie Matco" emblem featured a silhouette of a private investigator—wearing a fedora and trench coat, smoking a cigarette—displayed alongside each "Rumor Roundup" entry. Shannon rewarded contributors who provided valuable tips by sending them coffee mugs bearing this logo; one such autographed mug is preserved at the Computer History Museum.
Over a span exceeding twenty years, Shannon concentrated on IT sector dynamics while advocating for the VMS operating system. He authored the pioneering VMS user manual titled Introduction to VAX/VMS (Professional Press, 1985), which achieved sales exceeding 100,000 copies across five editions. Its latest iteration, Introduction to OpenVMS, continues to be assigned reading in certain Computer Science curricula.
Beginning in 1994, Shannon issued newsletters initially named Shannon Knows DEC, which was rebranded as Shannon Knows Compaq after Compaq's acquisition in 1998, and later retitled Shannon Knows HPC following Hewlett-Packard's acquisition in 2002. His insider perspectives frequently provoked frustration among those he reported on; Hewlett-Packard maintained a nuanced relationship with him, occasionally referencing his analyses in official communications. This newsletter series persisted until his passing in 2005.
Analysis and citations
Shannon was frequently referenced as an authority in various independent technology publications, including The Register, Computerworld, TechWeb, ITNews, and Cnet.
He significantly influenced the competitive dynamic within the publishing sector between Ziff-Davis and International Data Group, two dominant tech media companies during the 1980s. While at Ziff's Digital Review, Shannon covered unreleased products from DEC and other companies, delivering essential content that directly competed with Digital News, mirroring the rivalry of their parent organizations.
His reporting on the minicomputer industry featured in-depth evaluations of IBM’s AS/400 as it emerged as a contender against Digital’s VAX series. This period of intense competition marked a shift in focus for Shannon’s DEC newsletter, which evolved alongside mergers to include coverage of Compaq and subsequently HP-Compaq.
During the early 1990s, Shannon concentrated on DEC’s innovation with the Alpha processor, designed to succeed the older VAX CPUs. He was widely acknowledged as a primary source for early insights into this significant processor introduction.
In addition, Shannon extensively covered leadership developments at Digital Equipment Corporation, providing analysis on executive changes such as Robert Glorioso’s contentious exit amid internal corporate conflicts during DEC’s challenging phase in the 1990s.
User groups
Shannon maintained active participation within HPC user communities and the DEC network, including involvement with DECUS and Encompass, where he held a position on the Encompass Board of Directors. He was a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops, notably delivering the keynote address at Encompass in 2005.
External links
- networkworld.com — Profile featured in Network World
- Obituary published by The Inquirer
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1952 births
- 2005 deaths
- 20th-century American journalists
- American male journalists
- American computer specialists
- Computer science writers
- Digital Equipment Corporation people
- United States Army soldiers
- United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
- Journalists from New York (state)
- Writers from Syracuse, New York