About me
My name is Robert Randall. I’m an independent computer programmer and systems architect. Lately I’ve been writing systems code; device drivers, protocol implementations, other in-kernel code, embedded real-time, BSPs, etc. I think of it as the stuff under the hood no one ever looks at (just like with their cars) until it breaks. It is still mostly written in old fashioned C (and even assembler) which many of the younger crowd consider to be a legacy language. But, in the systems software space C is still the language of choice. I’m close to hardware but by no means an EE. I use JTAGs and hardware emulators (ICE) to assist in debugging things when the go in the ditch, off the rails, awry, …
While I try to keep up with the news surrounding all of the latest language and run-time feature wars I rarely get the chance to code in it. I did some at the last startup I was involved with and I was amazed at the amount of complexity that had been created to deliver a simple web application. The software stack was so thick you needed a chainsaw to carve it up. We used to laugh at how many times a piece of data was marshalled before it was delivered to a point of presentation. Which, of course, created debugging sadness. It feels like our industry loves complexity including the complexity of frequent change regardless of the utility to computer programmers or consumers (customers). As an example, is your mobile phone easy to use? Really intuitive to use? Likely not. It is trying to be so many things at once (convergence is great?) that it might get one or two of them right and the rest are a true frustration to use.
R3Ware, Inc. is my corporate face, Robert (Richard) Randall, hence the R3. R3Ware, Inc. is formerly known as Proficient Solutions, Inc. You may have followed a link that was originally affiliated with Proficient Solution, Inc. (proficientsolutionsinc.com) or affiliated with robertrandall.info to get to this site. I’m working on simplifying my web presence and consolidating email addresses. I started Proficient Solutions, Inc. in 1991. At the time the name was just PSI for short and so was the domain name. But I lost that domain name. Proficient Solutions is wonderfully vague also difficult to pronounce and spell. Not a good idea in a brand. So I’ve attempted to simplify things and personalize them a bit with R3Ware. R3 is me and in the general sense ware is the software, firmware, etc. that I author in exchange for legal tender. I hope R3Ware feels more simple than Proficient Solutions, Inc. to all of my readers, colleagues, customers, and friends.
I’ve been involved with computers since I was a wee lad. Early experiences with the original Apple, Sinclair Z80, TRS80s and the amazing things you could get them to do had me hooked at an early age. I still remember being the “free technician” in my junior high school for Apple problems. From cleaning connectors with erasers to calibrating the RPMs on the old 5.25″ 300 RPM floppy drives, to installing the AppleSoft ROM cards, it got me out of many a boring class and taught me much.
I’ve not spent my entire career as an independent resource. I’ve contributed at levels across the spectrum in technology companies from VP of Engineering to coder for hire. I’ve been through acquisitions (both buying and selling), through rapid growth and rapid contraction, through amazing R&D discoveries, and through plenty of misguided flops. I’ve delivered commercial product through companies you’ve likely never heard of such as NetPerceptions, Inc. and Lucent and through some that you’ve likely heard of such as Cisco Systems and Dell. My best advice (so far):
- Be sure your vision is clear, practical, and possible.
- Never hide from what you don’t know, persue it and own it.
- Flexibility and experience often outweigh knowledge and brilliance.
- Everything changes so participate in and shape the change, don’t hide from it.
While I have had employees working for me over the years I find it unnecessary now. The ranks of the independents have swelled considerably compared to 1991. While I do take on projects that require more than a single person’s efforts they involve B2B relationships with trusted colleagues and do not require that I hire employees to get projects delivered.
Please check out the other content on this site to get a sense of what technologies I’m working with today and please check out the sales tab if you have a development challenge or problem that needs expert attention.