ESP Biography

AL WILLIAMS, Software Engineering Professional

Major: Not available.

College/Employer: Technology Edge Systems, LLP (partner)

Year of Graduation: Not available.

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I've been a software engineer for more than 25 years, and have worked on platforms from mainframes to microprocessors, participated in the first wave of virtualization by IBM, and been an "internals guy" for a number of operating systems. I'm a native Californian, and went to the California Institute of Technology (in a non-software related field -- in which I've never actually worked.) I'm a compulsive geek in a lot of areas from theoretical physics to software to history, and [Consumer Advisory!] disgustingly anxious to go on about it whenever I'm given an excuse.

Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S306: Operating Systems 101 in Splash Fall 2014 (Nov. 16, 2014)

If you own a smartphone, tablet or any kind of computer, you've used an Operating System (OS for short). This class will let you look under the hood to find out what an OS is generically and why you need one -- what they do for you. We'll also spend a little time talking about virtual machines (like what Java and Android run on) and what's good about THEM.

S299: Operating Systems 101 in Splash Spring 2014 (Apr. 13, 2014)

Not all of us have Operating Systems like 'Her', but after you find the right one for you, you'd better love it because you're stuck with it or something else a lot like it. In this class, you'll learn the things that all operating systems (OS's for short) do to make your computer usable, and give you a peek under the hood to see what they're made of and how they work.(Examples you might know are WIndows, Linux, MacOS, iOS and/or Android.) We'll also touch on what 'Virtual Machines' are and why we might want one.