The idea for Cynostic was that of Phillip Inness-Chaytor. Phill, who is presently 19 years of age (old git that he is), saw the CDTV and his chance. Having always been interested in computers - particularly the Amiga - he recognised the CDTV system as providing a fantastic opportunity for expansion and innovation in the home entertainment field.
With this in mind he gathered together a group of people to assist on the project around February 1991 which, at this time, had no form or even seed of thought. The only single clear aim was to make a product for the CDTV.
The first person he talked to was Neil South, a B.E. Second Class Honours graduate in Manufacturing Systems from Coventry Polytechnic (as it was then - it's a university now). Neil had always had a healthy interest in the Amiga, particularly on the graphics side of things. His expertise in creating three dimensional objects, animations and such like were perfect, thought Phil, for the ultimate CDTV experience. Not only this, but Neil is also very handy in the coding field, operating in both assembler and C.
Second up on the list of people was David Cassidy, the sixth-form student with the ridiculously silly name. Wherever he went Dave would have to listen to the joke about "Oh, not the REAL David Cassidy" which, quite frankly, isn't funny. Dave had been known to write on Compunet, the Commodore-based mainframe system, as a reviewer of games and such like, under the pseudonym of Zoggo. With this in mind, Phil contacted him to write the script for the project, which was slowly edging towards that of a game. Dave is now the Projects Co-ordinator for Cynostic and also writes the PD CatDisk, organises the PD library and does all the other menial jobs no-one else wants to do. Oh, and he's the stunningly handsome chap you see at the exhibitions we do. And he's also quite intelligient, actually... (Alright, you can stop now! - The Rest of the Cynostic Crew!)
Next up is David Cooke. It's quite confusing having two Daves in the same company but, anyway. Dave helps run the library, keeps in touch with some of our contacts and helps out with game testing and so on. He presently owns an A1200 (the first of which he broke the first day he got it!!) and also owns an inkjet printer which he refuses to use on the basis that it uses ink. You figure it out...
Finally, we have Andrew Grove. Although Andy already has a full-time job he acts as company secretary (no skirts allowed, though! Only in his spare time...) and also helps out at shows, as do all of us at Cynostic!! (We have to - no-one else will!!)
The Company
Cynostic has a number of arms. Firstly, there is Cynostic Development - the CDTV side of the company, headed by Phil Inness-Chaytor. Apart from our first project - "Intrinsic" - we have a number of other projects lined up. Along with the CDTV we also have plans to develop serious software, in the 24-bit graphics field especially which is looking very promising for all graphics freaks everywhere!
Secondly, there is Cynostic Public Domain, of which David Cassidy and David Cooke are in charge. With a library of well over 1000 disks we serve a local Commodore club and the local Amiga-owning population with public domain. But we also distribute to customers up and down the country who have read reviews of our PD in the national magazines. (And who can blame them? Cynostic offers the best PD service around. And we smile, too!)
Lastly, there is Neil Souths' baby, Cynostic Visuals. There are many plans for this arm of the company but, as yet, none have been instigated. We are concentrating for the moment on Cynostic Development.
To get in contact with any part of Cynostic, write to:
Cynostic, Office 01, Little Heath Ind. Estate, Old Church Road, Coventry, CV6 7NB.
Or telephone: 0203 681687, or fax: 0203 682084
We'd like to hear from anybody interested in the CDTV or Amiga! We're always on the look-out for new talent - musicians, artists, ideas-men and so on. If you think you can offer us something, write and offer it us! We'd like to hear from you, so drop us a line!
