Storm Technology creates photo imaging applications and technology aimed at building a market that enables computer users to enhance their communication with pictures. Our goal is to provide the means for computer users to easily include photos in their documents. We will accomplish this by creating breakthrough application software that will enable users to use photos with products that are built for the mass market, while at the same time providing the high-technology community with enabling technology to improve the performance of photo imaging products.
Company and Product History
Using photos in personal computers poses three basic problems to the customer: performance, storage and complexity of use and manipulation. Storm was founded to tackle these problems and lead a revolution in desktop photo imaging.
Storm Technology's first step was to introduce PicturePress(tm), an application which uses JPEG technology to save space in using photos, and the PicturePress accelerator card, the industry's first DSP-based image accelerator for Apple's Macintosh. Storm followed with the development of its JPEG Engine, which enabled other developers to add JPEG compression to their applications, and accelerate them with Storm's card. In 1991, PicturePress won MacUser's MacEddy award for Compression Software. Storm's next steps in this area were to bring the card and JPEG library across to the Sun workstations and Intel-based PCs.
During the past year, Storm has broadened the impact of its technology by developing accelerated filter and bottleneck algorithms for Adobe Photoshop, and evangelized the use of DSPs in image acceleration by providing the basis for SuperMac's ThunderStorm and Thunder II product family, and DayStar Digital's Charger series.
In October 1993, Storm introduced the PhotoDSP(tm) accelerator for Adobe's Photoshop for Windows, a continuation of our offerings to the photo-editing user. As developer of the SuperMac's ThunderStorm image accelerator for Adobe Photoshop, many windows users have asked us for similar capabilities on their PCs. PhotoDSP 400 and 800 are the first DSP-based imaging accelerators for the Windows environment, designed to speed commonly used Adobe Photoshop tasks on Windows PCs from 3 to 10 times. As a part of our focus on integrated solutions and to spur the growth of photo editing software on the Windows platform, PhotoDSP 800 includes Adobe Photoshop for Windows.
Finally, Apple PhotoFlash(tm) was co-developed by Storm and Apple to begin breaking open the photo publishing software market for business communicators. Given the customer view discussed above, the market needed a fast, easy to use and integrated product for people who want to incorporate photos into documents and presentations. PhotoFlash is designed from a 'task automation' perspective, and integrates the acquisition, browsing, adjusting and placement of images in one product. We believe that designing PhotoFlash as a companion to page layout and presentation products makes it a unique offering that will spur the growth of photo publishing.
Storm Management
Bill Krause, President & Chief Executive Officer
Bill Krause joined Storm Technology in October 1991, intrigued by the opportunity to build a market that would use Storm's technology to enable computer users to communicate with photos as easily as they communicate today with fonts. Before coming to Storm Technology, he spent ten years at 3Com Corporation where he was President and Chief Executive Officer until he retired in September 1990. He continued as Chairman of the Board for 3Com until 1993, and is also a Director of PowerSoft, Inc. Prior to 3Com, Bill was with Hewlett-Packard for 14 years where he served in various marketing and general management executive positions. He served as Chairman of the American Electronics Association in 1989.
Dr. Adriaan Ligtenberg, Vice President of Engineering & Chief Technical Officer
Adriaan Ligtenberg founded Storm Technology, Inc. in January 1990, and served as its president and Chief Technical Officer until October 1991. Currently, he leads the company's product development activities. Prior to Storm, he was a co-founder of C-Cube Microsystems and head of the Image Systems Group at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Adriaan has been a core member of the JPEG and MPEG image compression standards committees of the ISO/CCITT and holds a Ph.D. from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Duane Schulz, Vice President of Marketing
Duane joined Storm Technology after three years at Apple Computer, Inc. where he was Senior Director of Imaging Product Marketing and managed Apple's printer, display, and scanner businesses, leading a revitalized push in the area of photo-capable peripherals. Before Apple, Duane worked at Hewlett-Packard for ten years, where he was promoted to managing Product Marketing and Market Development for personal inkjet technology products. Duane received his BA in English and Education from Arizona State University.
Bill Joos, Vice President of Sales
Bill comes to Storm Technology with seventeen years in the computer industry. After a career with IBM, he formed professional Computer Marketing Associates (PCMA), which served as Apple's manufacturing representative firm serving Los Angeles. When Apple ceased using manufacturing reps in 1984, Bill and PCMA continued under contract with Apple in a training, sales and consulting role. He joined Claris Corporation in 1987, where he was their first Vice President of US Sales. Bill attended graduate school at Pepperdine University, and holds a BS in Psychology.
Rick McConnell, Director of Finance and Administration
Rich joined the Storm team in June 1992 upon receiving his MBA degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to his MBA studies, he was employed as a financial engineer by The First Boston Corporation, a New York-based investment bank. In addition to his finance background, Rick has independently developed a number of educational economics software applications for the PC and Mac, published in concert with college level textbooks worldwide. Rick also holds a BA in Quantitative Economics from Stanford University.
Dolf Starreveld, Director of Systems & Technology
Dolf, a co-founder of Storm, has more than ten years of experience as a software designer, researcher, and systems analyst, including four years in the University of Amsterdam's Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences Support Group, and two years as a consultant to Apple Computer, Holland. Dolf is active with the JPEG and MPEG compression standards committee of the CCITT. He holds a masters degree in Physics and Computer Science from the University of Amsterdam and did Ph.D. research on parallel and distributed computing at the same university.
