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Index

Overview

Page Summary
Overview Master narrative of Ted Barnett's life and career

Companies

Page Summary
EO Pen computers / early smartphones, head of HW product mgmt ~1992–93
PF.Magic Video games (Balls, Petz), joined 1993, left 1996
ActiveSite Consulting firm / startup incubator, co-founded ~1996 with Joaquin, Espinosa, Beninato
When.com Online calendar, co-founded ~1997 (CEO), acquired by AOL ~1999 for ~$150M+ stock
OnLive Cloud gaming, joined ~2004
SuperSecret.com "Growing up, as a game," social media in Flash, founded ~2006
Byliner.com Long-form digital publishing / kindle singles, COO (John Tayman founded), acquired by Vook
Art.com Online art retailer, joined ~2012 (page needed)
SmartDeco.ai "A talking, singing pumpkin," IoT/projectors, founded ~2020

Projects

Page Summary
Boswell AI personal biographer via voice interviews, ~2016–2023
TimeWalk VR/AR historical visualization, concept since 2015 (Unity), active primary project
Gabriel Persistent AI assistant, active since 2025

Entities (People)

Page Summary
Amy Former partner, mother of Ted's children, parallel tech career
James Joaquin When.com/ActiveSite co-founder, Ofoto president, recurring collaborator
Javier Rojas M&A at Broadview Associates, encouraged the calendar idea
John Tayman Founder of Byliner.com
Melanie Ted's partner (2013–present)
Olivia Barnett Daughter (1996), software developer
Willa Barnett Daughter (1999), comedy/improv, Hello SciCom
Ryan Barnett Son (2001), video editing

Concepts

Page Summary
Pen Computing Early 1990s touchscreen wave; Ted was head of HW PM at EO
AI Assistants Personal + persistent AI — Boswell → Gabriel → Helm
Music Taste 200+ ranked songs: indie rock, post-punk, Nick Drake to Radiohead
Patents Multi-layered calendar patent — core When.com innovation
Media Appearances Internet History Podcast (2015) — comprehensive career interview

Timeline

Page Summary
Childhood & Schools Born Sacramento ~1962, Atari 800, Commodore PET, Cornell → Michigan
1980s McKinsey (first non-Ivy hire), HBS, Bill Gates call, Apple (Mac IIfx, LC, Classic)
1990s EO, PF.Magic, ActiveSite, When.com → AOL ($150M+), Olivia & Willa born
2000s Ofoto (Kodak disruption), OnLive, SuperSecret, Ryan born, films
2010s Byliner (COO), Art.com, TimeWalk, Boswell, SmartDeco, Melanie
2020s NYU, TimeWalk (UE5), Gabriel

Raw Sources

File Description
raw/teds-favorite-songs.pdf 204 ranked favorite songs from Spotify
raw/teds-creative-projects.pptx Creative Projects presentation (Sept 2024)
raw/teds-creative-projects-text.md Text extraction of the presentation
raw/teds-life-events.csv Life events timeline CSV (schools, work, family, places)
raw/internet-history-podcast-2015.txt Internet History Podcast transcript (June 2015) — ~90 min career interview
  • Art.com (company page)
  • Ofoto (company page)
  • Cobblestone Labs
  • Helm (AI agent)
  • Potoo (SciCom bot)
  • Craig Spitzer
  • Reason Foundation
  • Pcore (company, ~2005)
  • Alison (partner, ~1978)
  • Jon, Chris, Mark Barnett (brothers)
  • Tony Espinosa (When.com/ActiveSite co-founder)
  • Joe Beninato (When.com/ActiveSite co-founder)
  • Joel Dubner (PF.Magic engineer who showed Ted the internet)
  • Emil Waintraub (first When.com investor)
  • Kevin Harvey (Benchmark, When.com board)
  • Jim Brock (Venture Law, When.com attorney)
  • Barry Schuler (AOL, initiated When.com acquisition)
  • David Coburn (AOL, negotiated acquisition)
  • John Skulski (PF.Magic co-founder)
  • Paul Baker (Apple engineer, low-cost Mac initiative)
  • "Mom & Dad" documentary
  • "Borrowing" (2010 film)