[cross posted to e-lang and squeak-e]

First the bad news: Combex has run out of money, and has entered the corporate equivalent of cryonic suspension. MarcS is still looking for funds to re-animate it; so if you've got any leads, please contact him.

Now the good news:

Through the magic of open source, E has now survived three corporate sponsors.

Jonathan Shapiro, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, talked me into enrolling there as a grad student, working towards a PhD, which I have done. My thesis will be E, and Shap is my thesis advisor. I will be making periodic trips to JHU, and I will be spending a semester out there at some point. But otherwise I remain in silicon valley, and am pursuing my degree by remote control. There seem to be many potential synergies between E and other research happening at JHU.

Thanks to Alan Karp (thanks!!), I have now joined HP Labs as an Intern. This is a position designed for students, in which I'm expected to spend a good deal of my time working towards my degree -- in my case, working on E. My research will be directed by Alan Karp. I gather there are also many potential synergies between E and other research at HP Labs, but I'll know more soon.

(But what are the other consequences of being interned at HP? If it's anything like being interned in Java or Lisp, my identity will soon become canonical. I will be all Mark Millers.)

I will be travelling from now till 5/18. Monday 5/19 is my first day at HP. I expect to become active on our lists again starting then.

---------------------------------------- Text by me above is hereby placed in the public domain

Cheers, --MarkM