OXFORD POLYTECHNIC DISTRIBUTED COMPUTER NETWORK
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System ID? 

A long time ago, in Oxford Polytechnic there was a computer network of Prime minicomputers. This had a simple bulletin board software installed on it, the bully board had users, the users became friends.. The friends found out about instant messaging between users on the various sytems, a program was written called friends.run, which after several incantations became f.run.

.. then the prime got replaced and the messaging became WhoWhatWhenWhereWhy and the bulletin board was to become TOPICS...

And believe it or not, I think this is the only page on the entire Internet devoted to it. I hope to resurrect my old floppies and have some archive footage here soon.

Pictures of some of the people are on the photo page.

Some personalities, and where are they now... I'll one day get around to including links to their homepages where known.

PJ Maybe - Phil May

computer technician in the Computer Centre. Eventually became computer technician at University of Oxford computer centre, via a job at Body Shop.

Sid the Sheep - Paul Siddle - last known to be a motorcycle courier in South London

Bertie

Welshie - Simon Hewison - Working for Demon Internet in Finchley, North London, married with one son.

Saxon - Mark Pitts - living around High Wycombe.

Dave the Train - Dave Bucknall - Married CazWazEre

Gibbo - Mark Gibbons - Working at Oxford Brookes University School of Languages.

Doomy - Richard Craven - last known to be still working at the Student Union at Brookes.

Turboless - Elliott Arazi - working for www.now.com

Junkie - Stephen Long - working for a Morgan Stanley in New York

Messy Mark - Mark Round - married Melissa with kids, living in Oxford

Echo - Nathalie - married with a well-travelled family and living down under

Sledge - Dave Callier - last known to be working for Rough Guides.

Brother Maurice - James Michael - somewhere in the west country.

Mich - Michelle Bossano - working in Toyota Gibraltar.

Ian Gardner - Married and living in Oxfordshire, working for Vodafone

Glass Jampot - Going into a career in radio production

Pip - a web designer in Camberley

Agapantha - Louise Filbee - Married to Mr Edd

Goldfinger - after being a medical sales rep, now a financial adviser

Silkcut - Neil Styles - Working for Tiscali in Milton Keynes.

Chris Hicks - contracting around France.

Breezy - Nick Hosking - living somewhere near Maidenhead

Grey - Adam Burge - Living somewhere near Bicester

Mad Ed - Edward Harris - working at Oxford Instruments

Hartley

Wonga

Texar - Denis Alligand - Now technical manager of an Internet provider, and hoping to move to a carribean tax haven

Utopian - Chris (footy mad) Munns - now working in Marketing & Publicity in Sussex. Still involved with the Utopians

Mosh - Steve May - Living and working in Plympton, Plymouth, working for the Job Centre

Boogie - Dave McGhee - Living in Bristol with his own computing business

Last Updated: 2003-03-23