Drew Major
{{Short description|American computer scientist and entrepreneur}}
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{{Infobox person
| name = Drew Major
| image = 2005 dmajor bw.jpg
| caption = Major in 2010
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|06|17}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California
| occupation = Computer Scientist, Novell, Move Networks
| website = http://www.novell.com
}}
Drew Major (born June 17, 1956) is a computer scientist and entrepreneur. He is best known for his role as one of the principal engineers of the Novell NetWare operating system from early in Novell's history.{{cite web |last1=Schestowitz |first1=Roy |title=What Novell Founder Drew Major is Up to |url=https://techrights.org/o/2011/06/17/what-novell-founder-drew-major-is-up-to/ |website=techrights.org |access-date=17 February 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Pilmer |first1=John |title=Drew Major of Novell, Noorda, & Superset Fame Honored by UVEF |url=https://pilmerpr.com/blog/boardroompr/drew-major-of-novell-noorda-superset-fame-honored-by-uvef/ |website=pilmerpr.com |date=November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928103135/https://pilmerpr.com/blog/boardroompr/drew-major-of-novell-noorda-superset-fame-honored-by-uvef/ |access-date=17 February 2025|archive-date=28 September 2023 }}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekC0Yn62TBI Drew Major Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum Hall of Fame]
Major received a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in 1980, and graduated with honors in mathematics and computer science. He was born in California but has lived most of his life in Utah.
SuperSet Software
SuperSet Software was a group founded by friends and former Eyring Research Institute (ERI) co-workers Drew Major, Dale Neibaur, Kyle Powell, and later joined by Mark Hurst. Their work was based on classwork that they started in October 1981 at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA, and upon previous work experiences at Eyring Research Institute working with the Xerox Network Systems (XNS) protocol which led to the development of the Novell IPX and SPX networking protocols, and the NetWare operating system.
In 1983, Ray Noorda took over leadership of Novell and engaged the SuperSet group to work on networking products. The team was originally assigned to create a CP/M disk sharing system to help network the CP/M hardware that Novell was selling at the time. Under Ray Noorda's leadership, the group developed a successful file sharing system for the newly introduced IBM-compatible PC.
The group also wrote a text-mode game called Snipes and used it to test the new network and demonstrate its capabilities.{{cite web |url=http://www.textmodegames.com/download/snipes.html |title=Snipes! « Tribute to Text-Mode Games |website=Textmodegames.com |date=2010-09-17 |access-date=2016-08-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728221417/http://www.textmodegames.com/download/snipes.html |archive-date=2016-07-28}}
Novell
Major joined Novell in 1983, and his partners Kyle Powell, Dale Neibaur, and Mark Hurst began to work in enabling PCs to share files and other resources via a local area network (LAN). Major was the lead architect and developer of the NetWare operating system for over 15 years.{{cite news |title=Novell prepares for major comeback |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lIhOAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA41&article_id=5467,3367585 |access-date=17 February 2025 |work=New Straits Times |publisher=New Straits Times |date=17 September 1998 |language=en}} Major left Novell in 2003.
In 1995, Byte named him as one of the twenty people with the greatest impact on microcomputing.{{cite magazine |title=The 20 Most Important People |magazine=Byte Magazine |date=September 1995 |volume=20 |issue=9 |page=140 |url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1995-09/page/n163/ |access-date=17 February 2025 |language=English}}
Move Networks
After leaving Novell, Major co-founded video networking company Move Networks, Inc.{{cite news |last1=Crivello |first1=Daniel |title=American Fork company Move Networks rebounding with new business |url=https://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/american-fork-company-move-networks-rebounding-with-new-business/article_709e3255-9f80-5e3e-90ff-05bcfd235787.html |access-date=17 February 2025 |work=Daily Herald |date=12 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127171612/https://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/american-fork-company-move-networks-rebounding-with-new-business/article_709e3255-9f80-5e3e-90ff-05bcfd235787.html |archive-date=27 November 2014 }} The company began to experience financial problems in 2010 for failing to deliver on key technologies, which resulted in some of its larger customers abandoning the company's technology.{{Clarification needed|reason=a bit vague|date=August 2023}}{{cite web |title=The Fall of Move Networks |url=https://old.gigaom.com/2010/01/26/the-fall-of-move-networks/ |website=gigaom.com |publisher=GigaOm |access-date=17 February 2025 |date=January 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209184034/https://old.gigaom.com/2010/01/26/the-fall-of-move-networks/ |archive-date=9 December 2022 }} The company was subsequently acquired for 45 million dollars by EchoStar, Inc. in January 2011.{{cite web |title=EchoStar Paid $45 Million for Move Networks |url=https://www.nexttv.com/blog/echostar-paid-45-million-move-networks-324167 |website=nexttv.com |publisher=Multichannel News |access-date=17 February 2025 |language=en |date=11 August 2011}}{{external media |width=23em |float=right |headerimage= |video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekC0Yn62TBI Drew Major Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum Hall of Fame], posted November 4, 2013}}
References
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