A FEW DAYS ago, GloFo’s Ian McNaughton has left the high tech world to spend time with his family. While this is normally code for “I got fired before I had a new job lined up”, this is one occasion where we actually believe that he means it.

The Tweet from December 29 reads, “After 11years in Hightech I have walked away from my career to follow a lifelong dream and devote more time to my family!More to come soon..”. Point made, and for the next while anyway, I think Ian will actually do what he said.

Every time he left a company, it quickly becomes apparent how much he brought to their marketing department, and to the industry in general. When he moved from ATI to AMD, then from AMD to GloFo, you could see how the messaging changed, usually for the blander at the previous company. Headline grabbing ‘halo’ projects like the AMD 4×4 and several others you probably remember faded into mainstream releases.

Exactly what it looks like

With any luck, Ian will take a year or two off and return refreshed and renewed. Until then, the whole industry is diminished. Without someone to champion those really ‘cool’ projects, the competition tends not to respond in an enthusiast arms race, and we all lose. Would there be a Skulltrail without 4×4? Given the number of those things Ian somehow pushed, or helped push, through various bureaucracies, the tech industry just lost out big. Lightly toasted white bread for all!

World peace _IS_ achievable

It is going to be very interesting to see where Ian turns up next, if anywhere. It probably won’t be for a while, but once the bug is in you, it tends not to leave. We will be waiting breathlessly. Good luck Ian, rest up, and have fun.S|A

Note: We can now officially confirm that the rumors of Ian going off to curate the (unofficially) “Worlds largest collection of Juice Newton memorabilia” in Ashby, NE are untrue. That job was filled days before Ian left GloFo.

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Charlie Demerjian

Roving engine of chaos and snide remarks at SemiAccurate

Charlie Demerjian is the founder of Stone Arch Networking Services and SemiAccurate.com. SemiAccurate.com is a technology news site; addressing hardware design, software selection, customization, securing and maintenance, with over one million views per month. He is a technologist and analyst specializing in semiconductors, system and network architecture. As head writer of SemiAccurate.com, he regularly advises writers, analysts, and industry executives on technical matters and long lead industry trends. Charlie is also available through Guidepoint and Mosaic. FullyAccurate

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