10 personal questions and 10 personal answers from Dr. Jon Peddie, founder and president of Jon Peddie Research. He launched several graphics manufacturing companies since his career in computer graphics began in 1962. He created Jon Peddie Research in 2001 and is considered today one of the most influential industry analysts and one of the most knowledgeable people in today’s computer graphics market. And besides that, ever since we have known Jon, we were jealous of his office location in one of the most beautiful places on this planet: Tiburon, just north of San Francisco.


I couldn’t survive without my … Survive, now there’s an interesting word. Balanced against the Maslow hierarchy of needs, where do I place this question? Since it asks, “without my,” then there is the implication that it is something I own. So which one of my possessions would endanger my survival if I was denied it? Shoes? No. Car? No. TV? No. Cat? Hmm, I don’t think so, but a cat is not a thing, so that doesn’t fit. I can’t answer this question it’s too ethereal. But, I’d be damn unhappy if I lost my laptop.

The best advice I ever got … When times got really tough and my CFO in Texas told me “well, hell Jon, they can’t eat you.” It kind of put things in perspective.

A person/people I admire … Dead: Ben Franklin, Louis Carroll, Isacc Asimov, Dwight Eisenhower, Joseph Campbell, Voltaire. Alive: Kathleen Maher, Ray Kurzweil, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Jen-Hsun Huang, Mel Brooks.   

If I could go anywhere, or do anything, I would … go to Egypt to study the ancients, and then go to Italy and try and commit suicide by eating.

A technology I have no use for is … analog TV.

The best idea I had … was to retire, and then unretired and start consulting, and to marry Kathleen.

Luxury is … playing a really good FPS on a 30” screen, with a Skulltrail PC, and a glass of Howell Mountain cabernet.

I wish I had invented … batteries

My tombstone should read … Here lies Jon who died owing a lot of people a lot of money - he said he wanted folks to be really sorry when he left.

A person/trend/technology to watch … Bio electronics: The next wave of AI engines.

Previously published in this series:
Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group
Rahul Sood, chief technology officer, HP Voodoo Business Unit

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