About Jim
The picture here? Not much, just planning total world domination from a dark lair. Either that or I am demonstrating a touch enabled table that manipulates satellite imagery. Like a smart phone, but the size of a dining room table. Back in 2004, by the way.
I’m Jim, the man behind JetsonHacks. I build things. You might be a little curious about me, here’s a little bit of background.
I have been in the computer and technology industry for well over 40 years. People tell me that this means that I am an expert in many things computer related. At least that’s what the lawyers say about me when I testify for their clients.
I have a degree in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine. This was back in the days where you had to understand both computer hardware and software.
I have started several companies, some successful, others less so. Like painfully less so. Each time I’ve learned a lot, but more importantly met fun and interesting people.
Lots of people think of building companies because of the money part. For me, I always view it as a journey and adventure. It’s always been fun!
Which Brings Us to JetsonHacks
As per usual, in 2014 I was curious and wondering about something. Back then, social media was not the well oiled machine that it is today. As a computer scientist, I work with networks so I understand network effects. Social media is about building networks. Walking in with no experience, how long does it take to build a following?
I first started with this website and a companion YouTube channel. As the subject, I chose the brand new NVIDIA Jetson TK1. I knew that there was no following there, as it was a brand new product. I knew nothing about making videos. It shows in the early videos. I understood websites. Or at least thought I did.
So the questions start. How long did it take to get 1000 views a month on the website? About three months. Same with YouTube. It wasn’t long before the Jetson group at NVIDIA noticed, and started sending more web traffic my way. This put an end to that experiment, but was the start of the next part of the adventure.
The Jetson Part
I was fortunate enough to meet the Jetson group when it was just starting. NVIDIA invited me to their GTC conference, and had me share some Jetson experiences with people in their booth. This was more like being with friends than actual work!
By 2019 the website had more than 500,000 visitors generating 1 million views. The YouTube channel? About 930K views. My video skills got a little better over time.
As time goes by, the aggregate number keeps growing. There are about 50,000 subscribers to the JetsonHacks properties now. About 8 million views across properties.
Jim (right) @ NVIDIA GTC 2016
The New Goldrush
You know that it’s the late 2010s when machine learning really started to take off. It was coincidence that I planted the JetsonHacks flag right at one of the inflection points of a technological tsunami.
One thing I did realize is that the Jetson itself is the cross over point between what can be done on a desktop versus an embedded system. Combining a GPU along with several CPU cores into a System On a Chip (SOC) which consumes 20 watts or so of power makes an almost infinite range of applications possible.
I’m not sure there were a whole lot of people even five years ago that knew how quickly machine learning would change computing. If you were with us on the Jetson journey, you knew.
Looking Ahead
Now that JetsonHacks is a successful website, it’s time for some more challenges! The dark pandemic years are mostly behind us, and we will see a lot of new technology in the years ahead.
We’ve been working behind the scenes to get ready. A lot more content, and much more interesting projects. Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Jim