Childhood and Schools (1962–1983)
Ted Barnett was born 1962 in Sacramento, California (4631 Hillview Way). His family moved frequently during his childhood, taking him across the country before he settled into higher education.
Family
Ted's father Cornelius Barnett was a Director at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. His mother Judith Barnett is a portrait artist. The frequent family moves (Sacramento → Cohasset → Augusta → Sacramento → Cincinnati → Toronto) were driven by his father's corporate career.
Ted's brother Jon was born 1964 in Cohasset, MA, and brother Chris was born 1967 in Augusta, GA.
First Computers
- Commodore PET — Ted's first encounter with a personal computer, playing with one in a mall with a friend
- Atari 800 — Ted's dad got it for him. He chose it over an Apple II because "the Atari 800 felt like a better game machine." He tried to make his own games on it in assembler
Places and Schools
| Years | Location | Address | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–1963 | Sacramento, CA | 4631 Hillview Way | Alt (~1965) |
| 1963–1967 | Cohasset, MA | 76A Beach St | — |
| 1967–1968 | Augusta, GA | 3007 Sussex Rd | Sacred Heart (~1966), St. Gabriel (~1968) |
| 1968–1970 | Sacramento, CA | 1401 40th Street | — |
| 1970–1977 | Glendale, OH (Cincinnati) | 940 Forest Avenue | Glendale (~1970), Country Day (~1973), St. Xavier (~1975) |
| 1977–1979 | Toronto, Ontario | 90 Forest Hill Road | UTS (University of Toronto Schools) |
| 1979–1980 | Toronto, Ontario | 64 Wells Hill Road | UTS |
| 1980–1981 | Ithaca, NY | — | Cornell University |
| 1982–1984 | Ann Arbor, MI | — | University of Michigan — Computer Engineering |
College
- Cornell University (1980–1981) — Started as a mechanical engineer for the first year, then "realized my mistake" and switched to computer engineering
- University of Michigan (1982–1984) — Transferred mid-sophomore year "in pursuit of a girlfriend who was at Michigan." Got into computer engineering at Cornell, then transferred into the same department at Michigan. "Loved both schools"
IBM Product Center (Summer ~1983)
Ted's formative work experience: hired as a summer tech support person at the IBM Product Center in Cincinnati, helping copier salesmen explain computers to customers. He was hired to demo stuff, but "pretty quickly they just had me doing selling by myself" because he was credible and could explain technical things in plain language.
This experience cemented the tech + business combination that would define his career: "I thought, this seems pretty cool — you can understand something technical that people are scared about and put it in their own words. Some combination of tech and business would be a good thing to do."
Notes
- The school abbreviations suggest a mix of Catholic schools (Sacred Heart, St. Gabriel, St. Xavier) and prep/country day schools — consistent with an upper-middle-class Catholic family
- "UTS" = University of Toronto Schools, a prestigious high school in Toronto, Ontario. UTS 20-year reunion (1999) confirms attendance ~1977–1980