A very nice Vendor of the Month article to announce it too, and I "finally" know where Notung came from.
I've been wanting to ask you where you came up with that name, but kept forgetting.
There's much more to the story than Renderosity put in... As it said, I started off my TI-99/4a software career at Asgard Software. When it came time for me to start my own company, I decided to stay with those Nordic roots and chose "
Notung" as my software company.
Notung comes from the Nordic myth, "Ring of the Nibelungs", in which the hero, Siegmund pulls a magic sword from a tree in his hour of need to fight off his enemies (sort of the Nordic version of Excalibur). At the end of the battle, Wotan (the God) strikes down Siegmund and shatters the sword.
Years later, Siegmund's son, Siegfried, reforges the sword and names it, "Notung", which roughly translates to "Needful" and becomes the next great hero. He slays a dragon with the sword, tastes its blood, and suddenly can comprehend birdsong. He also finds a magical golden ring in the dragon's hoard which brings him great power but is also cursed.
If all this sounds familiar, it is... Richard Wagner created a four-part Opera called "Der Ring des Nibelungen" which pretty much defines opera as we known it today (think lady in pigtails with a horned helmet and spear-- a valkyrie), and of course, there's J. R. Tolkien's "Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" that borrow significantly from the Nordic myth and Wagner's opera.
So there is it... Notung..."Needful" (or "Useful") Software