How it all began…
Sven and Peter met each other for the first time in Beijing in 1989. They were classmates at the Deutsche Schule Peking and they both stayed at the same residential compound at the East Lake Villas. Soon they realised their similar interest in computers and new technologies. Peter recalls that it all began with a simple BASIC program. One day they were given the task to write a simple calculation program as a homework. For the two computer enthusiasts the result was too simple and boring, thus they added a few gadgets to make the final product more sophisticated and user friendly. As a result the size of the program was about ten times larger than the original version but it was also more fun to use. Instead of using their full names, Peter and Sven signed this program with their initials and „PS“ was created. In 1990 Sven came up with the idea of adding the figure „90“ to the initials marking the beginning of a new and more „professional“ identity.
From Desktop Publishing to Web Design
Desktop Publishing was introduced to Deutsche Schule Peking by Peter and Sven. They designed flashy training aids for their teachers and for the first time the complete layout of the school newsletter „DSPaper“ was created on a computer screen. The newsletter got an even more professional look when Sven managed to find a printing company as a sponsor. The company made DSPaper-Stickers for free distribution. By then many people in school and in the German community in Beijing have heard about ps90.
Both still enjoy creating layout designs for various occasions. When the Word Wide Web was introduced to home users, they didn’t wait long to create their first webpages with HTML programming. ps90.de is registered since 1997.
Einsteins Theorie
It’s not all about computers. In summer 1990 Peter and Sven made their first playback music video by using a simple home video camera and audio dubbing. Having had so much fun, they decided to make a movie – a police story. So they gathered a group of friends (youngest member 8 years old) to discuss about the story. After one year of filming, post-production and pure fun they created „Einsteins Theorie“. This movie is a ’saladbowl‘ of scenes with no proper storyline based on clever improvisations by the cast. But it has a solid soundtrack! And today it serves as a valuable visual documentary remembering their time in Beijing. Everyone in the movie still likes to talk about their „Hollywood days“.
Sven and Peter have a dream of making a sequel to their first ‚experiment‘ with the original cast. It remains to be seen, whether this dream will ever be realised.
ps90.de
After Beijing both of them have been constantly on the move living far apart from each other in different cities or countries. Currently Sven resides in Mainz while Peter is in Vienna. They still keep a close contact thanks to the Internet and cheap overseas call rates. This website is a never-ending on-going project which also serves as a homebase for ps90, a place they can always refer to wherever they are.