Gary Kildall - Recognition

Recognition

Following the announcement of Kildall's death, Bill Gates commented that he was "one of the original pioneers of the PC revolution" and "a very creative computer scientist who did excellent work. Although we were competitors, I always had tremendous respect for his contributions to the PC industry. His untimely death was very unfortunate and his work will be missed."

In March 1995, Kildall was posthumously honored by the Software Publishers Association (now the Software and Information Industry Association) for his contributions to the microcomputer industry:

  • Introduction of operating systems with preemptive multitasking and windowing capabilities and menu-driven user interfaces.
  • Creation of the first diskette track buffering schemes, read-ahead algorithms, file directory caches, and RAM disk emulators.
  • Introduction of a binary recompiler in the 1980s.
  • The first programming language and first compiler specifically for microprocessors.
  • The first microprocessor disk operating system, which eventually sold a quarter of a million copies.
  • The first computer interface for video disks to allow automatic nonlinear playback, presaging today's interactive multimedia.
  • The file system and data structures for the first consumer CD-ROM.
  • The first successful open system architecture by segregating system-specific hardware interfaces in a set of BIOS routines.

Read more about this topic:  Gary Kildall

Famous quotes containing the word recognition:

    “Democracy and equality try to deny ... the mystic recognition of difference and innate priority, the joy of obedience and the sacred responsibility of authority.”
    —D.H. (David Herbert)

    “By now, legions of tireless essayists and op-ed columnists have dressed feminists down for making such a fuss about entering the professions and earning equal pay that everyone’s attention has been distracted from the important contributions of mothers working at home. This judgment presumes, of course, that prior to the resurgence of feminism in the ‘70s, housewives and mothers enjoyed wide recognition and honor. This was not exactly the case.”
    —Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)

    “Admiration. Our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves.”
    —Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)