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CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

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Re: CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

#31

Post by wonger_ »

whobre wrote: post #7
rbanffy wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that, by now, I have watched every episode. He was the Bill Gates we needed.

He was nothing like BG. Gary was an inventor, educator and most of all a visionary. He hated running a business, even though he started DRI after failing to convince Intel to buy CP/M. Yes, there are quite a few videos on YouTube about him, named “The man who should have been Bill Gates” but that’s just click baiting. Watch the special episode of “The Computer Chronicles” about Gary Kildall and see what his friends a…

S12E45, Gary Kildall special: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=doOQnc0A3Ek&list=PLmM8tWTshxQB...

Re: CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

#32

Post by FuriouslyAdrift »

rbanffy wrote: post #27
FuriouslyAdrift wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like Jobs. He was the marketing and sales guy. Woz, et al. were the visionaries and engineers cranking out the product.

Jobs had a key difference from Gates - he had taste. He insisted on the injection molded case for the Apple II instead of sheet metal because he wanted it to look like a finished product. He insisted on not having lines dividing the color bands in their logo, which made it more expensive to print (but much nicer to look at). Jobs would never let something like Windows 1 escape the lab.

He also refused to have fans in the first several models causing a high failure rate...

Form follows function. Just ask Ive.

Re: CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

#34

Post by elzbardico »

pavlov wrote: post #5

"“Our father, Gary Kildall, was one of the founders of the personal computer industry, but you probably don’t know his name. Those who have heard of him may recall the myth that he ‘missed’ the opportunity to become Bill Gates by going flying instead of meeting with IBM. Unfortunately, this tall tale paints Gary as a ‘could-have-been,’ ignores his deep contributions, and overshadows his role as an inventor of key tec…

Let's be frank. Gates was from the WASP elites, old money stuff. IBM would probably find a reason to give him the deal rather than to Gary no matter what.

Re: CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

#35

Post by esafak »

rbanffy wrote: post #27
FuriouslyAdrift wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like Jobs. He was the marketing and sales guy. Woz, et al. were the visionaries and engineers cranking out the product.

Jobs had a key difference from Gates - he had taste. He insisted on the injection molded case for the Apple II instead of sheet metal because he wanted it to look like a finished product. He insisted on not having lines dividing the color bands in their logo, which made it more expensive to print (but much nicer to look at). Jobs would never let something like Windows 1 escape the lab.

Good thing Microsoft fixed it with 2.0!?

Re: CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

#36

Post by rbanffy »

hackmack10 wrote: post #22

The kids should not be removing some of their Dad's work. His struggles with alcoholism are well defined in the public and him describing his struggles could help another facing similar problems.

It's their call to make. They feel the chapters didn't represent their father and, as a draft, I would expect the later parts to have been less revised and to be in a rougher shape.

Re: CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

#37

Post by acdha »

elzbardico wrote: post #34
pavlov wrote: post #5

"“Our father, Gary Kildall, was one of the founders of the personal computer industry, but you probably don’t know his name. Those who have heard of him may recall the myth that he ‘missed’ the opportunity to become Bill Gates by going flying instead of meeting with IBM. Unfortunately, this tall tale paints Gary as a ‘could-have-been,’ ignores his deep contributions, and overshadows his role as an inventor of key tec…

Let's be frank. Gates was from the WASP elites, old money stuff. IBM would probably find a reason to give him the deal rather than to Gary no matter what.

In particular, his mother – Mary Maxwell Gates – was on the United Way board along with IBM’s chairman John Opel and reportedly discussed her son’s company with Opel a few weeks before they made the decision to license MS-DOS.

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/11/obituaries/mary-gates-64-...

Re: CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

#38

Post by ghaff »

profsummergig wrote: post #26
heymijo wrote: post #21

Let me give the now defunct Internet History Podcast a shout out. Episode 100 - The Man Who Could Have Been Bill Gates? The Gary Kildall Story A story with intrigue that chronicles the why and how Microsoft ended up extracting the most value from the PC revolution instead of the hardware makers and of course, why that was DOS instead of CP/M. I liked the oral history nature of this podcast, walking me through things…

Kildall may have also invented ghosting. I remember watching a documentary. IBM officials showed up at Kildall's house twice to convince him to sell/license CP/M to them. Pre-planned meetings. He ghosted them both times. One of those times they waited hours for him.

There's a lot of mythology around Kildall and IBM. I'm sure some it it even aligns with the facts but I don't put that much stock in many of the stories and theories.

Re: CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download

#39

Post by acdha »

hackmack10 wrote: post #22

The kids should not be removing some of their Dad's work. His struggles with alcoholism are well defined in the public and him describing his struggles could help another facing similar problems.

I wouldn’t say “should not”. That’s a complex issue and I wouldn’t say anyone is obligated to put painful moments of their personal lives on public display. Any family suffering from alcoholism has other examples to learn from, and they aren’t under any obligation to contribute another one if they’re uncomfortable doing so.
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