Gary Kildall
Encyclopedia
Gary Arlen Kildall was an American computer scientist
and microcomputer
entrepreneur
who created the CP/M
operating system
and founded Digital Research, Inc.
(DRI). Kildall was one of the first people to see microprocessor
s as fully capable computer
s rather than equipment controllers and to organize a company around this concept.
He also co-hosted the PBS
TV show The Computer Chronicles
. Although his career in computing spanned more than two decades, he is mainly remembered in connection with IBM
's unsuccessful attempt in 1980 to license CP/M for the IBM PC
.
– Gary's grandmother was born in Långbäck in Skellefteå Municipality
but emigrated to Canada at 23 years of age.
Gary attended the University of Washington
(UW) hoping to become a mathematics teacher, but became increasingly interested in computer technology. After receiving his degree, he fulfilled a draft
obligation to the United States Navy
by teaching at the Naval Postgraduate School
(NPS) in Monterey, California
.
Being within a few hours' drive of Silicon Valley
, Kildall heard about the first commercially available microprocessor, the Intel 4004
. He bought one of the processors and began writing experimental programs for it. To learn more about the processors, he worked at Intel as a consultant
on his days off.
Kildall briefly returned to UW and finished his doctorate
in computer science
in 1972, then resumed teaching at NPS. He published a paper that introduced the theory of data-flow analysis
used today in optimizing compilers,
and he continued to experiment with microcomputers and the emerging technology of floppy disk
s. Intel lent him systems using the 8008
and 8080
processors, and in 1973, he developed the first high-level programming language
for microprocessors, called PL/M
. He created CP/M the same year to enable the 8080 to control a floppy drive, combining for the first time all the essential components of a computer at the microcomputer scale. He demonstrated CP/M to Intel, but Intel had little interest and chose to market PL/M instead.
), to market CP/M through advertisements in hobbyist magazines. Digital Research licensed CP/M for the IMSAI 8080
, a popular clone of the Altair 8800
. As more manufacturers licensed CP/M, it became a de facto standard
and had to support an increasing number of hardware variations. In response, Kildall pioneered the concept of a BIOS
, a set of simple programs stored in the computer hardware which enabled CP/M to run on different systems without modification.
CP/M's quick success took Kildall by surprise, and he was slow to update it for high density floppy disks
and hard disk
s. After hardware manufacturers talked about creating a rival operating system, Kildall started a rush project to develop CP/M 2. By 1981, at the peak of its popularity, CP/M ran on 3,000 different computer models and DRI had $5.4 million in yearly revenues.
approached Digital Research in 1980, at Bill Gates
' suggestion, to license a forthcoming version of CP/M called CP/M-86
for the IBM PC
. Gary left licensing negotiations to Dorothy, as he usually did, while he and colleague Tom Rolander used Gary's private airplane to deliver software to manufacturer Bill Godbout
.
Before the IBM representatives could explain the purpose of their visit, they insisted that DRI accept a standard non-disclosure agreement
that required it not to reveal anything about the meeting and allowed IBM unfettered use of any information that DRI might disclose. On the advice of DRI attorney Gerry Davis, Dorothy refused to sign the agreement without Gary's approval. Gary returned in the afternoon and tried to move the discussion with IBM forward, but accounts disagree on whether he signed the non-disclosure agreement, as well as whether he met with the IBM representatives or was merely at DRI while discussions were in progress.
Various reasons have been given for the two companies failing to reach an agreement. DRI, which had only a few products, might have been unwilling to license its main product to IBM for a one-time payment rather than its usual royalty
-based plan.
Dorothy might have believed that the company could not deliver CP/M-86 on IBM's proposed schedule, as the company was busy developing an implementation of the PL/I
programming language for Data General
.
Or, the IBM representatives might have been annoyed that DRI had spent hours on what they considered a routine formality. According to Kildall, the IBM representatives took the same flight to Florida
that night that he and Dorothy took for their vacation, and they negotiated further on the flight, reaching a handshake agreement. IBM lead negotiator Jack Sams insisted that he never met Gary, and one IBM colleague has confirmed that Sams said so at the time. He accepted that someone else in his group might have been on the same flight, but noted that he flew back to Seattle to talk with Microsoft
again.
Sams related the story to Gates, who had already agreed to provide a BASIC
interpreter and several other programs for the PC. Gates's impression of the story was that Gary capriciously "went flying," as he would later tell reporters.
Sams left Gates with the task of finding a usable operating system, and a few weeks later he proposed using the CP/M clone 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products
(SCP). Paul Allen
negotiated a licensing deal with SCP. Allen had 86-DOS adapted for IBM's hardware, and IBM shipped it as PC-DOS
.
Kildall obtained a copy of PC-DOS, examined it, and concluded that it infringed on CP/M. When he asked Gerry Davis what legal options were available, Davis told him that intellectual property law for software was not clear enough to sue.
Instead Kildall only threatened IBM with legal action, and IBM responded with a proposal to offer CP/M-86 as an option for the PC in return for a release of liability.
Kildall accepted, believing that IBM's new system (like its previous personal computers) would not be a significant commercial success.
When the IBM PC was introduced, IBM sold its operating system as an unbundled (but necessary) option. One of the operating system options was PC-DOS, priced at US$40. CP/M-86 shipped a few months later at $240, but sold poorly against DOS.
and an implementation of the Logo programming language. He hoped that Logo, an educational dialect of LISP
, would supplant BASIC in education, but it did not.
After seeing a demonstration of the Apple Lisa
, Kildall oversaw the creation of DRI's own graphical user interface
, called Graphical Environment Manager
(GEM) Desktop. Novell
acquired DRI in 1991 in a deal that netted millions for Kildall.
Kildall also pursued computing-related projects outside DRI. In 1983 he started hosting a public television program on the side, called Computer Chronicles
, that followed trends in personal computing. He started another company, KnowledgeSet, which adapted optical disk technology for computer use. In 1985 it released the first computer encyclopedia
, Grolier's Academic American Encyclopedia
. Kildall's final business venture, known as Prometheus Light and Sound and based in Austin, Texas
, developed a home PBX system which integrated land-line telephones
with mobile phone
s.
s, auto racing
, and boating
, and he had a lifelong love of the sea.
Although Kildall preferred to leave the IBM affair in the past and to be known for his work before and afterward, he continually faced comparisons between himself and Bill Gates as well as fading memories of his contributions. A legend grew around the fateful IBM-DRI meeting (encouraged by Gates and various journalists), suggesting that Kildall had irresponsibly taken the day off for a recreational flight, and he tired of constantly having to refute that story. In later years, he had occasional private expressions of bitterness over being upstaged by Microsoft.
Kildall was particularly annoyed when the University of Washington asked him, as a distinguished graduate, to attend their computer science program anniversary in 1992, but gave the keynote speech to Gates, a dropout from Harvard. In response he started writing his memoir, Computer Connections. The memoir, which he distributed only to a few friends, expressed his frustration that people did not seem to value elegance in software, and it said of Gates, "He is divisive. He is manipulative. He is a user. He has taken much from me and the industry." In an appendix he called DOS "plain and simple theft" because its first 26 system call
s worked the same as CP/M's.
He accused IBM of contriving the price difference between PC-DOS and CP/M-86 in order to marginalize CP/M.
Harold Evans
used the memoir as a source for a chapter about Kildall in the 2004 book They Made America, concluding that Microsoft had robbed Kildall of his inventions. IBM veterans from the PC project disputed the book's description of events, and Microsoft described it as "one-sided and inaccurate."
Selling DRI to Novell had made Kildall a wealthy man, and he moved to the West Lake Hills suburb of Austin. His Austin house was a lakeside property, with stalls for several sports cars, plus a video studio in the basement. Kildall owned and flew his own Lear jet
and had at least one boat on the lake. While in Austin he also participated in volunteer efforts to assist children with AIDS
. In California, he owned a mansion with a panoramic ocean view in Pebble Beach.
Various sources have claimed he fell from a chair, fell down steps, or was assault
ed because he walked in to the Franklin Street Bar & Grill wearing Harley-Davidson leathers. He checked in and out of the hospital twice, and died three days later at the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula
. The coroner's
report identified the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head. There was also evidence that he had experienced a heart attack
, but an autopsy did not conclusively determine the cause of death.
He was buried in Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in North Seattle.
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:
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
and microcomputer
Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who created the CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
and founded Digital Research, Inc.
Digital Research
Digital Research, Inc. was the company created by Dr. Gary Kildall to market and develop his CP/M operating system and related products. It was the first large software company in the microcomputer world...
(DRI). Kildall was one of the first people to see microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
s as fully capable computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s rather than equipment controllers and to organize a company around this concept.
He also co-hosted the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
TV show The Computer Chronicles
Computer Chronicles
The Computer Chronicles was a US television series, broadcast during 1981-2002 on Public Broadcasting Service public television, which documented the rise of the personal computer from its infancy to the immense market at the turn of the century...
. Although his career in computing spanned more than two decades, he is mainly remembered in connection with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's unsuccessful attempt in 1980 to license CP/M for the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
.
Early life
Gary Kildall was born and grew up in Seattle, Washington, where his family operated a seafaring school. His father, Joseph Kildall, was a captain of Norwegian heritage. His mother Emma was half-SwedishSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
– Gary's grandmother was born in Långbäck in Skellefteå Municipality
Skellefteå Municipality
Skellefteå Municipality is a municipality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Skellefteå.-History:Most of the amalgamations leading to the present municipality took place in 1967 when the then "City of Skellefteå" was merged with the rural municipality by the same...
but emigrated to Canada at 23 years of age.
Gary attended the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(UW) hoping to become a mathematics teacher, but became increasingly interested in computer technology. After receiving his degree, he fulfilled a draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
obligation to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
by teaching at the Naval Postgraduate School
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees...
(NPS) in Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
.
Being within a few hours' drive of Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, Kildall heard about the first commercially available microprocessor, the Intel 4004
Intel 4004
The Intel 4004 was a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. It was the first complete CPU on one chip, and also the first commercially available microprocessor...
. He bought one of the processors and began writing experimental programs for it. To learn more about the processors, he worked at Intel as a consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
on his days off.
Kildall briefly returned to UW and finished his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
in 1972, then resumed teaching at NPS. He published a paper that introduced the theory of data-flow analysis
Data-flow analysis
Data-flow analysis is a technique for gathering information about the possible set of values calculated at various points in a computer program. A program's control flow graph is used to determine those parts of a program to which a particular value assigned to a variable might propagate. The...
used today in optimizing compilers,
and he continued to experiment with microcomputers and the emerging technology of floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s. Intel lent him systems using the 8008
Intel 8008
The Intel 8008 was an early byte-oriented microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel and introduced in April 1972. It was an 8-bit CPU with an external 14-bit address bus that could address 16KB of memory...
and 8080
Intel 8080
The Intel 8080 was the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel and was released in April 1974. It was an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibility...
processors, and in 1973, he developed the first high-level programming language
High-level programming language
A high-level programming language is a programming language with strong abstraction from the details of the computer. In comparison to low-level programming languages, it may use natural language elements, be easier to use, or be from the specification of the program, making the process of...
for microprocessors, called PL/M
PL/M
The PL/M programming languageis a high-level language developed byGary Kildall in 1972 for Intel for its microprocessors....
. He created CP/M the same year to enable the 8080 to control a floppy drive, combining for the first time all the essential components of a computer at the microcomputer scale. He demonstrated CP/M to Intel, but Intel had little interest and chose to market PL/M instead.
CP/M
Kildall and his wife Dorothy established a company, originally called "Intergalactic Digital Research" (later renamed as Digital Research, IncDigital Research
Digital Research, Inc. was the company created by Dr. Gary Kildall to market and develop his CP/M operating system and related products. It was the first large software company in the microcomputer world...
), to market CP/M through advertisements in hobbyist magazines. Digital Research licensed CP/M for the IMSAI 8080
IMSAI 8080
The IMSAI 8080 was an early microcomputer released in late 1975, based on the Intel 8080 and later 8085 and S-100 bus. It was a clone of its main competitor, the earlier MITS Altair 8800. The IMSAI is largely regarded as the first "clone" computer. The IMSAI machine ran a highly modified version of...
, a popular clone of the Altair 8800
Altair 8800
The MITS Altair 8800 was a microcomputer design from 1975 based on the Intel 8080 CPU and sold by mail order through advertisements in Popular Electronics, Radio-Electronics and other hobbyist magazines. The designers hoped to sell only a few hundred build-it-yourself kits to hobbyists, and were...
. As more manufacturers licensed CP/M, it became a de facto standard
De facto standard
A de facto standard is a custom, convention, product, or system that has achieved a dominant position by public acceptance or market forces...
and had to support an increasing number of hardware variations. In response, Kildall pioneered the concept of a BIOS
BIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
, a set of simple programs stored in the computer hardware which enabled CP/M to run on different systems without modification.
CP/M's quick success took Kildall by surprise, and he was slow to update it for high density floppy disks
Floppy disk format
Floppy disk format and density refer to the logical and physical layout of data stored on a floppy disk. Since their introduction, there have been many popular and rare floppy disk types, densities, and formats used in computing, leading to much confusion over their differences...
and hard disk
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
s. After hardware manufacturers talked about creating a rival operating system, Kildall started a rush project to develop CP/M 2. By 1981, at the peak of its popularity, CP/M ran on 3,000 different computer models and DRI had $5.4 million in yearly revenues.
IBM dealings
IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
approached Digital Research in 1980, at Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
' suggestion, to license a forthcoming version of CP/M called CP/M-86
CP/M-86
CP/M-86 was a version of the CP/M operating system that Digital Research made for the Intel 8086 and Intel 8088. The commands are those of CP/M-80. Executable files used the relocatable .CMD file format...
for the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
. Gary left licensing negotiations to Dorothy, as he usually did, while he and colleague Tom Rolander used Gary's private airplane to deliver software to manufacturer Bill Godbout
Bill Godbout
Bill Godbout was an early computer pioneer and entrepreneur known for manufacturing and selling computer equipment, parts and Electronic kits in Silicon Valley, before the time of the Apple II....
.
Before the IBM representatives could explain the purpose of their visit, they insisted that DRI accept a standard non-disclosure agreement
Non-disclosure agreement
A non-disclosure agreement , also known as a confidentiality agreement , confidential disclosure agreement , proprietary information agreement , or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties...
that required it not to reveal anything about the meeting and allowed IBM unfettered use of any information that DRI might disclose. On the advice of DRI attorney Gerry Davis, Dorothy refused to sign the agreement without Gary's approval. Gary returned in the afternoon and tried to move the discussion with IBM forward, but accounts disagree on whether he signed the non-disclosure agreement, as well as whether he met with the IBM representatives or was merely at DRI while discussions were in progress.
Various reasons have been given for the two companies failing to reach an agreement. DRI, which had only a few products, might have been unwilling to license its main product to IBM for a one-time payment rather than its usual royalty
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
-based plan.
Dorothy might have believed that the company could not deliver CP/M-86 on IBM's proposed schedule, as the company was busy developing an implementation of the PL/I
PL/I
PL/I is a procedural, imperative computer programming language designed for scientific, engineering, business and systems programming applications...
programming language for Data General
Data General
Data General was one of the first minicomputer firms from the late 1960s. Three of the four founders were former employees of Digital Equipment Corporation. Their first product, the Data General Nova, was a 16-bit minicomputer...
.
Or, the IBM representatives might have been annoyed that DRI had spent hours on what they considered a routine formality. According to Kildall, the IBM representatives took the same flight to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
that night that he and Dorothy took for their vacation, and they negotiated further on the flight, reaching a handshake agreement. IBM lead negotiator Jack Sams insisted that he never met Gary, and one IBM colleague has confirmed that Sams said so at the time. He accepted that someone else in his group might have been on the same flight, but noted that he flew back to Seattle to talk with Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
again.
Sams related the story to Gates, who had already agreed to provide a BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
interpreter and several other programs for the PC. Gates's impression of the story was that Gary capriciously "went flying," as he would later tell reporters.
Sams left Gates with the task of finding a usable operating system, and a few weeks later he proposed using the CP/M clone 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products
Seattle Computer Products
Seattle Computer Products was a Seattle, Washington microcomputer hardware company which was one of the first manufacturers of computer systems based on the 16-bit Intel 8086 processor...
(SCP). Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
negotiated a licensing deal with SCP. Allen had 86-DOS adapted for IBM's hardware, and IBM shipped it as PC-DOS
PC-DOS
IBM PC DOS is a DOS system for the IBM Personal Computer and compatibles, manufactured and sold by IBM from the 1980s to the 2000s....
.
Kildall obtained a copy of PC-DOS, examined it, and concluded that it infringed on CP/M. When he asked Gerry Davis what legal options were available, Davis told him that intellectual property law for software was not clear enough to sue.
Instead Kildall only threatened IBM with legal action, and IBM responded with a proposal to offer CP/M-86 as an option for the PC in return for a release of liability.
Kildall accepted, believing that IBM's new system (like its previous personal computers) would not be a significant commercial success.
When the IBM PC was introduced, IBM sold its operating system as an unbundled (but necessary) option. One of the operating system options was PC-DOS, priced at US$40. CP/M-86 shipped a few months later at $240, but sold poorly against DOS.
Later work
With the loss of the IBM deal, Gary and Dorothy found themselves under pressure to bring in more experienced management, and Gary's influence over the company waned. He worked in various experimental and research projects, such as a version of CP/M with multitaskingComputer multitasking
In computing, multitasking is a method where multiple tasks, also known as processes, share common processing resources such as a CPU. In the case of a computer with a single CPU, only one task is said to be running at any point in time, meaning that the CPU is actively executing instructions for...
and an implementation of the Logo programming language. He hoped that Logo, an educational dialect of LISP
Lisp programming language
Lisp is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized syntax. Originally specified in 1958, Lisp is the second-oldest high-level programming language in widespread use today; only Fortran is older...
, would supplant BASIC in education, but it did not.
After seeing a demonstration of the Apple Lisa
Apple Lisa
The Apple Lisa—also known as the Lisa—is a :personal computer designed by Apple Computer, Inc. during the early 1980s....
, Kildall oversaw the creation of DRI's own graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
, called Graphical Environment Manager
Graphical Environment Manager
GEM was a windowing system created by Digital Research, Inc. for use with the CP/M operating system on the Intel 8088 and Motorola 68000 microprocessors...
(GEM) Desktop. Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
acquired DRI in 1991 in a deal that netted millions for Kildall.
Kildall also pursued computing-related projects outside DRI. In 1983 he started hosting a public television program on the side, called Computer Chronicles
Computer Chronicles
The Computer Chronicles was a US television series, broadcast during 1981-2002 on Public Broadcasting Service public television, which documented the rise of the personal computer from its infancy to the immense market at the turn of the century...
, that followed trends in personal computing. He started another company, KnowledgeSet, which adapted optical disk technology for computer use. In 1985 it released the first computer encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
, Grolier's Academic American Encyclopedia
Academic American Encyclopedia
Academic American Encyclopedia is a 21-volume general English-language encyclopedia published in 1980. It was first produced by Arête Publishing, the American subsidiary of the Dutch publishing company VNU ....
. Kildall's final business venture, known as Prometheus Light and Sound and based in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, developed a home PBX system which integrated land-line telephones
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
with mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s.
Personal life
Kildall's colleagues recall him as creative, easygoing, and adventurous. In addition to flying, he loved sports carSports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
s, auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, and boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
, and he had a lifelong love of the sea.
Although Kildall preferred to leave the IBM affair in the past and to be known for his work before and afterward, he continually faced comparisons between himself and Bill Gates as well as fading memories of his contributions. A legend grew around the fateful IBM-DRI meeting (encouraged by Gates and various journalists), suggesting that Kildall had irresponsibly taken the day off for a recreational flight, and he tired of constantly having to refute that story. In later years, he had occasional private expressions of bitterness over being upstaged by Microsoft.
Kildall was particularly annoyed when the University of Washington asked him, as a distinguished graduate, to attend their computer science program anniversary in 1992, but gave the keynote speech to Gates, a dropout from Harvard. In response he started writing his memoir, Computer Connections. The memoir, which he distributed only to a few friends, expressed his frustration that people did not seem to value elegance in software, and it said of Gates, "He is divisive. He is manipulative. He is a user. He has taken much from me and the industry." In an appendix he called DOS "plain and simple theft" because its first 26 system call
System call
In computing, a system call is how a program requests a service from an operating system's kernel. This may include hardware related services , creating and executing new processes, and communicating with integral kernel services...
s worked the same as CP/M's.
He accused IBM of contriving the price difference between PC-DOS and CP/M-86 in order to marginalize CP/M.
Harold Evans
Harold Evans
Sir Harold Matthew Evans is a British-born journalist and writer who was editor of The Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981. He has written various books on history and journalism...
used the memoir as a source for a chapter about Kildall in the 2004 book They Made America, concluding that Microsoft had robbed Kildall of his inventions. IBM veterans from the PC project disputed the book's description of events, and Microsoft described it as "one-sided and inaccurate."
Selling DRI to Novell had made Kildall a wealthy man, and he moved to the West Lake Hills suburb of Austin. His Austin house was a lakeside property, with stalls for several sports cars, plus a video studio in the basement. Kildall owned and flew his own Lear jet
Lear Jet
Learjet is a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use. It was founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear as Swiss American Aviation Corporation. Learjet is now a subsidiary of Bombardier and marketed as the "Bombardier Learjet Family".-History:The Learjet started life as an...
and had at least one boat on the lake. While in Austin he also participated in volunteer efforts to assist children with AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. In California, he owned a mansion with a panoramic ocean view in Pebble Beach.
Death
On July 8, 1994, Kildall fell at a Monterey, California biker bar and hit his head. The exact circumstances of the injury remain unclear; however, he had suffered problems with alcoholism in his later years.Various sources have claimed he fell from a chair, fell down steps, or was assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
ed because he walked in to the Franklin Street Bar & Grill wearing Harley-Davidson leathers. He checked in and out of the hospital twice, and died three days later at the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is located on the central California coast and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and unincorporated areas of Monterey County including the resort and community of Pebble Beach.-Monterey:...
. The coroner's
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
report identified the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head. There was also evidence that he had experienced a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, but an autopsy did not conclusively determine the cause of death.
He was buried in Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in North Seattle.
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."In March 1995, Kildall was posthumously honored by the Software Publishers Association
Software and Information Industry Association
The Software & Information Industry Association is a United States based software trade association. The organization lobbies United States policy makers as well as conducting surveys and research and many conferences and webcasts....
(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 recompilerBinary recompilerBinary recompiler is a software that takes executable binaries as input, analyzes the structure, applies transformations and optimizations, and outputs new optimized executable binaries. First introduced by Gary Kildall in the 1980s....
in the 1980s. - The first programming languageProgramming languageA programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
and first compilerCompilerA compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
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 playbackNon-linear editing systemIn video, a non-linear editing system is a video editing or audio editing digital audio workstation system which can perform random access non-destructive editing on the source material...
, presaging today's interactive multimedia. - The file system and data structures for the first consumer CD-ROMCD-ROMA CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
. - The first successful open systemOpen systemOpen system may refer to:*Open system , one of a class of computers and associated software that provides some combination of interoperability, portability and open software standards, particularly Unix and Unix-like systems...
architecture by segregating system-specific hardware interfaces in a set of BIOSBIOSIn IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
routines.
External links
- Computer Chronicles - Gary Kildall Special. Documentary Video Originally broadcast in 1995.
- Digital Research tribute to Dr. Kildall
- "Kildall, Industry Pioneer" in Microprocessor Report vol 8, no. 10, August 1, 1994 (pdf format)
- Internet archive of defunct Digital Research website
- The Gary Kildall Legacy by Sol Libes
- The man who could have been richer than Bill Gates
- Gary Kildall and Collegial Entrepreneurship by Michael Swaine