The Man Who COULD Have Been Bill Gates [Gary Kildall]

Who knows how many geniuses like him got lost to history :/

"Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the one you miss." - unknown

It is tragic. I have met young people who think Bill Gates is the greatest because he gave us the personal computer. It is so wrong, and leaves out the work of so many. I was fortunate enough to work with Gary, and just the experience was life changing. Thanks for the reminder of this important history :-)

I remember old timer computer engineers hating MS and there was untold history where Bill Gates is concerned. Thanks for giving Gary Kildall his due.

Cold Fusion I love your channel - but The "Internet History Podcast" channel has a 90 minute video that goes deep into this myth and exposes the lie that is "Gary went flying". IBM did not hinge multi-million $$$ decisions on one "meeting" with a business owners wife in her kitchen. These negotiations went on for several weeks and ultimately failed because Gary was unwilling to commit to a per unit license exclusive to IBM. The irony is that Microsoft escaped that clause anyway.

Thats the reasons why people should watch this channel! When we look to the future we should not forget the past.

Kildall was just a few years ahead of me in graduate school. I remember when he came back to give a talk demonstrating a development system he had for an early Intel microprocessor. It’s a tragedy he didn’t play a bigger part in operating systems development, in addition to his personal tragedy. I have a couple of friendly criticisms. The analogy to car models is poor. A mainframe operating system would support many models of computer of one make, so it would be as if GM and Ford were incompatible, not different models of GM cars. Second, Q-DOS was not stolen. CP/M was written for the Intel 8080 microprocessor. Q-DOS was similar to CP/M to the user, but written for the 8086 processor. It was a “work-alike” system, not a copy of the actual code. The IBM PC used the 8088 processor, a variant of the 8086.

Two things: who put the $240 price tag on the CP/M? That's a really dumb move. Also: what the hell was wrong with Gary's wife, not signing the agreement, and then divorcing him for her mistake? Such a low blow.

IN AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE "The man who could have been Gary kilDall"

@Dagogo: dude! I know you love music but YOU are SO GOOD at telling these stories, I'm literally giddy like 10yr old on Christmas morning when I see a ColdFusion notification! well done, as usual! cheers mate!

For Gary it seems it wasn't to be. When opportunity knocks, you return and land the plane. Gary rest in Peace.☮️

We often say, "This person was responsible for this or that". But, the reality is, these things often take an army and we all stand on the shoulders of giants. An engine doesn't work without the seemingly smallest incidental part. Think of all the unsung hero's who don't even get the recognition that Gary has.

Bless his soul Gary Kildall will remain alive as long as this Cold Fusion clip stays running :)

Gates's mother was on the board of directors of IBM, maybe that had something to do with it what do you think, just coincidence?

This story, especially the part where Gates tells Gary to be ready for an important meeting, but couldn't tell him what, changed my LIFE. I was abroad in South Africa for 3 months when a coworker called me to say that I should drop everything and head back to Austin on the next available plane. I laughed and protested that I simply couldn't, my house was rented for 3 months, my wife was on this journey with me and I couldn't abandon her, etc. He said he couldn't tell me why but I would be "sad" if I didn't come. I thought about it for a couple hours, and remembered this story. I booked the next flight back to Austin, and turns out our startup had a buyer that wanted to meet the core essential team. Had I not been there they would not have considered me essential and I would have not been part of the buyout. I would have missed out on a lot of money and a big step in my career. I indeed would have been "sad"

Gary also wrote GEM, the Graphics Environment Manager, that was used on the Atari ST and a few other microcomputers. This was written a decade before Windows was usable and had features that are still missing in modern eye candy OSes.

Back at Uni, my lecturer would say: "a good programmer writes good code, a great programmer steals good code"

May Gary Kildall’s soul Rest in peace 🙏

You know, genius guys are like that.. extremely moody, extremely generous, extremely confident, extremely self destructive... All at the same time !!

So sad. I recall driving past his Digital Research business numerous times on Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove, late 70's. He converted an old Victorian house to accommodate his business. Sadly his life ended in a local bar in Monterey, CA. RIP, Gary.