By: Garry Hamilton
DEC Founder Ken Olsen
A friend sent me this:
DEC founder Ken Olsen is dead – Silence at the Mill
For many, Ken Olsen was just another “name” in the world of computing.
I see him as more than that.
We, the computing community (and I, personally) owe him a great deal.
My own start in computing was on Heathkit gear, and Heathkit’s start in the digital computing space was based on the H-8 and H-11, a bit-slice machine derived from the PDP model.
My entry into Unix was on DEC gear, running Tru64 Unix and other variations.
The first named Unix itself was developed on a PDP-11, as was the C language. The impact of the PDP-11 on processor and OS design, and language development was wide and the ripples pervasive.
DEC was deeply involved in the efforts that, together with Xerox and Intel, brought Ethernet — the foundation of the Internet — to maturity as the de facto networking standard, over IBM’s token ring.
The influence Ken and his company had on computing is far reaching: he is one of the giants on whose shoulders the rest of us stand.
Without Ken Olsen and his brainchild, where would we be today?
I have no idea, but his vision shines through milestones marking the entire length of the path that led us where we are now.
The world owes this man a tremendous debt, though I doubt many will ever appreciate it.
RIP, Ken. You left your mark. The world is a better place for having had you in it.
