{"@context":["https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams",{"Hashtag":"as:Hashtag","sensitive":"as:sensitive","dcterms":"http://purl.org/dc/terms/","gts":"https://gotosocial.org/ns#","schema":"http://schema.org/","exifData":"schema:exifData","PropertyValue":"schema:PropertyValue","interactionPolicy":{"@id":"gts:interactionPolicy","@type":"@id"},"canQuote":{"@id":"gts:canQuote","@type":"@id"},"canReply":{"@id":"gts:canReply","@type":"@id"},"canLike":{"@id":"gts:canLike","@type":"@id"},"canAnnounce":{"@id":"gts:canAnnounce","@type":"@id"},"automaticApproval":{"@id":"gts:automaticApproval","@type":"@id"},"manualApproval":{"@id":"gts:manualApproval","@type":"@id"},"always":{"@id":"gts:always","@type":"@id"},"toot":"http://joinmastodon.org/ns#","blurhash":"toot:blurhash"}],"id":"https://dfarq.homeip.net/gary-kildalls-death-investigation/","type":"Article","attachment":[{"type":"Image","url":"https://i0.wp.com/dfarq.homeip.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gary-kildall.jpg?fit=489%2C433\u0026#038;ssl=1","mediaType":"image/jpeg","name":"Gary Kildall's death investigation","exifData":[{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"DateTime","value":"2018:09:23 20:51:33"}]}],"attributedTo":"https://dfarq.homeip.net/author/admin/","content":"\u003Cp\u003EGary Kildall\u0026#8217;s death investigation, or the seeming lack thereof, has taken on mythical proportions. Gary Kildall\u0026#8217;s story seems to have that effect on people. Just like the story of Kildall allegedly going flying instead of meeting with IBM in August 1980, the story of Gary Kildall\u0026#8217;s death on July 11, 1994 spiraled out of control.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhile Gary Kildall died under unclear circumstances, his death was less unusual than early accounts made it seem. That\u0026#8217;s why the investigation seemed to fizzle out with less fanfare than it deserved.\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C!--more--\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EHow I heard of Gary Kildall\u0026#8217;s death\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://dfarq.homeip.net/gary-kildalls-death-investigation/gary-kildall/\u0022 rel=\u0022attachment wp-att-19211\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https://i0.wp.com/dfarq.homeip.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gary-kildall.jpg?resize=300%2C266\u0026amp;ssl=1\u0022 alt=\u0022Gary Kildall\u0026apos;s death investigation\u0022 width=\u0022300\u0022 height=\u0022266\u0022 /\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\u003EGary Kildall on his television program, Computer Chronicles, in 1985. Gary Kildall\u0026#8217;s death investigation, and the sketchy details surrounding his death, fascinate retro computer enthusiasts today.\u003C/figcaption\u003E\u003C/figure\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI was selling computers at retail when I heard of Gary Kildall\u0026#8217;s death. We had a few copies of\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https://dfarq.homeip.net/in-defense-of-wordstar/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWordstar for Windows\u003C/em\u003E\u003C/a\u003E and someone asked about it. I said it was easier to remember the keyboard shortcuts in Wordstar than\u00a0Wordperfect.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026#8220;You sound like a \u003Ca href=\u0022https://dfarq.homeip.net/was-cpm-overrated/\u0022\u003ECP/M\u003C/a\u003E guy,\u0026#8221; said someone who overheard me. \u0026#8220;Did you hear that Gary Kildall died last month?\u0026#8221;\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI hadn\u0026#8217;t, and he wasn\u0026#8217;t\u00a0surprised. I was curious, so I went to the library and found a whole lot of nothing. A month or two later, I found a mention in a computer magazine column that Kildall had died in a barroom fight but it gave no specifics.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u0026#8217;re only vaguely aware of Kildall, he was an \u003Ca href=\u0022https://dfarq.homeip.net/gary-kildall-and-what-might-have-been/\u0022\u003Eunheralded industry pioneer\u003C/a\u003E, a talented developer who was always 5-10 years ahead of everyone else. He recognized the value and usefulness of the Intel 8008 architecture (and microprocessors in general)\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https://dfarq.homeip.net/first-desktop-computer/\u0022\u003Ethat others missed\u003C/a\u003E. His operating system powered early personal computers like those from \u003Ca href=\u0022https://dfarq.homeip.net/osborne-computers-bankruptcy-and-the-osborne-effect/\u0022\u003EOsborne\u003C/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https://dfarq.homeip.net/kaypro-ii-launched-may-20-1982/\u0022\u003EKaypro\u003C/a\u003E. And his company, Digital Research, produced a usable GUI, GEM, around the same time as Apple, and a multitasking operating system around the time as \u003Ca href=\u0022https://dfarq.homeip.net/amiga-1000-ten-years-ahead-of-its-time/\u0022\u003EAmiga\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe also co-hosted a weekly television program on PBS with Stewart Cheifet called \u003Cem\u003EThe Computer Chronicles\u003C/em\u003E from 1983 to 1990.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut Bill Gates had better business...