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Remembering Virginia Norwood, the ‘mother’ of NASA’s Landsat program
If you haven’t heard of Virginia Norwood, it’s about time you did. An aerospace pioneer whose career would have been historic even without its undercurrent of triumph over misogynistic discrimination, she invented the Landsat satellite program that monitors the Earth’s surface today.
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore has passed away
Gordon Moore, co-founder and former CEO of Intel, has passed away at 94.
'Blade Runner' composer and electronic music pioneer Vangelis dies at 79
'Blade Runner' composer Vangelis has died at 79, leaving behind a major legacy in electronic music.
GIF inventor Stephen Wilhite has died
GIF inventor Stephen Wilhite has died from COVID-19 at the age of 74 with his wife Kathaleen at his bedside.
Ethernet co-inventor David Boggs dies at 71
Pioneering Xerox PARC computer researcher David Boggs, best known for co-inventing Ethernet, has died at 71.
NES and SNES creator Masayuki Uemura dies at 78
Masayuki Uemura, the lead creator of the NES and SNES, has died at 78.
Something Awful founder Richard Kyanka dies at 45
The creator of the influential website Something Awful, Richard 'Lowtax' Kyanka, has died at 45.
Home computer legend Sir Clive Sinclair dies at 81
Sir Clive Sinclair, who created the pocket calculator and one of the best-known early home PCs, has died at 81.
Adobe co-founder Charles Geschke dies at 81
Adobe co-founder Charles Geschke has died at 81, leaving behind a major legacy in creative software through PDFs and PostScript.
Windows gaming pioneer Eric Engstrom dies at 55
Eric Engstrom, who played a key role in propelling Windows gaming and the Xbox through DirectX, has died at 55.
Darth Vader actor and legend David Prowse dies at 85
David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader on camera, has died at the age of 85.
Zappos' pioneering ex-CEO Tony Hsieh dies at 46
Zappos' former CEO Tony Hsieh, who helped transform online shopping, has died at the age of 46.
Code compiler pioneer Frances Allen dies at 88
Frances Allen, who helped invent the code compiler and parallel computing, has died at the age of 88.
Computer mouse co-inventor William English dies at 91
William English, who helped invent the mouse and define computer interfaces, has died at 91.
Personal computer CPU pioneer Chuck Peddle dies at 82
Chuck Peddle, one of the most important engineers of the early home computing era, has died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 82. He's best known as the lead designer for MOS Technology's 6502, a low-cost processor (just $25 in 1975) that found its way into first-wave home computers like the Apple II and Commodore PET. Variants of that core design found their way into influential consoles like the Atari 2600 and NES. If you have nostalgia for the days when 8-bit computers were cutting edge, you likely owe a debt of gratitude to Peddle.
Online bulletin board inventor Randy Suess dies at 74
It's a sad week if you've ever posted on a social network or an internet forum. Randy Suess, the creator of the software for first online public bulletin board, died on December 10th at the age of 74. He and Ward Christensen built the Computer Bulletin Board System (CBBS) in 1978 to give users a central place to float ideas, post notices and otherwise coordinate without meeting in person. Of course, it wasn't nearly as sophisticated as the giant internet services you see today -- CBBS revolved around a customized personal computer that required a dial-up modem to access.
Computer password inventor Fernando Corbato dies at 93
Computer security just lost one of its founders. Fernando "Corby" Corbato, credited with inventing the computer password, has died at the age of 93. The MIT researcher devised the concept of password-protected user accounts when establishing his Compatible Time-Sharing System, which let multiple people use a computer at the same time. It was just a matter of establishing "compartmentalization" and basic privacy, Corbato told the Wall Street Journal in a 2014 interview, but the move would help shape digital security going forward.
NASA admits the Mars Opportunity rover is dead
If you're a fan of Mars exploration, you're probably in mourning right now. NASA's Opportunity rover has effectively been declared dead after the agency's last attempt to contact the storm-struck rover was met with silence. Officials held a press conference at 2PM ET to discuss the outcome, and as expected NASA confirmed that it is saying goodbye to Opportunity. The machine doesn't stand a chance if it doesn't have power -- Martian winter is coming, and Opportunity needs working heaters to survive the chilly conditions.
Hubble telescope 'mother' Nancy Grace Roman dies
The astronomy world is poorer off today. Nancy Grace Roman, the first chief of astronomy at NASA's Office of Space Science, died on December 25th at 93. She was widely considered the "mother" of the Hubble Space Telescope, persuading the scientific community to rally around the concept and campaigning for funding. While Hubble launched 11 years after her retirement, there's little doubt that it was her efforts that made the telescope a reality.
Early internet pioneer Larry Roberts dies at 81
The internet has lost one of its early architects. Larry Roberts, best known as the program manager for ARPAnet (the internet's precursor), died on December 26th at the age of 81. While he wasn't as much of a public representative for the internet as people like Tim Berners-Lee or Vint Cerf, he made key decisions that would dictate how the internet behaved.
