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Submission + - Computer industry mourns DEC founder Ken Olsen (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: Kenneth Olsen, the computer industry pioneer who co-founded and led minicomputer king Digital Equipment Corp. for 35 years, died at the age of 84 on Sunday in Indianapolis.

As DEC's leader, Olsen oversaw the company's epic battles vs. IBM and its mainframes for the hearts and business of IT shops – a fight DEC eventually lost as the era of fast, cheap and networked PCs took hold in the 1980s and 1990s. During its heyday, DEC's PDPs, VAXes and and DECnet network technology became staples in many organizations and today's IT industry remains filled with companies whose founders once worked at DEC or with its gear. Digital was acquired in 1998 by Compaq.

Dan Bricklin, co-creator of the VisiCalc spreadsheet and DEC alum, tweeted: "Ken Olsen is in the elite club of tech founders w/Gates & Jobs, and set the stage for them. What he did we take for granted today."

Comment Re:Awesome game (Score 1) 317

That's just the point, isn't it? Competitive gameplay usually means that someone wins and they get rewarded for it. In WoW, anyone can "win" regardless of how good they are, which can make the game less appealing for competitive people. How appealing would football or basketball be to play or to watch if, at the end, everyone was declared a winner and they hugged it out? I'm not saying one or the other is better, just that some people will prefer a game that's more accessible to everyone and some people will prefer a more competitive atmosphere.

Huh... that statement sounds uncannily like the logic of the No Child Left Behind Act. But yet, we support that. Off topic, I know, but if we support behavior like that in one system (ie, everyday life), why should any of the snotlings (er, sorry, younger kids and/or teens) expect any less elsewhere? Go figure..

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