Gary was a smart man.
He helped make computers work. He made a special tool for them. This tool helped them talk to disks. It helped many people use computers. Do you like computers?
Gary Kildall was a smart computer expert.
He made a special tool for computers. This tool helped computers talk to disks. This made small computers much better.
He started a company to sell his tools.
He also helped make a show about computers on TV. He taught people about new technology.
Gary worked hard to make computers easy to use. He was a pioneer for the personal computer. He helped change how we use technology today.
Gary Kildall was a famous computer scientist.
He was a pioneer of the personal computer. This means he helped lead the way for new technology.
In the 1970s, he made an operating system called CP/M. An operating system is a set of programs that runs a computer. CP/M was very important for small computers. It helped them talk to disk storage. He also made a tool called a BIOS. The BIOS is a set of simple programs stored in the computer hardware. It helped the CP/M system work on many different kinds of machines.
Kildall started a company called Digital Research, Inc. to sell his software.
He also helped host a TV show called Computer Chronicles. This show talked about new things in computing. Later, he made the first computer encyclopedia on a CD-ROM. This was called The Electronic Encyclopedia. It used a disc to hold many pictures and sounds. Kildall worked hard to make computer software elegant and smart.
Gary Kildall was a famous American computer scientist and entrepreneur.
He helped lead the way for the personal computer revolution. This means he made the tools that let small computers become useful for many people. He was born in Seattle, Washington, to a family that ran a school for seamanship. His father was a sea captain of Norwegian heritage. Kildall grew up to be a very smart student. He earned degrees in mathematics and computer science from the University of Washington. He even worked at the Naval Postgraduate School in California during his studies.
Kildall is best known for creating an operating system called CP/M. An operating system is a set of programs that manages a computer. In 1973, he and Kathryn Strutynski also developed a language called PL/M. This language helped them build CP/M for microprocessors. He also invented the BIOS, which stands for Basic Input Output System. The BIOS is a set of simple programs stored in the computer hardware. It acted like a bridge. This bridge allowed the CP/M system to talk to disk storage. It also let the software work on many different types of machines without needing changes.
Kildall started a company called Digital Research, Inc. to sell his software products.
He and his wife, Dorothy, used advertisements in magazines to find customers. In the 1970s, CP/M became a very popular standard for many computers. By 1981, the company was making millions of dollars every year. Kildall also worked on many other interesting projects. He helped create a graphical user interface called GEM in 1985. He also worked on a version of CP/M that could do many tasks at once, which is called multitasking. He even helped make the first computer encyclopedia on a CD-ROM.
There was a famous disagreement between Kildall and IBM in the 1980s. IBM wanted to buy a version of his software called CP/M-86 for their new PC. However, the two companies could not reach a deal. Some people say the meeting went poorly because of legal paperwork. Other stories say they could not agree on the price or the schedule. Instead of using Kildall's software, IBM used a system called PC DOS. This system was much cheaper for people to buy. Kildall later believed that PC DOS was too similar to his own work. He felt that his ideas had been used without permission.
Kildall stayed busy with technology for his whole life. He co-hosted a weekly television program called Computer Chronicles on PBS for seven years. This show helped people learn about the latest trends in computing. He also started a company called Activenture to work with optical discs. Later, he ran a business in Austin, Texas, called Prometheus Light and Sound. He wanted to connect land-line phones with mobile phones. Even though he faced hard times in the computer business, he always looked for elegant ways to write software. He remains a very important figure in the history of computers.
Gary Arlen Kildall was a pioneering American computer scientist and entrepreneur.
He played a vital role in the personal computer revolution. During the 1970s, he developed the CP/M operating system. An operating system is the essential software that manages computer hardware and software resources. Kildall also founded Digital Research, Inc. to market his various software products. His work helped transform microprocessors into fully capable, useful computers.
Kildall's technical achievements centered on how software interacts with hardware. In 1973, he and Kathryn Strutynski developed PL/M, a high-level programming language for microprocessors. They used this language to create CP/M. To make CP/M work across different machines, Kildall invented the BIOS, or Basic Input Output System. The BIOS is a set of simple programs stored in hardware like ROM or EPROM. This system acted as a bridge. It allowed the operating system to communicate with different types of disk storage and hardware variations without needing major modifications.
Kildall's career involved several distinct stages of software and business development. First, he focused on microcomputer operating systems like CP/M and the multitasking version, MP/M. Later, he moved into graphical user interfaces. In 1985, he oversaw the creation of the Graphics Environment Manager, known as GEM. He also explored educational tools by working on the Logo programming language. Finally, he ventured into storage technology. Through his company Activenture, he helped develop the first computer encyclopedia on a CD-ROM.
Kildall's journey began in Seattle, Washington. He grew up in a family that operated a seamanship school. His father, Joseph, was a captain of Norwegian heritage. Kildall pursued high-level education at the University of Washington. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1967 and a master's degree in Computer Science in 1968. He later completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1972. During his studies, he also taught at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
In the early 1980s, Kildall's company reached a massive scale. By 1981, CP/M was at the peak of its popularity. At this time, Digital Research was earning millions of dollars in yearly revenues. The software operated on many different computer models. However, the company faced a major turning point during negotiations with IBM. IBM wanted to purchase CP/M-86 for their upcoming personal computer. These negotiations failed to result in a deal between the two companies.
The failed IBM deal had lasting consequences for the industry. Instead of CP/M-86, IBM used an operating system called PC DOS. This system was much cheaper for consumers. CP/M-86 was priced at $240, which was six times more expensive than the $40 PC DOS. Because most software required DOS, CP/M-86 sold poorly. Kildall later believed that PC DOS infringed on his work. He argued that its first 26 system calls functioned exactly like those in CP/M. He felt the price difference was a way to marginalize his product.
Beyond his business ventures, Kildall was a public figure in technology. From 1983 to 1990, he co-hosted the PBS program Computer Chronicles. This weekly show discussed the latest developments in personal computing. He remained interested in complex systems until the end of his life. His final venture, Prometheus Light and Sound, worked on communication systems. This system integrated land-line telephones with mobile phones. He also explored computer animation, once demonstrating a spinning Coke bottle on a VAX 11/780 computer. His life reflected a constant search for elegance in software design.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (2)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.