New York Times Report
Editor: Joe Yang
[New York Times Summary] Gordon Bell, the creator of the personal computer prototype and the "architect" of the digital age, has passed away. He proposed Bell's Law in the field of computer systems, was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Sciences, received the IEEE John von Neumann Medal, and sponsored the ACM Gordon Bell Prize in parallel computing.
Gordon Bell, a computer pioneer and renowned computer architect, passed away on May 17 at his home in Coronado, California, at the age of 89.
His family stated in a declaration that the cause of death was pneumonia. John Mashey, a senior scientist at Bell Labs, also announced this sad news on X.
Gordon Bell joined Microsoft Research in 1995, and his passing has led to many Microsoft veterans reminiscing, including the current CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella.
And Jeffrey Snover, the inventor of Windows PowerShell and former Chief Architect at Microsoft.
Former Microsoft Windows division president Steven Sinofsky stated, "He is a legend in the field of computer science, and his contributions to Microsoft are immeasurable." "His influence on all of us in the technology realm will be passed down through generations."
Microsoft's former CTO Ray Ozzie recently published a lengthy tweet, reminiscing about his time as a newcomer at Microsoft in 2005. He mentioned how Gordon Bell and other seniors encouraged and inspired him, saying, "I can't fully describe how much I love Gordon, how much I respect everything he has done for this industry. 'You are my hero'."
Dave Cutler, mentioned in Ozzie's tweet, is also a Microsoft veteran who once worked with Bell. In an interview, he stated: "His main contribution is his vision for the future" and "He helped make computing more widespread and personalized."
Born Engineer
Gordon Bell was born in 1934 in Missouri, USA. His father, an electrician, owned a store called Bell Electric.
At the age of 7, he was diagnosed with a heart condition. During his second grade, he spent most of his time at home, often bedridden. However, this did not hinder his natural engineering talent that emerged during his youth.
While recovering at home, he experimented with circuit wiring, conducted chemistry experiments, and worked on puzzles. After his recovery, he spent countless hours at his father's store learning about electrical repairs.
By the age of 12, he had become a professional electrician, installing dishwashers, repairing motors, and in his spare time, like many boys, disassembling and reassembling mechanical devices.
In 1957, Gordon Bell graduated from MIT with bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering. He later pursued a Ph.D. at MIT but was drawn to Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and decided to forgo his doctoral studies.
In Bell's view, the mission of an engineer is to "make things," with little interest in research.
Reflecting on this experience later, Bell expressed deep sentiment, saying, "I may have wanted to be an engineer before I knew what an engineer was."
A Pioneer in Personal Computing
In 1960, Bell joined DEC, recruited by founders Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson.
During his tenure, he emerged as a true computer hero and technical soul of the company, designing all the products that propelled DEC into the early microcomputer market, driving the rise of the minicomputer industry in the 1960s.
As the second computer engineer hired by DEC, Bell was responsible for developing various components of the PDP-1 system, including floating-point subroutines, tape controllers, and drum controllers.
During his time at DEC, he also invented the first UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) for serial communication.
Subsequently, he designed several influential DEC systems, including the PDP-4 and PDP-6.
While companies like IBM were selling large mainframe computers worth millions of dollars, DEC, founded and led by Ken Olsen, focused on introducing smaller, more powerful computers that were affordable for a fraction of the cost.
In 1960, Bell joined DEC.
In 1965, DEC introduced the PDP-8, a 12-bit computer priced at $18,000, considered the first successful minicomputer in the market.
PDP-8, the first satellite computer using transistor technology.
What's more, DEC's microcomputers were not just for businesses and corporations; they were also sold to individual users like scientists and engineers, allowing people to interact directly with the machines.
This was a groundbreaking move because before this, computers were only seen in glass-walled data centers, managed by experts.
In an interview with Computerworld in 1985, Bell stated, "All DEC machines are interactive; we believe people can converse directly with computers."
In this way, he predicted and actively contributed to the upcoming PC revolution, earning him immense trust and honor.
Howard Anderson, founder of the Yankee Group, witnessed that era and believed that Gordon Bell and Ken Olsen were equally instrumental in DEC's success.
Bell emphasized the importance of engineering talent, attracting some of the industry's finest engineers to work alongside him, making DEC a hub of innovation.
Although Gordon Bell and Ken Olsen were both key figures at DEC, their relationship was not always smooth sailing. The two often clashed and had intense disagreements during meetings.
Due to the immense pressure, Bell took a temporary leave from the company and embarked on a six-year sabbatical, teaching at CMU. He later returned to the company in 1972, assuming the role of Vice President of Engineering.
This time, he came back revitalized, brimming with new ideas.
He oversaw the design of a revolutionary computer architecture: the VAX 780, a fast, powerful, and efficient minicomputer that was a huge success upon its release.
By the early 1980s, the sales of the VAX 780 had propelled DEC to become the world's second-largest computer manufacturer, garnering widespread acclaim.
Despite this, the conflict between Olsen and Bell persisted, even escalating. In 1983, while on vacation, Bell suffered a heart attack. Despite protests from several executives, he resolutely resigned from DEC after his near-death experience.
Due to a series of subsequent decision-making errors, DEC failed to survive the dramatic revolution in the personal computer field and was sold to Compaq in 1998. Later in 2002, it was merged into HP along with Compaq.
Visionaries Shaping the Future
After retiring from DEC in 1983, Bell continued to work actively as an entrepreneur, policy advisor, and researcher. He founded Encore Computer and Ardent Computer.
The establishment of Ethernet also owes much to Bell's advocacy. During his time at the National Science Foundation (NSF), he led the networking of supercomputers, directly contributing to the development of the modern internet.
In 1987, he sponsored the ACM Gordon Bell Prize to recognize work in parallel computing.
The Computer History Museum in Boston, now renamed from the Digital Computer Museum, was co-founded by Gordon Bell and his then-wife Gwen Druyor in 1979.
He eventually moved to California, becoming an angel investor in Silicon Valley. In 1991, he became a consultant for Microsoft, which was setting up its first research lab in Redmond, Washington.
In 1995, Bell joined Microsoft Research in Silicon Valley full-time. There, he developed the MyLifeBits database, aiming to capture all aspects of a person's life – articles, books, CDs, letters, emails, music, home movies, and videos – in a cloud-based database.
The idea behind MyLifeBits was to record everything that happened in front of you.
At the time, this was a crazy idea, but nearly 20 years later, we see that it's something we are still trying today (like Microsoft Copilot's recall feature).
Cover of Fast Company, November 2006
In a 1985 interview with Computerworld, Bell explained the secret to his repeated technological successes.
"The trick to any technology is knowing when to ride the wave, when to drive change, and then knowing when it's dead, when to exit."
Bell was that kind of person, always looking ten steps ahead and shaping the world of that version of the future.
References:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/gordon-bell-an-architect-of-our-digital-age-dies-at-age-89/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/21/technology/c-gordon-bell-dead.html
https://gizmodo.com/gordon-bell-obituary-computer-legend-internet-microsoft-1851492263
