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Subject: [Fwd: Sad news: Alan Kotok]
Those who had the good fortune to know Alan Kotok will undoubtedly be saddened by this news. This is also on top at the w3c page at: http://www.w3.org/ -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Sad news: Alan Kotok Resent-Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 12:57:14 +0000 Resent-From: ab@w3.org Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 08:56:34 -0400 From: Tim Berners-Lee <timbl@w3.org> To: w3c-ac-members@w3.org, ab@w3.org, chairs@w3.org, tag <tag@w3.org> 2006-06-01 Dear Colleagues, It is with tremendous sorrow that we share the news that our great friend, colleague, and mentor Alan Kotok has passed away. He died peacefully in his sleep over the US Memorial Day weekend. Alan's W3C involvement goes back before its formal inception, when he was still employed at Digital Equipment Corporation. His early ideas shaped W3C, and helped lead it to what it is today. Long before Alan came to W3C, his experience established him as one of the early wise men of computer science. His interest in computing and his gifts were apparent in his undergraduate days at MIT. One of Alan's undergraduate creations was the first video game, Spacewar, which he and several classmates created for the PDP-1 in 1962. Alan was also part of the team which invented the joystick, an icon of many young computer gamers' experiences. As a member of the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club, he proved to be highly adept at understanding complex technical systems and making them do new things. Alan wrote a number of important programs for early DEC and IBM computers, including the well-known Kotok-McCarthy chess program at MIT, which became his B.S. thesis. Alan spent 34 years with Digital Equipment Corp. in numerous leadership roles. He served as Technical Director for product strategy and development groups in Telecommunications, Storage, and Internet. He was chief architect of the PDP-10 family of computers, a logic designer for the DEC PDP-6 computer and played a key role in the development of the DECsystem-10 timesharing computer system. Alan provided thought leadership as a member of the Corporate Strategy Group which advocated early adoption and integration of Internet and Web-based technologies. Alan held a wide range of roles at W3C. He carried the title of Associate Chairman, but he also served as the MIT site manager, managed the Systems Team, and worked closely with the Advisory Board. His contributions to membership and financial issues were highly valued. True to the talents he showed in his undergraduate days, Alan shone as a problem solver, especially in important and complex areas: patent policy development, Patent Advisory Groups, whatever processes, policies and procedures were needed to improve the W3C as a standards body. His precision of thinking and language was a welcome feature to many W3C meetings. His dry wit and attention to detail on the outside did not hide the kindness and generous heart within. His passion for trains, early music, and pipe organs were well known; one recent AC meeting included a special tour of the Tech Model Railroad Club, which ended up being one of the most popular events W3C held. Alan is survived by his three children and one grandchild. His wife, Judie, passed away last year. Those who wish to contact Alan's family may send email to Amy van der Hiel <amy@w3.org>. We have opened a publicly archived mailing list, public- memoria@w3.org, http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Publi c/public-memoria/ to which remembrances and photographs are welcome to be sent. The W3C Team and our organization was immeasurably better for his presence. We will all miss him for who he was, and all that he achieved. Tim and Steve
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