Unix creator Dennis Ritchie has passed away aged 70

With the passing of Steve Jobs last week, there was big flurry of tributes online and in the press and rightly so.

Steve was an inspirational character, as a person, as a CEO and as visionary.

His legacy has been clearly visible in society at large.

I had brief and direct contact with Jobs in email correspondence when QPI Ltd was talking to Apple about issues with their production facilities here in Shenzhen, but we did not feel we had much to add to the tributes that flowed.

This week Dennis Ritchie has also passed away. While he is less well known or wealthy it could be argued that his contribution to the IT industry is on par with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Many have commented over the years that Apples operating system is based on Unix, so the passing of Ritchie, so soon after Jobs is all the more poignant.

Quite apart from that link with Apple, Ritchie’s direct influence on Unix, “C” and the open source software movement can be noticed in all our lives on a daily basis regardless if an Apple or Windows Icon shows when we boot our computer, mobile or other the myriad other high tech devices that permeate our lives.