Yesterday, I did an article on a little known inventor who died earlier this week. That got me thinking, what other tech heroes don’t we know about. I found 10 Tech Heroes I think we should all know, in no particular order.
10. Dr. Doug Engelbart: He invented the computer mouse, though he never made a dime and got little credit from it. He came up with the idea in the mid 20th century, decades ahead of his time.
9. Marty Cooper: In 1973, he made the first ever cellular phone call. The rest is history.
8. Tony Fadell: Around 2001, he had this crazy idea and Apple hired him as a consultant. That crazy idea turned into the iPod.
7. John Backus: This IBM scientist came up with the first computer programming language, FORTRAN. He was once diagnosed with a brain tumor, and designed his own head?plate.
6. James Gosling: As a Ph.D student, he wrote a microprocessor version on Unix. Eventually, that version turned into the first Java code.
5. Newark Mayor Cory Booker: In 2012, during Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Booker Tweeted to his constituents about power updates and where to get help. There’s no telling how many people he?saved.
4. Alan Kay: His Dynabook probably paved the way all the devices we hold near and dear, maybe a little too near and dear today.
3. Benjamin O’Keefe:?Once, Abecrombie & Fitch’s CEO said he only marketed to cool kids. O’Keefe used the?Internet and?social media to threaten a boycott, and Aberrombie’s execs met with the 18 year old and change begun.
2. Larry Ellison: In 1990, his Oracle company almost went kaput. Now, that company is the leader of many aspects of the software industry, and in comeback fashion, he’s the 3rd richest man in America.
1. People Like You: I know this sounds cheesy, but think about it. Unheard of people are making a positive difference in the tech world every day. Are you one of them?