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Microsoft Businesses Medicine Technology

Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Dies of Cancer At Age 65 (cnbc.com) 201

Posted by BeauHD from the rest-in-peace dept.
CNBC is reporting that Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen has died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Vulcan Inc. said in a statement Monday that Allen passed this afternoon in Seattle at the age of 65. From the report: "While most knew Paul Allen as a technologist and philanthropist, for us he was a much-loved brother and uncle, and an exceptional friend. Paul's family and friends were blessed to experience his wit, warmth, his generosity and deep concern," [Paul Allen's sister, Jody Allen] said in a statement. "For all the demands on his schedule, there was always time for family and friends. At this time of loss and grief for us -- and so many others -- we are profoundly grateful for the care and concern he demonstrated every day."

Earlier this month, Allen revealed that he had started treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the same type of cancer he overcame nine years earlier. The longtime CEO left Microsoft when he was first diagnosed with the disease. Allen also ranked among the world's wealthiest individuals. As of Monday afternoon, he ranked 21st on Forbes' list of billionaires with an estimated net worth of $20.3 billion. UPDATE: Added a link to a statement from Vulcan Inc. on behalf of the Allen Family and Paul G. Allen network.
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Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Dies of Cancer At Age 65 More

Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Dies of Cancer At Age 65

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  • That sucks big time. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by grungeman ( 590547 ) on Monday October 15, 2018 @05:21PM (#57482698)
    He spent his money is such great and geeky ways, I often thought that if I was that rich I would be living exactly his lifestyle. RIP Paul Allen, you left this world much too early.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by jwhyche ( 6192 )

      âoeYou can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the grim reaper.â -Robert Alton Harris

      • You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the grim reaper. -Robert Alton Harris

        But not at the same time. People in the top income quintile live an average of 12 years longer than people at the bottom.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Bizzeh ( 851225 )

      "i want a telescope..." "is this big enough" "no you fool, i want it to cover a noticeable percentage of a desert..."... pretty fun way to spend money

    • Re:That sucks big time. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by snapsnap ( 5451726 ) on Monday October 15, 2018 @05:57PM (#57482950)

      Like his computer museum and WWII air museum in the Seattle area. It's still sad he was forced out of Microsoft in 1982. The world would be a much different place if he had gotten his way of fixing problems with existing products instead of adding new features, or worse, Gate's style vaporware.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        Well, he never said much whilst wallowing in the profits, nor invested any of those ill gotten gains in FOSS. So torn between bad taste and an empty fear of censure, likely captain cabana boy screams in the hell of infinite BSODs. Contribute more than you consume else energy will balance out and alone in that dark you will be, you nature expressing itself in quantum energy form, concern for the present should not eliminate you concern for your future and the future of those around you. Sing in the choir or

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

      I personally liked his actions in the end, where he had a ship going in search of all the old WW2 wrecks in the Pacific. So much history that he found, ranging from major ships like IJN Musashi, HMS Hood's bell and both Fuso class battleships to smaller unique ships like Shimakaze. Though the crowning achievement was probably when they found the Lady Lex herself earlier this year.

  • Cloud Computing (Score:4, Funny)

    by mentil ( 1748130 ) on Monday October 15, 2018 @05:28PM (#57482732)

    Now he's living In The Cloud.

  • I thought that was one of the Cancers we had beaten?

    • Does not appear so - per Wikipedia, five-year survival rate is 71%, lower than that for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, 86%. The "beaten" cancers are prostate and thyroid, both above 98% five-year survival.

      • Wouldn't prostate rates be skewed by the fact that, while a large percentage of men will get prostate cancer, it usually develops so late in life that they end up dying of something other than the cancer?

        • Re: Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          Did you, uh, take notice of the five year survival rate? Or do you have terminal cancer of the attention span?

        • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

          by Anonymous Coward

          If the person dies of something else, that counts as beating the cancer.

          That's more or less the goal of all cancer treatment: that the patient lives long enough to die of something else.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by lmnfrs ( 829146 )

      No, Hodgkin's is a subset of lymphoma with a relatively significant level of research when compared to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

      Non-Hodgkin's is generally viewed as worse than Hodgkin's, but may still be beaten. But, of course, it's cancer, which is virtually always an ordeal.

    • Re:Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Score:5, Informative)

      by hey! ( 33014 ) on Monday October 15, 2018 @09:09PM (#57483898) Homepage Journal

      Since Non-Hodgkin's is by definition any cancer of lymphocytes that is not Hodgkin's, it's unlikely to be "beaten" any time soon because it's not just one thing. Collectively, though, 10 year survival rates for Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas run from 36% to 71% depending on your risk factors (age, how early the cancer is diagnosed). There's been a lot of progress on Hodgkins' too: 10 year survival is up to around 80%.

  • Bill Gates was so angry, Allen left the company. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Futurepower(R) ( 558542 ) on Monday October 15, 2018 @05:56PM (#57482948) Homepage
    The book Paul Allen wrote avoids a full report, but gives the impression that Bill Gates was so angry, Paul Allen left the company because interacting with Bill Gates was bad for his health.

    Quotes from the book, Idea Man [amazon.com] by Paul Allen.

    Page 49:

    THREE DECADES AFTER teaching Bill and me at Lakeside, Fred Wright was asked what he'd thought about our success with Microsoft. His reply: "It was neat that they got along well enough that the company didn't explode in the first year or two."

    Page 96:

    When Bill pushed on licensing terms or bad-mouthed the flaky Signetics cards, Ed thought he was insubordinate. You could hear them yelling throughout the plant, and it was quite a spectacle-the burly ex-military officer standing toe to toe with the owlish prodigy about half his weight, neither giving an inch.

    Page 177:

    Bill was sarcastic, combative, defensive, and contemptuous.

    Page 180:

    "For Bill, the ground had already begun shifting. At product review meetings, his scathing critiques became a perverse badge of honor. One game was to count how many times Bill confronted a given manager; whoever got tagged for the most "stupidest things " won the contest. "I give my feedback," he grumbled to me, "and it doesn't go anywhere."

  • He will be missed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by GregMmm ( 5115215 ) on Monday October 15, 2018 @06:01PM (#57482982)

    I never knew him, but I know the effects he had on my world.

    I'm a IT professional who cut his teeth on Windows 3.11. Everyone has their issues with how windows work, but you have to admit he along with Bill Gates had a huge influence on the tech industry.

    As a sports fan in Washington, he was a person who brought a SuperBowl win to the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks have been run very well and you can see it in the product. You never needed to worry about the franchise in his hands.

    I know these might seem like simple statements, but this is how I knew him. And he will be missed.

  • He was also a huge patent troll with his Interval Research. It did a lot of harm to the industry, but so did Microsoft, so I guess that should be expected.

  • Rest well, Mr. Allen.

    He used to have the nickname "Doctor NetVorkian" because many of the things he invested in promptly tanked in one way or another after his investment. He had a lot of bad luck with his investments.

    For those who don't understand the joke, a certain Dr. Kervorkian became notorious for helping ill patients commit suicide.

  • He bankrolled Dreamworks SKG.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • “I'm a IT professional who cut his teeth on Windows 3.11. Everyone has their issues with how windows work, but you have to admit he along with Bill Gates had a huge influence on the tech industry.”

    I'm a IT professional who cut his teeth on VAX/VMX, DECwindows, Novell Netware and the original Mac and in my professional opinion Win3.11 was a toy. It may be news to you but computing didn't start with Windows 3.11 and the huge influence you speak of is that everyone thinks it's normal for your c

  • Is that a rain coat? Yes, Paul! (Score:3, Funny)

    by t4eXanadu ( 143668 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @06:26AM (#57485292)

    Try getting a reservation at Dorsia now you fucking stupid bastard!

    First thing I thought of when I saw this headline.

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