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Yet another Pioneer of the Personal Computer strolls off into the sunset over the Pacific.
My very first floppy diskette drive was a Shugart 5.25 inch floppy Diskette drive, sold (for about $750!) by the founders of Kentucky Fried Computers, as a NorthStar Diskette Drive Controller which came bundled with NorthStar DOS and Basic.. Which I used on my IMSAI 8080 (into which i later installed a Morrow Designs (not me) ThinkerToys Motherboard (really nothing more than a noise free backplane)..
The next time I recall reading about Al Shugart (i THINK it was he and not Nolan Bushnell (think Atari)) he had "hit" a bicycalist with the outside rearview mirror while driving his Rolls Royce home one afternoon in Saratoga, CA.
Disk Drive Pioneer Al Shugart Dies at age 76
The Associated Press
Dec 13, 2006 1:39 PM (3 days ago)
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Alan Shugart, the co-founder of hard drive maker Seagate Technology LLC, has died, the company said Wednesday. He was 76.
Shugart helped pioneer the multibillion dollar hard drive industry, in which Seagate now holds the leading market position. He founded the company in 1979 and left in 1998.
Described by some as a maverick, Shugart was well known for his colorful personality that included an effort to get his dog to run for Congress. The unsuccessful ploy became the topic of one of his three books, "Ernest Goes to Washington (Well, Not Exactly)."
Shugart died Tuesday at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, said Seagate spokeswoman Julie Stills. He was admitted last week and died of complications from heart surgery he underwent six weeks ago.
He was still working until the day of his death, checking e-mails for his company, Al Shugart International, a startup incubator based in Santa Cruz, Stills said.
He is survived by his wife, Rita, four daughters, a son, and seven grandchildren.
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Statement from Bill Watkins, Seagate CEO
“The entire Seagate family around the world is deeply saddened by the loss of Al Shugart, who passed away Dec. 12 from complications following heart surgery.
For those who had the rare and wonderful opportunity of knowing him, it’s hard to imagine our world without Al Shugart in it to challenge the status quo, say things that were outrageously honest and achieve the remarkable.
It is impossible to summarize the profound impact of Al’s work during his 50-year career, most notably of course as a pioneer in the storage industry and Seagate’s founder. It was Al’s vision and entrepreneurial spirit that turned an emerging technology built with Dixie cups and panty hose into a universally embraced product that touches so many people around the globe. Al not only built Seagate, but in many ways he created an entire industry.
One small Seagate building in Scotts Valley grew to many, and then operations were launched around the world employing many thousands of people. Subsequently, as an industry grew around us, thousands of more jobs were created. Hard drives continued to become more sophisticated and integral to our world, enabling applications and markets that few could have imagined at the outset – even Al admitted that when the first Seagate product was launched he couldn’t imagine anyone ever needing more than 5 Megabytes of storage. It’s really impossible to look at modern business, society, communications, science, music, entertainment or anything else without seeing the power and impact of Al’s legacy.
Al’s unique spirit made him a remarkable entrepreneur. And it also made him an unforgettable human being. Stories about Al and the many ways he touched people still circulate around the industry. Most will remember him as a man who loved to enjoy life, and encouraged everyone he touched to do the same.”
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& cockatoos
