Submission + - Ray Noorda Dies
postbigbang writes: Ray Noorda, controversial head of numerous investments in the computer industry died at age 82, according to http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4465776 .
Noorda once pressured National Semiconductor to lower the price of Ethernet cards, then took on Bill Gates, buying the keys to Unix and then giving them away, then many software packages to fight Microsoft's Word and Office with WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, and others. When the world went to the IP protocols, Novell's IPX protocol set was arguably more prevalent than IP at the time. And then the Internet train departed, and Novell's strategies weren't ready — and Gates had (if now viewed frighteningly) a plan.
Noorda's investments in many companies, and his training academy for future execs in IT, also showed the supportive Mormon side of Noorda and the companies he spawned. Arguably, he's the father of the LAN more than any other business exec in the industry today. Many captains of industry, including Google's Eric Schmidt, owes their boot camp to Noorda.
Noorda once pressured National Semiconductor to lower the price of Ethernet cards, then took on Bill Gates, buying the keys to Unix and then giving them away, then many software packages to fight Microsoft's Word and Office with WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, and others. When the world went to the IP protocols, Novell's IPX protocol set was arguably more prevalent than IP at the time. And then the Internet train departed, and Novell's strategies weren't ready — and Gates had (if now viewed frighteningly) a plan.
Noorda's investments in many companies, and his training academy for future execs in IT, also showed the supportive Mormon side of Noorda and the companies he spawned. Arguably, he's the father of the LAN more than any other business exec in the industry today. Many captains of industry, including Google's Eric Schmidt, owes their boot camp to Noorda.
