RIP My Friends

A very sad and odd set of coincidences yesterday as three associates and friends, who I all met at the West Coast Computer Faire, passed away and had obituaries in The New York Times – side-by-side-by-side.

I was stunned by reading that Allee Willis, Joseph Segal and Chuck Peddle all had passed away.

Joseph Segal

I first met Joe Segal in 1984. He was founder of the Franklin Mint and had recently created the National Software Testing Laboratory. We were in the same business of reviewing PC software and we ended up situated in booths on the floor of the trade show side-by-side. We spent many of hours talking and speculating on the future of computing and communications. He asked me to buy NSTL from him as he had a new idea and needed to focus on it – ecommerce via cable television. He went on to create and launch QVC.

He was a giant, a great early mentor to me, a true entrepreneur and gentleman.

Chuck Peddle

Chuck Peddle truly helped to spur the consumer revolution in computing by inventing very low cost chips that made their way into Commodore and Atari computers. I remember hearing him speak at the show in 1985 and he predicted what we call Internet of Things. He was an amazing man, designer and engineer. He was a populist and very positive influence in the tech community.

Allee Willis

And Allee Willis was an early adopter of online services, streaming and downloading; and was a fantastic songwriter. Yes, she wrote the theme song for the TV show “Friends,” but I will always remember her for her Museum of Kitsch at her home in Los Angeles. She was so entertaining and loved Detroit, her hometown even though she lived with the creative community in Los Angeles.

Stunning losses. Amazing people. A huge loss for all. Read the three obituaries here.