ITinfo: PKZip Author Dies

Shareware Pioneer Passes Away

Phil Katz authored PKZip

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PKZip Author Dies

by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

Phillip W. Katz, 37, died on April 14 from complications arising from a long-time illness.

As a young man, Katz released the PKZip file compression program in 1986. The program revolutionized the world of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and the fledgling Internet.

I remember getting my hands on the very first public version. I was able to compress copies of my dBASE, Lotus 1-2-3, and WordPerfect files on to a single diskette. All I had was an IBM PC-XT and an IBM PC Portable ... storage space was at a premium. As new versions were released, I'd eagerly download the updates and rezip my files just to get an extra five percent more compression.

When transferring files online with my high-speed Hayes 1200Kbps modem, every bit of extra compression meant a few minutes saved.

I even got to try the program before I paid for it. PKZip was the first shareware program I ever registered.

Katz became famous for pioneering the shareware concept of software distribution. Users were invited to download and try new software. Only if they liked the program and decided to continue using it were they obligated to purchase the software.

Phil, I never met you in person, but I'll miss you.

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updated May 2, 2000
http://dgl.com/itinfo/2000/it000502.html