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After a very high profile technology pioneer died, it was understandable that the world sat up and noticed. It was a little odd, but sociologically understandable, that the world also mourned for someone they never met but felt they knew.

But how many have even heard of Dennis Ritchie?

This week Ritchie died after his proverbial three score and ten! And his legacy is as large as that of Steve Jobs, if a little more hidden from the general populace. His work in the 1960s on Unix led to many fundamental principles that persist today in "modern" operating systems. His C programming language is at the heart of many a digital device even today, and fondly remembered by this lapsed developer - the 'C Bible' has held a treasured spot on my bookshelf even long after it out-lived my need for it.

Quite simply, the world would be a different place if not for Ritchie. No less important than Jobs, no less influential.

main()
{
printf("goodbye, dennis\n");
}