Tag Archives: obituary
Dark matter scientist Vera Rubin dies at 88
John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, dies at 95
Laptop pioneer John Ellenby dies
Minneapolis Man Reveals That He Is Spider-Man in Self-Written Obituary
Obituaries are often rather depressing, for reasons which should be fairly obvious. Normally they’re written in a somber tone the reminds the reader not of the person being remembered, but of the fact that they should be grieving. Aaron Joseph Purmort, 35, knew his end was coming due to a battle with cancer, and decided to write his own obituary his way. The result was a paragraph that should, despite the gravity of the situation, make just about everybody smile.
I hope it brought a bit of happiness to Purmort’s friends and family by reminding them of the good times they had. Also, SPOILER ALERT, he drops a big bomb on us by revealing that he was Spider-Man all along. The text follows:
Purmort, Aaron Joseph age 35, died peacefully at home on November 25 after complications from a radioactive spider bite that led to years of crime-fighting and a years long battle with a nefarious criminal named Cancer, who has plagued our society for far too long. Civilians will recognize him best as Spider-Man, and thank him for his many years of service protecting our city. His family knew him only as a kind and mild-mannered Art Director, a designer of websites and t-shirts, and concert posters who always had the right cardigan and the right thing to say (even if it was wildly inappropriate).Aaron was known for his long, entertaining stories, which he loved to repeat often. In high school, he was in the band The Asparagus Children, which reached critical acclaim in the northern suburbs. As an adult, he graduated from the College of Visual Arts (which also died an untimely death recently) and worked in several agencies around Minneapolis, settling in as an Interactive Associate Creative Director at Colle + McVoy. Aaron was a comic book aficionado, a pop-culture encyclopedia and always the most fun person at any party. He is survived by his parents Bill and Kim Kuhlmeyer, father Mark Purmort (Patricia, Autumn, Aly), sisters Erika and Nicole, first wife Gwen Stefani, current wife Nora and their son Ralph, who will grow up to avenge his father’s untimely death.
Also, I sincerely hope his son gets that vengeance.
[via The Star Tribune]
Hiroshi Yamauchi, the man who built Nintendo, dies aged 85
William Moggridge, portable computer and human interaction trailblazer, dies at 69
The next time you hinge open that notebook PC and smile at a feature that makes it easier to use, give a thought to Bill Moggridge, who passed away Saturday from cancer at the age of 69. The pioneering designer invented the modern clamshell design seen in all modern laptops, and is also viewed as the father of human interaction software design.
The Compass Computer he designed for Grid Systems with the screen folded over the keyboard appeared in 1981, flew on the space shuttle, and inspired virtually every notebook design since. Perhaps more importantly, when he tried to use the machine himself, Moggridge was exasperated with the difficulty and decided to take the human factor into account for software design. To that end, he engaged experts from fields like graphics design and psychology, and tried to "build empathy for the consumer into the product," according to former partner, Professor David Kelly. The pair merged their design firms to form Ideo in 1991, and worked with clients like Apple, Microsoft and Procter & Gamble, designing products like the first Macintosh mouse and Palm V handheld along the way.
In 2010, Moggridge became the director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York, and was a recipient of that institution's lifetime achievement award. He also won the Prince Philip Designer's Prize, the longest running award of its type in the UK, given for "a design career which has upheld the highest standards and broken new ground." See why that's true by going to Cooper-Hewitt's tribute video, right after break.
Continue reading William Moggridge, portable computer and human interaction trailblazer, dies at 69
William Moggridge, portable computer and human interaction trailblazer, dies at 69 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsPioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at 82
It's a story that we hoped we'd never have to report. Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on Earth's Moon, has died at the age of 82 after complications from heart surgery three weeks earlier. His greatest accomplishment very nearly speaks for itself -- along with help from fellow NASA astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, he changed the landscape of space exploration through a set of footprints. It's still important to stress his accomplishments both before and after the historic Apollo 11 flight, though. He was instrumental to the Gemini and X-series test programs in the years before Apollo, and followed his moonshot with roles in teaching aerospace engineering as well as investigating the Apollo 13 and Space Shuttle Challenger incidents. What more can we say? Although he only spent a very small portion of his life beyond Earth's atmosphere, he's still widely considered the greatest space hero in the US, if not the world, and inspired a whole generation of astronauts. We'll miss him.
[Image credit: NASA Apollo Archive]
Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt
Pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at 82 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsRay Bradbury dies at 91, our world is that much poorer
It's a sad day for science fiction fans everywhere, as Ray Bradbury has passed on at the age of 91. We'll always know him best as the author of Fahrenheit 451, but it's really massive legacy in short stories that defined his role in technology. Collections like The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles made it a point to illustrate technology's impact and to never let our gadgetry trample human nature. Appropriately, for all of his ability to envision the future, he was actually rather cautious about embracing it: he only reluctantly allowed e-books and was worried the world was rushing too quickly towards devices. The irony of paying tribute on a technology website to this trepidation isn't lost on us, but we sincerely appreciate Bradbury's literary legacy -- he kept us honest (and entertained) in an industry that sometimes needs a reality check. He'll be missed.
[Image credit: Alan Light, Flickr]
Ray Bradbury dies at 91, our world is that much poorer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsGoogle Wave reaches zero amplitude
We knew it was coming, but alas, the loss of Google Wave hits us anew now that the execution date has finally come. To say we fully grokked this platform would be untrue, but as we dug through its history to gather our thoughts, we realized what a misunderstood creature Wave really was. Released in 2009 with great fanfare and no shortage of Firefly references, the program meant well with its collaboration-friendly interface, emphasis on multimedia sharing and raft of third-party extensions such as real-time Swedish Chef translation. But while its heart was in the right place, the service sacrificed accessibility for intrigue, a distinct online identity for an early adopter sensibility. Thus, after the invite-only mystique wore off and talk of a Wave app store began to sound downright foolish, the program's future looked anything but rosy. But even a product this short-lived can have a legacy: in Wave's case, it could be making Google Plus seem downright approachable by comparison. And though this may be little consolation to those hardcore wavers -- few and far between as they may be -- the project's spirit will live on in the equally perplexing Apache Wave. RIP, Google Wave, we really hardly knew you.
Google Wave reaches zero amplitude originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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