{"id":282695,"date":"2025-06-09T02:30:46","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T02:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/apple-2\/michael-tsai-blog-bill-atkinson-rip\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T02:30:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T02:30:46","slug":"michael-tsai-blog-bill-atkinson-rip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=282695","title":{"rendered":"Michael Tsai – Blog – Bill Atkinson, RIP"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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Facebook<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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We regret to write that our beloved husband, father, and stepfather Bill Atkinson passed away on the night of Thursday, June 5th, 2025, due to pancreatic cancer. He was at home in Portola Valley in his bed, surrounded by family. We will miss him greatly, and he will be missed by many of you, too. He was a remarkable person, and the world will be forever different because he lived in it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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One of the great heroes in not just Apple history, but computer history. If you want to cheer yourself up, go to Andy Hertzfeld\u2019s Folklore.org site and (re-)read all the entries about Atkinson. Here\u2019s just one, with Steve Jobs inspiring Atkinson to invent the roundrect<\/a>. Some of his code and algorithms are among the most efficient and elegant ever devised. The original Macintosh team was chock full of geniuses, but Atkinson might have been the most essential to making the impossible possible under the extraordinary technical limitations of that hardware.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

See also: Silicon Valley Pioneers<\/a> and The Famous Computer Cafe Part 1<\/a> and Part 2<\/a> (via Matt Sephton<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Previously:<\/p>\n

Bill Atkinson<\/a> History<\/a> HyperCard<\/a> Mac<\/a> MacPaint<\/a> QuickDraw<\/a> Rest in Peace<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>
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