On Fri, Apr 28, 2000 at 02:44:00PM -0400, Handsfield, James H. wrote: > I just copied this from Dan Rosenbaum's Winletter: > > --------------------------- > Phil Katz > > If you ever downloaded a file, you met Phil Katz. Katz wrote the shareware > program PKZip <http://www.winzip.com>, far and away the most popular file > compression program. The program, written as a hobby in 1986, was part of > computer technology infrastructure, common as browsers would become. > > Katz was found dead the other day at the age of 37. He apparently lived a > troubled life; the Milwaukee medical examiner put the cause of death as > complications from chronic alcoholism. He was found in a hotel room holding > a bottle of alcohol, and five empty liquor bottles were also found in the > room. > > No commentary here. But his passing, which was under-reported, should be > noted.

Dr. Dobb's Journal online carried an obituary. The local Milwaukee paper had both an obituary and a more detailed article. Several online sites noted this as well, including Slashdot (http://slashdot.org/) and Kuro5hin (http://www.kuro5hin.org/), at which several details of Phil's life -- better and worse -- came out. PKZIP was a tremendously useful utility. It was saddening to learn both of Phil's death and his troubled life.

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