RIP David Boggs

For those to whom this name isn't familiar (particularly you young whippersnappers out there), Boggs developed the technology we know as Ethernet, a particularly useful tool for H/PC users from the early days of Windows CE.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/technology/david-boggs-dead.html

I had not known he was founder of 3Com, whose hardware I use to this day. Ethernet, or at least its bastardizations, is the only thing that gets DOS on-line.

Geez, 71...

Jake

My mother was the same age when she passed in 2012 from cancer.

That's another vintage handheld connection for Boggs. 3Com, of course, was the company from which Palm Inc spun off after the release of the Palm OS 2-based Palm Pilot, the last model with "Pilot" in its name.

I remember using a Ethernet PCI card from 3com long ago, I think. It should have been on a K6-II machine. I think it supported 10/100 Mbps. That was when I was using ADSL.

Edited by stingraze 2022-03-03 9:04 AM

Very sad, two generations of network engineers owe you their careers sir.

Well said. The improvements iin speed over the years is remarkable, the concept of packets encapsulating data, error correction, etc. I don't know how much of that was his doing... I get it mixed up with TCP/IP architecture....The twisted pair reverse polarity signal to cancel out noise was quite an innovation... I've memorized the color coding for RJ45 plug ends... recently I found that the required isolation transformers can be purchased without the Jack, I hope to get rid of the large dongle on my NE 2000 pcmcia ethernet card. Yes, RIP... he's gone off to the big network in the cosmic "ethers"... perhaps he'll find a way to get connected with this sphere again (keep your vintage H/PC's warmed up. Must have been so exciting back in the day!!