Bob Frankston

Robert M. Frankston (born June 14, 1949) is an American software engineer and businessman who co-created, with Dan Bricklin, the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. Frankston is also the co-founder of Software Arts.[1]

Bob Frankston
BornJune 14, 1949 (age 70)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology (SB, MEng)
Known forCo-creator of VisiCalc

Early life and education

Frankston was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City in 1966. He earned a S.B degree in computer science and mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by a Master of Engineering degree computer science, also from MIT.[2][3]

Career

Following his work with Dan Bricklin, Frankston later worked at Lotus Software and Microsoft.[4]

Frankston became an outspoken advocate for reducing the role of telecommunications companies in the evolution of the Internet, particularly with respect to broadband and mobile communications.[5][6] He coined the term "Regulatorium" to describe what he considers collusion between telecommunication companies and their regulators that prevents change.[7][8]

Awards and recognition
  • Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (1994) "for the invention of VisiCalc, a new metaphor for data manipulation that galvanized the personal computing industry"
  • MIT William L. Stewart Award for co-founding the M.I.T. Student Information Processing Board (SIPB).
  • The Association for Computing Machinery Software System Award (1985)
  • The MIT LCS Industrial Achievement Award
  • The Washington Award (2001) from the Western Society of Engineers (with Bricklin)
  • In 2004, he was made a Fellow of the Computer History Museum "for advancing the utility of personal computers by developing the VisiCalc electronic spreadsheet."[9]

References
  1. Kenneth N. Gilpin; Todd S. Purdum (April 10, 1985). "Former Friendly Rivals Joining Forces at Lotus". The New York Times.
  2. "Bob Frankston - bio". Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  3. "Bob Frankston". CHM. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  4. John Markoff (March 11, 2005). "Microsoft Acquires PC Pioneer's Company". The New York Times.
  5. Bob Frankston. The 2 Trillion Dollar Mistake. Presentation at Emerging Communications Conference 2008.
  6. "Ambient Connectivity". Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  7. "The Regulatorium and the Moral Imperative". Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  8. Doc Searls. "The Infrastructure Dynamic". Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  9. "Bob Frankston". Computer History Museum. Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
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