Ctrl-Alt-Del Inventor To Retire From IBM

wherley writes "AP reports that IBM'er David Bradley, who came up with the (in)famous Ctrl-Alt-Delete key combination, is retiring. The article mentions: 'At a 20-year celebration for the IBM PC, Bradley was on a panel with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and other tech icons. The discussion turned to the keys. 'I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous,' Bradley said. Gates didn't laugh. The key combination also is used when software, such as Microsoft's Windows operating system, fails'." We featured a story on Bradley a few months back.

Comments

If it weren't for this guy

[Idou]

I would be staring at blue screen all day at work.

Thanks . . . I think . . .

Ownership...

[telstar]

Don't worry ... even if Bradley invented it, and Gates made it famous ... someone will be granted a patent for it a few years from now.

*jealous*

[SinaSa]

This is the only guy on the planet who can pick up girls in an internet cafe. Just walk in, smooth tone, slow walk.

"You know I invented CTRL ALT DEL?"

Re:*jealous*

[Anonymous Coward]

Especially if he tells them: "I used this combination because it is easy to do with one hand. I can even do it in the dark."

Re:*jealous*

[gad_zuki!]

>"You know I invented CTRL ALT DEL?"

You just know that when he does try that line the girl will either be a mac user or still be running Win98 and the inevitable explanation will be even dorkier. Best to stick with, "I'm highly paid in the tech sector." Avoid saying 'programmer,' wear clean pants, and shower!

Now

[Popageorgio]

So Bill, in a clever move, made us push this combination when we log into Windows, conditioning us to expect good things.

Wait, when we push it, it puts me in Windows...so I'm still associating bad things here.

Yeah Yeah Yeah

[smu johnson]

Yeah... I lost my job cause we were trained to use CTRL-ALT-DELETE to get into some S$S+3M hacking tools for NT but tried it on Linux for a web server computer and not only lost the company a lot of money, but my job as well... :(

Credit

[decipher_saint]

He should also be credited with solving thousands of Windows support calls...

"Well, I just don't know... Have you tried rebooting?"

New Windows Keyboard

[patdabiker]

You know you rely on the ctrl alt del keys if you use windows. About time someone made a keyboard fit to your needs.

Why that order?

[midshipman_geek]

Why not Alt-Ctrl-Delete or Delete-Alt-Control?

Not that we can change it now...

Three Finger Salute?

[Xiar Prime]

The most I ever give to Windows is one finger.

screw that - give me Mac OS X

[commodoresloat]

Command-Control-Power. Now that's a three-finger salute! The force reboot is where the manliness of the Mac really shines through -- all three keys signify dominance. Linux and windows users have to use the hippy-dippy "alt" key, as in alt.sex and alt.drugs, combined with the "delete" or "backspace" key to signify a total lack of confidence in their own decisions. You wussies don't even have a command key!!!

Re:screw that - give me Mac OS X

[Justin205]

You wussies don't even have a command key!!!

As a OSX lover, I should laugh...
As a Linux lover, I should be slightly ticked off...
As a Windows disliker, I should roll on the floor while laughing...

So I'll settle for a cross stare, while I laugh (2x) and roll on the floor.

Re:screw that - give me Mac OS X

[piranha(jpl)]

My favorite mnemonic for that key combination is Control-Flower-Power.

Old developers don't retire ...

[Dukael_Mikakis]

... they just reboot.

The stuff legends are made of!

[Tokerat]

"I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous," Bradley said. Gates didn't laugh.

Wow, my hero!

Re:Why only that combination?

[!3ren]

You would think it would be difficult to hit accientally, but my cat appears to be the exact length for just that on my keyboard... _and_ she likes to walk towards the numpad afterwards, hitting enter.
I think she has noticed how my head turns red and I leap around now. Stimuli->Response!

Only in Windows...

[mark-t]

The OS where you press Ctrl-Alt-Del to log in, and use the "Start Menu" to shut down.

Real Linux Administrators

[codepunk]

One of the first thing a "REAL" linux administrator does is to disable that functionality in the hint, "inittab" . Change the binding to something like echo "Simulating stupid MCSE computer repair"

Billy better not laugh

[djupedal]

but Bill made it famous

• blue screen
• DLL hell
• Outlook mail virus
• and then it crashed, and I wasn't doing anything!
• guess I have to reinstall the system
• do you really, really, really want to quit?
• where do you want to go today?
• and then Windows just quit!
• I only use Windows at work
• I hate Windows
• microsoft sucks

He's not retiring

[K-Man]

He's just rebooting.

Thanks a lot.

[Onikuma]

If he hadn't come up with this, just maybe, Bill Gates would have had to write software that was somewhat reliable.

Re:if only it always worked

[PacoTaco]

Sometimes computers become so wedged that even pulling the power cable won't work. You have to open the case and pull the processor off the motherboard when that happens.

Bill?

[Idou]

Maybe if you learned to laugh at Windows' mistakes, you could be happy all the time?

Destroy microsoft.

[www.sorehands.com]

If he got a patent on it, and microsoft was charged $.01 per use, Microsoft would be out of business from all the crashes.

Re:if only it always worked

[tankdilla]

The processor might burn though. I pour water on it first, just to be safe.

Re:if only it always worked

[ChaoticLimbs]

I immerse the entire computer in liquid nitrogen as fast as I can in order to keep the processor from overheating. Then I pick up all the little pieces and put them back through the holes in the case they came out of and shake gently.

Re:Lisp machines

[Scarblac]

This combination lives on in Emacs, where it means "move cursor right".