Phil Goldman
Encyclopedia
Phillip York "Phil" Goldman (July 17, 1964 – December 26, 2003) was an American engineer and entrepreneur best known for co-founding WebTV.
, Goldman attended San Mateo High School
graduating in 1982. He graduated first in his engineering class, Phi Beta Kappa, from Princeton University
in 1986 http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee380/9697fall/node5.html, in a class that also included Jeff Bezos
and David Hitz
, founder of NetApp. He served as chair of Princeton's Computer Science Advisory Council, and in 1998, Goldman donated $2 million to his alma mater to endow a chair, becoming the youngest alumnus ever to do so.
Goldman would go on to hold 19 patents, and had 30 more pending at the time of his death.
, where he and Erich Ringwald wrote Multifinder (originally called Twitcher) for the Macintosh operating system. Steve Perlman
and Bruce Leak
were also working for Apple at the time: Steve in the Advanced Technology Group, and Bruce working on Quickdraw and Quicktime. All three eventually left Apple, Perlman founding Replay Networks, Phil going to General Magic, and Bruce founding Rocket Science Games.
In 1995, the three founded Artemis Research, which became WebTV Networks, Inc., offering a dialup thin client
sold to consumers on the basis of ease-of-use and modest cost.
WebTV was literally a Silicon Valley
garage startup, having been founded in half of a storage building for the Museum of American Heritage on Alma Street in Palo Alto. Two early employees of Artemis who were also from Apple were Andy Rubin
and Joe Britt, who would be two of the founders of Danger, Inc. (originally Danger Research). WebTV leveraged their limited startup funds, provided in part by Microsoft
co-founder Paul Allen
, by licensing a reference design for the appliance to Sony
and Philips
. Eventually other companies would also become licensees and WebTV would profit on the monthly service fees. After 22 months, the company was sold to Microsoft for $425 million, with each of the three founders receiving $64 million.
Even after the sale of WebTV to Microsoft, the three founders remained in management positions with the company. Goldman left in 2002 to found Mailblocks
, Inc., an e-mail provider using whitelisting to fight spam
.
, but the city refused him permission. In contrast, his long hours lifting weights at the gym and fastidious diet earned him the nickname "Fat-Free Phil."
Goldman's house rabbit
, a gray dwarf, became the unofficial mascot of General Magic. Named "Bowser", it moved to WebTV Networks when Goldman did, roaming the halls, offices and conference rooms, sometimes chewing on cables. The programmers at WebTV adopted "Bowser" as the code name for their browser.
Goldman also served as a director of BraveKids, a charity that uses the internet to provide information and support for families of children with serious illnesses.
Goldman died of heart failure on December 25, 2003 age 39 at his home in Los Altos Hills, California
. He is survived by wife Susan Rayl and their two children, Sydney and Josephine.
Early life
Growing up in San Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, Goldman attended San Mateo High School
San Mateo High School
San Mateo High School is an American National Blue Ribbon comprehensive four-year public high school in San Mateo, California serving grades 9–12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District....
graduating in 1982. He graduated first in his engineering class, Phi Beta Kappa, from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1986 http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee380/9697fall/node5.html, in a class that also included Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...
and David Hitz
David Hitz
David Hitz is an American engineer. In 1992, he and James Lau founded NetApp, where he became an executive vice president.A graduate of Deep Springs College, David earned a BSE from Princeton University and went on to work as a senior engineer at Auspex and as an engineer at MIPS Computer...
, founder of NetApp. He served as chair of Princeton's Computer Science Advisory Council, and in 1998, Goldman donated $2 million to his alma mater to endow a chair, becoming the youngest alumnus ever to do so.
Goldman would go on to hold 19 patents, and had 30 more pending at the time of his death.
Career
After college, Goldman went to work for Apple ComputerApple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, where he and Erich Ringwald wrote Multifinder (originally called Twitcher) for the Macintosh operating system. Steve Perlman
Steve Perlman
Stephen G Perlman, OnLive founder, president & CEO, is an entrepreneur and inventor devoted to pioneering Internet, entertainment, multimedia, consumer electronics and communications technologies and services...
and Bruce Leak
Bruce Leak
A graduate of Stanford University, Bruce Leak is best known as a co-founder of WebTV Networks, a company that enabled households to access the Internet through their televisions...
were also working for Apple at the time: Steve in the Advanced Technology Group, and Bruce working on Quickdraw and Quicktime. All three eventually left Apple, Perlman founding Replay Networks, Phil going to General Magic, and Bruce founding Rocket Science Games.
In 1995, the three founded Artemis Research, which became WebTV Networks, Inc., offering a dialup thin client
Thin client
A thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself...
sold to consumers on the basis of ease-of-use and modest cost.
WebTV was literally a Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
garage startup, having been founded in half of a storage building for the Museum of American Heritage on Alma Street in Palo Alto. Two early employees of Artemis who were also from Apple were Andy Rubin
Andy Rubin
Andrew Rubin is a technology pioneer, co-founder and former CEO of both Danger Inc., and Android Inc. He is currently Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, where he oversees development of Android, an open-source operating system for smartphones...
and Joe Britt, who would be two of the founders of Danger, Inc. (originally Danger Research). WebTV leveraged their limited startup funds, provided in part by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
co-founder Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
, by licensing a reference design for the appliance to Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
and Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
. Eventually other companies would also become licensees and WebTV would profit on the monthly service fees. After 22 months, the company was sold to Microsoft for $425 million, with each of the three founders receiving $64 million.
Even after the sale of WebTV to Microsoft, the three founders remained in management positions with the company. Goldman left in 2002 to found Mailblocks
MailBlocks
MailBlocks is an e-mail hosting service company based in the United States. It was acquired by AOL on August 3, 2004. Phil Goldman set up the firm.-Service:...
, Inc., an e-mail provider using whitelisting to fight spam
E-mail spam
Email spam, also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email , is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email. Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk. One subset of UBE is UCE...
.
Personal life
Goldman tried to build a Jack in the Box restaurant near his office in Los Altos, CaliforniaLos Altos, California
Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
, but the city refused him permission. In contrast, his long hours lifting weights at the gym and fastidious diet earned him the nickname "Fat-Free Phil."
Goldman's house rabbit
House rabbit
A house rabbit is a pet domestic rabbit kept for companionship that lives inside its owner's home. House rabbits can be trained to use a litter box, and can live as long as 8-10 years when properly cared for....
, a gray dwarf, became the unofficial mascot of General Magic. Named "Bowser", it moved to WebTV Networks when Goldman did, roaming the halls, offices and conference rooms, sometimes chewing on cables. The programmers at WebTV adopted "Bowser" as the code name for their browser.
Goldman also served as a director of BraveKids, a charity that uses the internet to provide information and support for families of children with serious illnesses.
Goldman died of heart failure on December 25, 2003 age 39 at his home in Los Altos Hills, California
Los Altos Hills, California
Los Altos Hills is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 7,922 at the 2010 census. Located in Silicon Valley, Los Altos Hills is one of the wealthiest cities in the nation.-Strictly residential:...
. He is survived by wife Susan Rayl and their two children, Sydney and Josephine.