this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2024
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[–] 1984@lemmy.today 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I guessing he never become rich, despite having an enormous impact on the tech landscape.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

If anyone thinks that’s how capitalism works, I have a bridge to sell you.

[–] const_void@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

No but others surely got rich off of his work

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago
[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 1 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


On Thursday, Internet pioneer Vint Cerf announced that Dr. David L. Mills, the inventor of Network Time Protocol (NTP), died peacefully at age 85 on January 17, 2024.

The announcement came in a post on the Internet Society mailing list after Cerf was informed of David's death by Mills' daughter, Leigh.

In a digital environment where computers and servers are located all over the world, each with its own internal clock, there's a significant need for a standardized and accurate timekeeping system.

In the 1970s, during his tenure at COMSAT and involvement with ARPANET (the precursor to the Internet), Mills first identified the need for synchronized time across computer networks.

As detailed in an excellent 2022 New Yorker profile by Nate Hopper, Mills faced significant challenges in maintaining and evolving the protocol, especially as the Internet grew in scale and complexity.

His work highlighted the often under-appreciated role of key open source software developers (a topic explored quite well in a 2020 xkcd comic).


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