Dave Cutler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dave Cutler
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Cutler at work on Microsoft Azure (2008)
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| Born | March 13, 1942 Lansing, Michigan, United States
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Olivet College |
| Known for | Developing several widely-used commercial operating systems: Microsoft: Windows NT Digital Equipment Corporation: RSX-11M, VMS, VAXELN, MICA |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science Operating system design |
| Institutions | DuPont Digital Equipment Corporation Microsoft (Senior Technical Fellow) University of Washington |
David Neil Cutler Sr. (born March 13, 1942) is a famous American software engineer. He is known for creating several important computer operating systems. An operating system is the main software that makes a computer work, like Microsoft Windows NT or the systems for Digital Equipment Corporation's computers such as RSX-11M, VAXELN, and VMS.
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About Dave Cutler
Cutler was born in Lansing, Michigan and grew up in DeWitt, Michigan. He finished college at Olivet College, Michigan, in 1965. After that, he started working for a company called DuPont.
Dave Cutler holds at least 20 patents for his inventions. He also teaches computer science at the University of Washington.
Outside of computers, Cutler loves auto racing. He even raced in the Atlantic Championship from 1996 to 2002. His best finish was 8th place at the Milwaukee Mile in 2000.
In 1994, Cutler was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was because he designed and built very successful operating systems.
Early Work at DuPont (1965 to 1971)
Cutler's first experience with computers happened at DuPont. He had to use a computer program to create a computer simulation for a customer. This work made him very interested in how computers and their operating systems actually worked.
Digital Equipment Corporation (1971 to 1988)
In 1971, Cutler left DuPont to focus on computer systems. He joined Digital Equipment Corporation, often called DEC. He worked at DEC's main office in Maynard, Massachusetts.
Creating VMS
In 1975, DEC started a big project to build a new, powerful 32-bit computer. Cutler was chosen to lead the team that would create a brand new operating system for this computer. This new system was called VMS. It became a very important operating system for DEC's VAX computers.
PRISM and MICA Projects
Later, in 1986, DEC started working on a new type of computer processor called reduced instruction set computer (RISC). Cutler was put in charge of the PRISM project, which was about building this new RISC machine. His team also worked on MICA, the operating system for this new computer.
Even though the PRISM project was later stopped, its ideas helped create DEC's Alpha family of computer systems.
His View on Unix
Dave Cutler is known for not liking the Unix operating system very much. One person who worked with him said that Cutler thought Unix was a "junk operating program." He believed it was designed by many different people, which made it less organized. He always wanted to create better systems than Unix.
Microsoft (1988 – present)
In October 1988, Cutler left DEC and joined Microsoft. This was a big move, and he soon became a key leader in developing Microsoft Windows NT.
Windows NT and Beyond
Windows NT was a completely new operating system for Microsoft. Cutler helped make sure it could run on different types of computers, including DEC's 64-bit Alpha computers. He also worked on Windows 2000.
After the Alpha project ended, he helped make Windows work on AMD's new 64-bit computers (called AMD64). He was involved in the Windows XP Pro x64 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 x64 releases. Because of his amazing work, Microsoft gave him the special title of Senior Technical Fellow.
Microsoft Windows Azure
In 2008, Microsoft announced Azure Services Platform, which is a cloud-based operating system. Cloud computing means you use computer power and storage over the internet, instead of on your own computer. Dave Cutler was a main developer on this important project.
Microsoft Xbox
In 2012, Cutler joined the Xbox team at Microsoft. In 2013, when Microsoft announced the Xbox One console, it was revealed that Cutler helped create the main operating system for this new gaming device. He focused on making a super-fast and efficient version of Microsoft's Hyper-V Host OS just for the Xbox One.
Awards
- He was given the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2007. He received this award on September 29, 2008, at a special ceremony in Washington, DC.
- He was honored as a Computer History Museum Fellow on April 16, 2016, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
