Dave Cutler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dave Cutler
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Cutler in 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, born on March 13, 1942, is a famous American computer expert. He created many important computer programs called operating systems. These systems help computers run smoothly. Some of his most well-known creations include Microsoft Windows NT and several systems for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), like RSX-11M, VAXELN, and VMS.
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Early Life and Education
Cutler was born in Lansing, Michigan, and grew up in DeWitt, Michigan. He went to Olivet College in Michigan and finished his studies in 1965. After college, he started working for a company called DuPont.
Beyond Computers
Besides his work with computers, Cutler is also a big fan of auto racing. He even competed in the Atlantic Championship from 1996 to 2002. His best finish was 8th place at the Milwaukee Mile race in 2000.
Cutler is also a member of the Computer Science Department at the University of Washington. He holds at least 20 patents, which are special rights for his inventions. In 1994, he was chosen as a member of the National Academy of Engineering because of his amazing work designing successful operating systems.
Working at DuPont (1965 to 1971)
Cutler's first experience with computers happened at DuPont. He was asked to create a computer simulation model for a customer. He used a special computer language called GPSS-3 on an IBM model 7044 computer. This project made him very interested in how computers and their operating systems actually worked.
Working at Digital Equipment Corporation (1971 to 1988)
Cutler left DuPont in 1971 to follow his passion for computer systems. He joined Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and worked at their main office in Maynard, Massachusetts.
Creating the VMS Operating System
In 1975, DEC started a big project to design a new, more powerful computer. At the same time, Cutler and two other experts, Dick Hustvedt and Peter Lipman, were chosen to lead the project to create a brand-new operating system for this computer.
These two projects worked closely together from the very beginning. Their hard work led to the creation of the VAX-11/780 superminicomputer and the VAX/VMS operating system. VMS became a very important and widely used system.
The PRISM and MICA Projects
In 1986, DEC began working on a new type of computer processor called reduced instruction set computer (RISC). Cutler was chosen to lead the PRISM project, which aimed to develop this new RISC machine. The operating system for PRISM was called MICA. It was designed to be a next-generation system that could also work with Unix and VMS programs.
However, DEC had many expensive projects going on at the same time. Because of this, the PRISM project was stopped in 1988. Even so, the ideas from PRISM later helped create DEC's Alpha family of computer systems.
Cutler's View on Unix
David Cutler is known for not being a fan of the Unix operating system. One person who worked with him said that Cutler saw Unix as his "lifelong foe." He believed Unix was not well-designed because many different people worked on it without one clear vision. He always wanted to create better systems than Unix.
Working at Microsoft (1988 – Present)
Cutler joined Microsoft in October 1988. He then led the team that developed Windows NT, which was a very important operating system for Microsoft.
Developing Windows NT
After creating Windows NT, Cutler worked on making it compatible with DEC's 64-bit Alpha computers. He also helped develop Windows 2000. When Windows on Alpha computers was no longer supported, he played a key role in making Windows work on AMD's new 64-bit AMD64 architecture. He was involved in the releases of Windows XP Pro x64 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 x64.
In August 2006, Cutler started working on Microsoft's Live Platform. He was given the special title of Senior Technical Fellow at Microsoft, which is a very high honor for engineers.
Working on Microsoft Azure
At a conference in 2008, Microsoft announced the Azure Services Platform. This was a new cloud-based operating system. Cutler was mentioned as a lead developer on this big project, working alongside Amitabh Srivastava.
Helping Create the Xbox One
In January 2012, Microsoft confirmed that Cutler had moved from the Windows Azure team to the Xbox team. In May 2013, Microsoft announced the Xbox One gaming console. Cutler was recognized for his work in developing the main operating system for this new gaming device. He focused on creating a special, super-fast version of Microsoft's Hyper-V Host OS just for the Xbox One.
Awards and Recognition
- In 2007, he was recognized as a National Medal of Technology and Innovation Laureate. He received this award on September 29, 2008, at a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C.
- On April 16, 2016, he was honored as a Computer History Museum Fellow at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
