CREATE
  • Technology
    • BIOTECH
    • COMMUNICATIONS
    • COMPUTING
    • IMAGING
    • MATERIALS
    • ROBOTICS
    • SOFTWARE
  • Industry
    • DEFENCE
    • INFRASTRUCTURE
    • INNOVATION
    • MANUFACTURING
    • POLICY
    • PROJECTS
    • TRANSPORT
  • Sustainability
    • ENERGY
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • RESOURCES
  • Community
    • CULTURE
    • PEOPLE
  • Career
    • EDUCATION
    • INSPIRATION
    • LEADERSHIP
    • TRENDS
  • About
    • CONTACT
    • SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
CREATE
  • Technology
    • BIOTECH
    • COMMUNICATIONS
    • COMPUTING
    • IMAGING
    • MATERIALS
    • ROBOTICS
    • SOFTWARE
  • Industry
    • DEFENCE
    • INFRASTRUCTURE
    • INNOVATION
    • MANUFACTURING
    • POLICY
    • PROJECTS
    • TRANSPORT
  • Sustainability
    • ENERGY
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • RESOURCES
  • Community
    • CULTURE
    • PEOPLE
  • Career
    • EDUCATION
    • INSPIRATION
    • LEADERSHIP
    • TRENDS
  • About
    • CONTACT
    • SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
CREATE
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology Computing

Stephen Wilhite, inventor of the GIF, dies at 74

Create Digital by Create Digital
March 24, 2022
in Computing
1 min read
0
Stephen Wilhite, inventor of the GIF, dies at 74

Stephen Wilhite, the computer scientist who created the GIF, has died at age 74 from COVID-19.

Wilhite is being recognised online as a man who single handedly changed the internet. He will be remembered for his intelligence, vision and a pioneer of computer science. 

“Steve was always coming up with new and better ways of doing thing [sic]. He will be remembered as a true visionary,” said a former colleague Dave Eastburn on Stephen’s online memorial. 

“I greatly admired his intelligence and perseverance as he consistently created software products that were woven into CompuServe’s tapestry of offerings for corporate, hobbyist, and home consumers,” said another former colleague Ty Wait. “I will always treasure having had the opportunity to have him as a colleague.”

It was in 1987 that Wilhite and his team at tech giant CompuServe invented the now famous GIF — decades before it became mainstream. 

Standing for Graphics Interchange Format, Wilhite created the GIF using a compression algorithm combined with image parameters, allowing for a computer to display a coloured image without taking up too much computer space. 

In 2013, Wilhite was awarded the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for his invention, where he used the opportunity to fiercely correct the pronunciation of “gif”.

“The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘jif.’ End of story,” explained Wilhite. 

Tags: computer sciencetechnologyGIF
Previous Post

Industry 4.0 is transforming the future of engineering practice and education

Next Post

How engineering is reshaping New South Wales’s Hunter Region

Create Digital

Create Digital

create tells the stories behind the latest trends, innovations and people shaping the engineering profession. Through our magazine, website, enewsletters and social media, we spread the word about all the ways engineers help create the world around us.

Next Post
How engineering is reshaping New South Wales’s Hunter Region

How engineering is reshaping New South Wales’s Hunter Region

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    WANT CREATE NEWS DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX? SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER.

    By subscribing to create you are also subscribing to Engineers Australia content.
    Please find our Terms and conditions here

    Create Digital is powered by Engineers Australia, the trusted voice of the engineering profession. We are the global home for engineering professionals renowned as leaders in shaping a sustainable world.
    • ABOUT US
    • CONTACT US
    • SITEMAP
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS
    • SUBSCRIBE

    © 2022 Create.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Technology
      • BIOTECH
      • COMMUNICATIONS
      • COMPUTING
      • IMAGING
      • MATERIALS
      • ROBOTICS
      • SOFTWARE
    • Industry
      • DEFENCE
      • INFRASTRUCTURE
      • INNOVATION
      • MANUFACTURING
      • POLICY
      • PROJECTS
      • TRANSPORT
    • Sustainability
      • ENERGY
      • ENVIRONMENT
      • RESOURCES
    • Community
      • CULTURE
      • PEOPLE
    • Career
      • EDUCATION
      • INSPIRATION
      • LEADERSHIP
      • TRENDS
    • About
      • CONTACT
      • SUBSCRIBE