PC software pioneer Gary Kildall demonstrated CP/M, the first commercially successful personal computer operating system in Pacific Grove, California, in 1974. Following is the story of how his company, Digital Research Inc., established CP/M as an industry standard and its subsequent loss to a version from Microsoft that copied the look and feel of the DRI software. Early Days Gary Arlen Kildall was born to a family of Scandinavian descent in Seattle, Washington, in 1942. His inventive skills f...