Saver of idle moments and computers without a single game installed, Solitaire has become the companion of many people throughout the world. The application installed on Windows operating systems It is almost as iconic as the brand itself created by Bill Gates and its history dates back to almost 35 years in the past.
It was in 1988 when Wes Cherry arrived at the Microsoft offices as an intern and his main objective during that stage was to become familiar with one of the most promising companies in the world. It was then when he decided to start programming with the company’s systems to get to know them more in depth and the result of his work was called Klondike Solit aire
“I had played a similar solitaire game on Mac instead of studying for finals in college and wanted a version for myself on Windows. The code isn’t much… the only slightly interesting thing is the optimizations I made to make it card dragging worked without a problem. In those days, getting a pixel into the EGA buffer was like taking out a hammer and chisel and chipping away at silicon for an eternity.”
Cherry he pointed that he took that as a hobby in your free time with Windows 2.1 during the summer of 1988 and even innovated for the time, since “object-oriented programming was something new at the time and there was no C++ language available for Windows.” How did Microsoft find out about the existence of the Lonely? It was due to Bogus Software, a server that served as a meeting point for programmers to learn about the system’s API.
“A program manager on the Windows team saw it and decided to include it in Windows 3.0. It became clear that they wouldn’t pay me other than supplying me with an IBM XT to fix some bugs during the school year, which see med perfect at the time and still It seems that way to me today,” clarifies Cherry. Because yes, despite the fact that she made such a contribution, He didn’t see a single cent for his work
Pipe Dream It became another of the common works of the Windows package installed in millions of homes around the world and its mechanics consisted of ensuring that water circulated through as many pipes as possible. Cherry gave shape to his plumbing project and Microsoft presented him with an offer that was up to the task.
“I wrote a version of Pipe Dream for Windows in my spare time that was included in one of Microsoft’s entertainment packages. They paid me a few thousand dollars in stock for it.”
Later, that large sum only increased and he used the money to purchase a boat. The author continued working at Microsoft until 1999
Due to the popularity of the anecdote that Microsoft did not pay him for the creation of the LonelyCherry himself jokes about how several people have given him a penny to make up for it.
“Some people have paid me a penny as a joke. I would receive them by mail or in person if someone introduced me as the author of Solitaire and the obligatory conversation about the lack of royalties arose. I think I’m about 8 cents now.”
He made that comment eight years ago, so it is clear that his fortune has not grown too much, nor does it luckily depend on donations. His work as a programmer is almost completely over, as now he “doesn’t do much programming other than a bit of C/C++ programming, mainly for embedded controllers for various cider making equipment.”
In iGamesNews | The most anticipated games for Xbox of 2024
In iGamesNews | Xbox Game Pass after six years: the good, the not so good and the bad