He went on to found several tech companies and to launch groundbreaking products, including the voice-recognition system Interpath Inc. in 1981, McAfee in 1988, and the instant messaging pioneer Tribal Voice in 1996.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

He went on to found several tech companies and launch groundbreaking products, including a voice recognition system Interpath in 1981, McAfee in 1988, and the instant messaging pioneer Tribal Voice in 1996.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

It not only created the hand-held computer category and the first workable handwriting-recognition system, it also pioneered the whole idea of doing digital tasks -- including e-mail and Internet browsing -- on a device other than the PC.

WSJ: Technology Makes Advances in Decade