Make History! Win Prizes! Who’s the Most Significant Person in the History of IT?

Who is the most significant person in the history of IT?

Why it’s Bill Gates, of course.

Ask anyone on the street who invented the computer, chances are they’ll say Bill Gates not George Stibitz or Konrad Zuse, much less Chuck Babbage.

Gates bestrides the digital world like a collosus.

No, no, it’s not Bill Gates. It’s Steve Jobs. Don’t we all love our iPods?

Wait. You gotta be kiddin’ me. What about Tim Berners Lee, father of the world wide web? He was knighted, after all.

I’m sorry. You’re all wrong. Don’t you remember Ken Olsen, patriarch of the minicomputer?

Please. Like who cares about minicomputers? What about Rear Admiral Grace Hopper who basically invented programming?

The most significant person in the history of IT?

Well . . .?

Let us know—in 150 words or less—who you think is the most significant person in the history of IT and you might be one of the five lucky (and talented) people who win an HP Photosmart R967 Digital Camera and have their pearls of wisdom published in CIO’s Oct. 1 20th Anniversary issue.

Of course, in order to win, you’ve got to register. And it might be smart to read the rules. And don’t forget the “Worst IT Disasters,” “Best IT Gadget,” and “Greatest IT Success Story” in the Making History blog. We’re still looking for those too.

Have fun. Enter once. Enter twice. Enter as many times as you like.