Paul Allen's passions: Rock n 'roll, sports and philanthropy

SEATTLE (AP) – Personal computers, conservation, professional football, rock'n'roll and rockets: Paul G. Allen could not have asked for a better way to spend, invest and save money. donate the billions that he has raised during the founding of Microsoft boy friend Bill Gates.

Allen has used the wealth gained by Microsoft – whose Windows operating system is installed on most of the world's desktops – to invest in other ambitions, ranging from the fight against climate change to the brain research, looking for innovative solutions to solve some of the biggest challenges in the world.

"If it has the potential to do good, then we should do it," said his friend, quoted by Gates.

Allen died Monday in Seattle of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to his company Vulcan Inc. He was 65 years old. Just two weeks ago, Allen, owner of the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, announced that the same cancer he was back in 2009.

Gates, who met Allen at a private school in Seattle, said he was sorry he had lost one of his "oldest and dearest friends".

"The personal computer would not have existed without him," Gates said in a statement, adding that Allen's "second act" as a philanthropist was "focused on improving of people's lives and building communities in Seattle and around the world. "

During his lifetime, Allen has spent more than $ 2 billion on efforts to improve education, science, technology, conservation and communities.

"Those fortunate enough to make great wealth should take advantage of it for the sake of humanity," Allen wrote several years ago, announcing that he was spending most of his fortune to works of charity. He added that this promise "reminds us all that our net worth is ultimately defined not in dollars but according to the quality of our services to others".

Allen, who played the guitar, built a sparkling pop culture museum in his hometown to show his love of rock 'n' roll and funded underwater expeditions that made a splash. Major discoveries of wrecks, including an American aircraft carrier lost during World War II.

However, in a way, Allen also respected the nickname that Wired Magazine had already given him: "The Accidental Zillionaire". He is a programmer who invented Microsoft's name and made a significant contribution to its initial success, but was overshadowed by his partner's acerbic intelligence and business acumen.

During the founding of the company, for example, Allen let Gates ask him to separate from the 60-40 shareholders. A few years later, he chose an even smaller share, 36%, at the insistence of Gates. Reflecting at that time, Allen concluded in his brief that he might have had more trouble haggling, but that he realized that "my heart does not look good. was not there. I have therefore accepted ".

Allen was born in Seattle. After graduating from the city's private Lakeside School, where he met Gates, Allen spent two years at Washington State University. The two friends both left the university to pursue the future they envisioned: a world with a computer in every home.

"There would be no Microsoft as we know it without Paul Allen," said Rob Enderle, a long-time technology analyst, also a consultant for Allen.

Allen and Gates founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and their first product was a computer language for the Altair hobby kit personal computer, providing enthusiasts with a simple way to program and learn more about it. operate the machine.

After Gates and Allen had some success in selling their programming language, MS-Basic, Seattle residents moved to Bellevue, Washington, in 1979, not far from his future home in Redmond. .

The big break from Microsoft took place in 1980, when IBM Corp. decided to switch to personal computers and asked Microsoft to provide the operating system.

Gates and Allen agreed, even though they did not have any to offer. To meet the needs of IBM, they spent $ 50,000 for the purchase of an operating system called QDOS from another Seattle startup, but left no aside the fact that they had aligned IBM as a customer. Finally, the product developed by Microsoft has become the heart of IBM PCs and their clones, which has allowed Microsoft to position itself dominantly in the PC sector.

Early versions of two classic Microsoft products, Microsoft Word and the Windows operating system, were released in 1983. In 1991, Microsoft's operating systems were used by 93% of the personal computers in the world .

Allen was senior vice president of research and development of Microsoft's new products until 1983, when he resigned after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.

But Allen left Microsoft knowing that he and Gates would be forever linked in the history of technology.

"We were extraordinary partners," Allen wrote. "Despite our differences, few co-founders had shared such a unified vision – perhaps Hewlett and Packard and Sergey Brin and Google's Larry Page, but the list was short."

After leaving Microsoft, Allen would remain interested in technology, particularly through the field of artificial intelligence, who remembered having piqued his interest while he was still a teenager after reading "I , "Robot", a science fiction book by Isaac Asimov.

"From my youth, I had never stopped thinking about the future," Allen wrote in his 2011 memoir, "Idea Man."

In 1986, along with his sister Jody Allen, Allen founded Vulcan, which oversees its business and philanthropic efforts. He founded the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Stratolaunch Aerospace Corporation, which built a colossal aircraft designed to launch satellites into orbit. He has also supported research on nuclear fusion energy and numerous technology start-ups.

Allen also funded the SpaceShipOne of Burt Rutan, designer of the non-conformist aerospace, which became in 2004 the first privately developed manned spaceship to reach space.

Sir Richard Branson has licensed the SpaceShipOne technology for Virgin Galactic, which tests the following design to transport tourists short jumps in the lower regions of space.

Yet Allen has never failed to replicate Microsoft's success. According to Enderle, what he always seemed to miss, was another Bill Gates to help him achieve his dreams.

"It was a decent engineer who had an idea just once in his life, and it was a great idea," said Enderle.

When Allen published his memoirs, he let "60 minutes" at his home on Lake Washington, over Seattle's water, revealing collections ranging from Jimi Hendrix's guitar in Woodstock to vintage warplanes. and a 300-foot yacht with submarine.

"My brother was a remarkable person at all levels," said his sister Jody Allen in a statement. "Paul's family and friends had the chance to experience his spirit, warmth, generosity and deep concern," she added.

The influence of Paul Allen is deeply rooted in the cultural landscape of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, from the brilliant metal museum of popular culture designed by architect Frank Gehry to the center of D & C. Of the University of Washington that bears his name.

In 1988, at the age of 35, he bought the Portland Trail Blazers professional basketball team. He told The Associated Press that "for a true fan of the game, it's a dream come true".

He was also co-owner of Seattle Sounders FC, a major league football team, and had bought the Seattle Seahawks. Allen could sometimes be seen at parties or chatting in the locker room with players.

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Associated Press editors Michael Liedtke in San Francisco and Lisa Baumann in Seattle contributed to this report.