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Philippe Kahn

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Computer Tech

The Resume

    (March 16, 1952- )
    Born in Paris, France
    Credited with creating the first camera phone
    Pioneered wearable technology
    Founder of Borland (1982), Starfish Software (1995), LightSurf Technologies (1998), and Fullpower Technologies (2005)
    Took the first Cell-Phone Picture on June 11, 1997
    Holds over 230 patents internationally
    Net Worth: $2 Billion

Why he might be annoying:

    He feuded with Bill Gates.
    He was nicknamed 'the Barbarian.'
    He once was profiled in Time magazine sitting in a hot tub.
    He was ousted from his Borland CEO post by the board shortly after founding the company.
    His main motivation for jury-rigging a makeshift cell phone cam to photograph his newborn daughter Sophie was boredom (he was was stuck in the Northern California maternity ward with nothing to do because his wife wanted to give birth alone).
    He is indirectly responsible for selfies, Instagram, Snapchat filters, Facebook 'stories' and every other annoying, click happy cell phone app.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His mother was an Auschwitz survivor.
    He plays the flute.
    He is an avid seaman who has competed in several high-profile sailboat races.
    Under his direction, Borland became the first software company to offer domestic partners full benefits.
    He turned up in a July 1, 2010 Double Jeopardy question.
    His other patents have covered everything from artificial intelligence modeling, virtual reality, and medical technology.
    In 2000, Sharp used his technology to release the first commercially available integrated camera phone (they are now ubiquitous).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 35 Votes: 57.14% Annoying