John Carmack

John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is a widely recognized figure in the video game industry. A prolific programmer, Carmack co-founded id Software, a computer game development company, in 1991.

Free software

Carmack is a well-known advocate of open source software, and has repeatedly voiced his opposition to software patents, which he likens to "mugging someone"http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=151312&cid=12701745.

Related Topics:
Open source software - Software patent

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Carmack released the source code for Wolfenstein 3D in 1995 and the Doom source code in 1997. When the source code to Quake was leaked and circulated among the Quake community underground in 1996, a programmer unaffiliated with id Software used it to port Quake to Linux, and subsequently sent the patches to Carmack. Instead of pursuing legal action, id Software, at Carmack's behest, used the patches as the foundation for a company-sanctioned Linux port. id Software has since publicly released the source code to Quake as well as that to Quake 2 and most recently Quake 3, all under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Doom source code was also re-released under the GPL in 1999.

Related Topics:
''Quake'' community - Port ''Quake'' to Linux - Linux - GNU General Public License

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Carmack is also noted for his generous contributions to charities and gaming communities. Some of the recipients of Carmack's charitable contributions include his former high school, promoters of open source software, opponents of software patents, and game enthusiasts. In 1997 he gave away one of his Ferraris as a prize to the winner of the Quake "Red Annihilation" tournament, Dennis Fong.

Related Topics:
Charitable - 1997 - Ferrari - Dennis Fong

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