• Home
  • Stories
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health
      Bill Gates

      Next pandemic will be man-made, deadly – Bill Gates warns

      BMGF takes giant leap, expands Board as Econet Billionaire Masiyiwa makes the cut

      Does our foundation have too much influence? Here’s how I see it

      The doctor pronounced him dead in the car, they did not remove the corpse, they did not separate his wife fro him -Osita Chidoka

      The doctor pronounced him dead in the car, they did not remove the corpse, they did not separate his wife fro him -Osita Chidoka

      If you are a doctor planning Japa to the UK, you may end up in salve camp, says BBC report

      If you are a doctor planning Japa to the UK, you may end up in salve camp, says BBC report

      Good News: Nigerian Doctors suspend strike

      Good News: Nigerian Doctors suspend strike

      CAN, JNI meet Fed. Govt to reverse downward nutrition trend in Nigeria

      CAN, JNI meet Fed. Govt to reverse downward nutrition trend in Nigeria

      FG approves three additional orthopaedic hospitals

      FG approves three additional orthopaedic hospitals

    • Security
    • Travel
  • World
  • Africa
  • Humans of Abuja
  • Investigation
  • Development
  • Contact
Infactng
  • Home
  • Stories
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health
      Bill Gates

      Next pandemic will be man-made, deadly – Bill Gates warns

      BMGF takes giant leap, expands Board as Econet Billionaire Masiyiwa makes the cut

      Does our foundation have too much influence? Here’s how I see it

      The doctor pronounced him dead in the car, they did not remove the corpse, they did not separate his wife fro him -Osita Chidoka

      The doctor pronounced him dead in the car, they did not remove the corpse, they did not separate his wife fro him -Osita Chidoka

      If you are a doctor planning Japa to the UK, you may end up in salve camp, says BBC report

      If you are a doctor planning Japa to the UK, you may end up in salve camp, says BBC report

      Good News: Nigerian Doctors suspend strike

      Good News: Nigerian Doctors suspend strike

      CAN, JNI meet Fed. Govt to reverse downward nutrition trend in Nigeria

      CAN, JNI meet Fed. Govt to reverse downward nutrition trend in Nigeria

      FG approves three additional orthopaedic hospitals

      FG approves three additional orthopaedic hospitals

    • Security
    • Travel
  • World
  • Africa
  • Humans of Abuja
  • Investigation
  • Development
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Infactng
No Result
View All Result

How GIF Creator Died at 74, Battling COVID-19

March 24, 2022

GIF creator, Steve Wilhite.

GIF – The creator of popular image format, Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), Steve Wilhite, died on Wednesday at age 74 after battling COVID-19 complications, his wife, Kathaleen Wilhite told newsmen.

Born on March 4th, 1948, Wilhite spawned millions of memes via his invention of the humble GIF, a bitmap image format that tends to express more emotion than ordinary still image. Through Steve’s creation in 1987, GIF are graphical representations that are more emotive than pictures but less when compared to video clips, especially in length.

The Computer Scientist and GIF innovator contracted COVID-19 on March 1, 2022, shortly after which his wife also tested positive for the deadly virus.

“I think the first GIF was the picture of a plane. It was a long time ago,” Steve told the Daily Dot in a rare interview via Facebook in May 2012.

“It came on suddenly. He woke up one morning and he said, ‘Honey, I don’t feel good. I don’t feel good at all.’ And he was running a fever, throwing up so badly. And then the next day he started coughing badly,” Kathaleen told reporters in Ohio over the phone Wednesday night.

Also feeling sick from COVID-19, Kathaleen arranged for the GIF creator to be taken to a hospital near their home in Milford, Ohio, where he was treated with antibiotics before being placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Popular Post: Hillsong Church founder resigns over allegations of misconduct involving women

According to her, she couldn’t see him because of her diagnosis. She recounted that Steve was ultimately placed in a coma while she tested negative at about March 10 and was able to be by his bedside.

She was later allowed to go home until 4days after when she received a call from the hospital. Steve didn’t make it.

Steve Wilhite’s team at CompuServe developed the GIF in 1987, years before the format became a signature feature of the early web and recently a go-to means for exchanging emotive jokes, memes and reactions on social media.

In 2013, he received a Webby Lifetime Achievement award, using the occasion to settle a long-running humorous debate about the proper pronunciation of the acronym. It’s pronounced “jif,” he communicated — via the use of a GIF.

“Even with all his accomplishments, he remained a very humble, kind, and good man,” Wilhite’s obituary read.

There is hardly a smartphone user in the world today that has not heard about GIF. If they know the right pronunciation of GIF is another question. However, everyone would have seen, interacted with or even shared a GIF at one time or the other before Steve passed.

Share121Tweet76Share30
Lucky Ekpenriebe

Lucky Ekpenriebe

Related Posts

2023 presidential candidates Tinubu, Atiku, Obi
Features

Election: Olanipekun, 49 other lawyers to defend Tinubu’s victory

March 7, 2023

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Wole Olanipekun, will lead 49 other lawyers to defend the victory of the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 20230 presidential election tribunal. Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) alongside...

Bill Gates
News

India to become world’s cheapest 5G market – Bill Gates

March 7, 2023

The Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Bill Gates, has said India will soon become one of the “cheapest 5G markets” in the world, Asia One reports.  The Microsoft co-founder, on Tuesday, said that no country...

Professor Saheed Aderinto: The $300,000 Dan David Prize-Winning Historian
Opinion

Professor Saheed Aderinto: The $300,000 Dan David Prize-Winning Historian

February 28, 2023

"To all young and up-and-coming people out there—how hard are you working towards extraordinary rewards that don’t exist today, but will emerge tomorrow? Do you spend more on depreciables like cars, owambe, clothes, and phones, than on appreciables like...

Olayode congratulates Akinlade, says he’s a record breaker
News

Olayode congratulates Akinlade, says he’s a record breaker

February 28, 2023

From Seun Akioye, Abuja The newly elected member of the House of Representatives, representing Yewa/Ipokia federal constituency in Ogun state, Hon. Akinlade Abiodun Isiaq, has been described as a record breaker in the state after winning his fourth term...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

  • Election: Olanipekun, 49 other lawyers to defend Tinubu’s victory March 7, 2023
  • India to become world’s cheapest 5G market – Bill Gates March 7, 2023
  • Professor Saheed Aderinto: The $300,000 Dan David Prize-Winning Historian February 28, 2023
  • Olayode congratulates Akinlade, says he’s a record breaker February 28, 2023
  • As Kogi governor fights for masses over naira redesign, court forfeits 14 houses he allegedly stole from same masses February 22, 2023

Categories

  • Africa (12)
  • Agriculture (3)
  • Agriculture (12)
  • Arts & Culture (29)
  • Business (220)
  • Cover (22)
  • COVER STORY (56)
  • Development (25)
  • ENDSARS PROTESTS (39)
  • Features (11)
  • Health (79)
  • Humans of Abuja (5)
  • Investigation (8)
  • Law (15)
  • News (756)
  • Obituary (20)
  • Opinion (33)
  • Politics (170)
  • Security (182)
  • Stories (339)
  • Travel (6)
  • World (42)

Popular

  • Six years pregnancy: A Miracle too hard to believe

    Six years pregnancy: A Miracle too hard to believe

    467 shares
    Share 187 Tweet 117
  • Akindele Oluwaseun: ‘Crying Teacher’ who receive over N1m donation and gave it all out

    378 shares
    Share 151 Tweet 95
  • How first female combat Pilot was killed

    361 shares
    Share 144 Tweet 90
  • Army throws out ‘nosey’ editor from own platform

    361 shares
    Share 144 Tweet 90
  • AGRA’s Greatest Achievement Has Been to Give Farmers Choices – Andrew Cox

    369 shares
    Share 156 Tweet 89

  • Contact
  • News

© 2020 Infactng – Investigative Journalism

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Stories
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health
    • Security
    • Travel
  • World
  • Africa
  • Humans of Abuja
  • Investigation
  • Development
  • Contact