Of Wikis, SOAP and Tetris

Working on this story about new Microsoft employee Ward Cunningham, who came up with the original idea for the wiki, brought to mind another Microsoft employee known for inventing something perhaps less practical but probably more of a cultural phenomenon, at least in its heyday.

Alexey Pajitnov, a Russian computer programmer who created the game Tetris in the mid-1980s, has worked for the Redmond company since 1996. He's currently part of Microsoft's Zone group, which makes games that are available through the company's MSN service. (Pajitnov and SOAP co-author Don Box are also mentioned on the Tips For Ward at Microsoft wiki. ) Here's a story on Pajitnov that ran in Seattle Weekly a few years back. And to bring this full circle, here is the entry about Pajitnov on wikipedia, the online encyclopedia whose founders were inspired by Cunningham's concept.