sad news. The main reason I switched to a Mac a few years ago is that I can use Unix on my laptop, without the pain and aggravation of Linux. I hope Ritchie gets the recognition and teary sendoffs that Jobs got, although I doubt it.
"Unix and C's direct and spiritual descendants cannot be counted, but include Linux, Android, Mac OS, iOS, JavaScript, C++, the genius of the internet and a world full of developers. Likewise, legal restrictions on how Bell Labs and its parent, AT&T, could commercially exploit software — an antitrust ruling prevented standard licensing — meant that the ideas and, often, the actual code underlying Unix and C became a de facto open system."