Dave Plummer

Veteran Microsoft systems engineer (1990s–2000s). Creator of Windows Task Manager, ZIP folder support (Compressed Folders), and Windows Activation (product key verification for XP). Also ported 3D Pinball: Space Cadet. Worked on porting the Windows 95 shell to Windows NT across multiple CPU architectures (Intel, MIPS, Alpha, PowerPC). Self-taught programmer who started with a TRS-80 at age 11; wrote HyperCache shareware on Commodore 64 to fund his university education. Now runs a YouTube channel on retrocomputing and Windows internals.

Episodes

• Dave Plummer on Windows, Task Manager, and the Craft of Systems Programming — Lex Fridman Podcast #479