Blake Krikorian, founder of Slingbox, died of an apparent heart attack while surfing near San Francisco. He was 48.
Krikorian sold his little invention, which allowed users to watch broadcast TV anytime anywhere, to Echostar in 2007 for about $400 million. Echostar's sister company Dish Network continues to use Sling as a hallmark of its TV-everywhere platform.
A restless tech entrepreneur, Krikorian went on to create the first Android app for Crestron 2010, which is how I got to know the Silicon Valley giant. At the time, he derided Apple for its one-app-at-a-time limitation, embracing Android as the superior platform for home control. He said back then:
In most cases, you basically have to close one app to get to the control app. And then you have to close down that app to launch another. The additional friction caused by those unnecessary steps detracts from the convenience I am trying to provide.
He told me then: “You can't ignore Android.”
He also said that tinkering with home automation was in his blood: “I cant help myself. Part of me says no, but I can’t stop”
Krikorian's friend and tech editor Kara Swisher captures Krikorian's spirit and his legacy in this piece about the “beloved Silicon Valley entrepreneur.”
He was, in a word, unstoppable.
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