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Bill Gates says farewell to his industry

MATT HARTLEY

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 3:03 PM EST 09/01/08

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  1. Geoff Wilson from Revelstoke, Canada writes: Can we put a garnish on his income until Vista works?
  2. eddie fitzgerald from toronto, Canada writes: Go gently into the night, Mr. Gates.

    Your contribution to all our lives is truly remarkable. Hopefully you have a fraction of that amount of success using your wealth and aptitude in other areas for humanity!
  3. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Gates will go down in history as one of the pillars in the rise of the computer age.

    Too bad Windows Vista will be his legacy....LOL.
  4. David Simon from Canada writes: Since Gates has written things will he now have to go on strike against NBC-Universal?
  5. P. Mueller from YVR, Canada writes: I agree with the garnish comment. Maybe a sprig of parsley?

    Alternately maybe we could garnishee his wages.

    Love him or hate him (and his company and his company's products), he has had a huge positive impact on the computer industry and by extension the world. He will be remembered like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison as a game-changer.

    Let's hope his humanitarian project has the same impact.
  6. Vern McPherson from writes: We have to admit Gates has had some limited success - hic :)

    When Windows 95 was launched there were serious probs with it. But they solved that. And they will solve the Vista kinks too. Until they do I ain't touching it.

    Seems he might have run out of ideas ? Or has it gotten stale for him in his advancing years ??
  7. Frank Black from Vancouver, Canada writes: He contributed, isn't that enough for the waysayers?
  8. Frank Black from Vancouver, Canada writes: After all He's just human like the rest of us...
  9. ghostofpatbuchanen buchanen from Canada writes: He ran an awesome monopoly.
  10. Frank Black from Vancouver, Canada writes: Or most of us...
  11. Denis Love from Canada writes: I don't use Visa as XP suits me fine. all programs have problems bbut lets not foget way back when a one MB hard drive could make a great door stopper. It's time after 30 years to do other things and his family's charities do great work for the poor. Way to go Mr. Gates
  12. Frank Black from Vancouver, Canada writes: He's still the largest shareholder though. That tell you something ?
  13. Mark M from Canada writes: In many years from now, when people say the name Bill Gates they won't be talking about Microsoft, they will be talking about his philanthropy. What he does in the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation will far exceed everything he accomplished at Microsoft, and he's accomplished alot (even for the Microsoft haters, you have to admit it)
  14. Raj Rama from Toronto, Canada writes: Bill Gates was the greatest Computer Entrepreneur of the 20th century, I hope he is the greatest philanthropist of the 21st. century. I agree with him when he had said, 'Is the rich world aware of how four billion of the six billion live? If we were aware, we would want to help out, we'd want to get involved.'

    I hope he can encourage Capitalism vs. Charity in Africa and in other developing countries.

    God speed Bill & Melinda!

    Raj
    Founder
    Canadians Against Substance Abuse
    www.casanow.ca
  15. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: Good riddance to Bill Gates. He will spend the rest of this life handing his money out in the hopes of buying a better image for himself in the history books.

    But those of us who have worked in IT going back to when Microsoft was born know all to well the incalculable damage he and his company have done to the software industry.

    Bill Gates has nothing to be proud of. He stifled innovation, his company produced absolutely nothing in the way of ground breaking research, and his only mission has always been to overcharge consumers for his products wherever and whenever possible.

    He is a man who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Nothing more.
  16. Frank Black from Vancouver, Canada writes: He is a man who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Nothing more.

    Jealousy must eat some folks alive within...
  17. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: To Raj, I feel ill reading your comment ' Bill Gates was the greatest Computer Entrepreneur of the 20th century'. How can you be so misguided?

    Who do you think invented the transistor? Who do you think invented the computer? Who do you think invented the basic concepts behind operating systems? Who do you think invented high-level coding languages? Who do you think invented hard drives? Who do you think invented the microprocessor? Who do you think invented the world-wide-web and web browsers? The list is long, and Bill Gates' name is nowhere to be seen.

    The real giants of the computer industry are a different breed than Bill Gates. They were (and are) men of science, outstanding engineers and dynamic entrepreneurs. All Bill Gates did was build a monopoly so that he could overcharge people for his poorly engineered software products.

    Get your facts right.
  18. Frank Black from Vancouver, Canada writes: Tom Wilson: Shame on you for your envy...
  19. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: ...where 'men' refers mankind for the politically correct.
  20. Frank Black from Vancouver, Canada writes: Tom Wilson: you should apologise to Bill Gates in person while resting on your elbows in brohen glass , shame on you...
  21. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: Frank, you obviously don't have a counterpoint.
  22. Frank Black from Vancouver, Canada writes: I have no desire to counter the garbage you spew...
  23. John McCaffery from Australia writes: Tom Wilson - I would agree that Mr. Gates was at the right place at the right time, but so were many others - it just so happened that Mr. Gates also made the right decisions, over and over again. He is simply one of the most extraordinary businessmen of our time.
  24. Eric the Red from Canada writes: ' eddie fitzgerald from toronto, Canada writes: Go gently into the night, Mr. Gates. '

    Barf. Get real, Eddie.

    Two words: Devil's Own. Muahahah.

    I won't even search for a Vista torrent.
  25. G. Veneta from Canada writes: Tom Wilson does make good points. One wonders that more innovation would have happened if he didn't have such a monopoly on this industry. MS is notorious for it's 'bloatware' which in turn requires more computing power to get through the junk in it. Windows was merely a Mac wannabe and let's face it DOS was a lousy operating system as compared to the Mac's.

    I am happy that in older age Gates is a philanthropist and putting his profits to good use in helping those less fortunate.

    He is to be respected regardless and he is a giant amongst giants. He was shrewd enough to figure how to monopolize the biz.

    I do think they are getting tired and less innovative. Best of luck to them in their philanthropic endeavours. We need more of them.
  26. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: Frank why don't you just admit it, you don't have a counterpoint.

    Why is it that whenever any defenders of Bill Gates are asked to list concrete things he did in the computer industry that were good, or important inventions and ideas that can be attributed to him, they find themselves tongue tied.

    Bill Gates ran an illegal monopoly flogging second-rate products at unfair prices, and that is how he made his fortune. Plain and simple. Perhaps it takes brains to do that, but there's nothing honourable about it.
  27. Tkk Z from Canada writes: Tom Wilson -
    You're right. Those of us who joined the computer industry 30 years ago, worked for major vendors and helped make all those incredible products, know you are right. We know who invented what, what products made the difference, how the industry evolved and indeed, who screwed whom.

    Those who came later, when Microsoft was already dominant, when the industry began to feed on hype, and have no comprehension how Microsoft got to be what it it, continue to admire, even worship Bill Gates.

    That said, the last hurrah of Bill Gates is a smart move. He is smart to leave the industry now - when it is well matured, when little money can be made, when products, even amazing ones, are little more than throw-away gadgets. And ..., when all future computer-related products will come from Japan and China.
  28. G. Veneta from Canada writes: Tom Wilson is so correct. In fact Gates did lose some law suits in Europe for his nasty monopolistic practices. Let's face it Gates was a marketer not an inventor or an innovator. He was a shrewd businessman.

    I do respect him for his philanthropy work he does today. At least some of that fortune is going back to help people.

    I do wonder at the environmental legacy of Gates and other's irresponsibility when it comes to making sure older computers speak the same language to newer ones so one can still use older equipment rather than it filling the landfills with lead and plastics.

    I think it's time we had regulation to force all these companies into longer lives of their products and also force them to be responsible for all the i-waste etc.. from their so quickly antiquated products.

    I think one could write an interesting piece of fiction of how the industry might have evolved if not for this fierce monopolistic bully amongst them. So much of the worry and hype around 2000 was based on the irresponsibility of this industry and not accounting for these digits. That is criminal and so is the tyranny of forcing so many to upgrade because of this negligence.

    I wonder that it was all part of a big plan then feigning...gee didn't forecast that to happen.....duhhhhh....sure.
  29. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: Thank you Tkk Z for your thoughtful and sensible comments.

    I'm constantly amazed at how people who were not in the trenches when Bill Gates rose to fame and fortune think they know so much about his supposed accomplishments.

    I could list a dozen engineers, entrepreneurs and businessmen who are more honourable than Gates, and whose contributions to the computer industry were and are of far greater significance.

    But Gates has this aura about him which causes many to idolize him without much concern for the facts.

    Giving his money away has helped him deflect the criticism he deserves.
  30. Art Critic from Canada writes: Undeniably a very clever businessman. His philanthropy so far has been laudable and we all look forwrd to hearing of his future projects. Way to go (out) Bill(ions).

  31. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: Well said G. Veneta.
  32. G. Veneta from Canada writes: I think the Gates story is one too common in that it is rarely the 'inventors' like the scientists or engineers that become the wealth king but the clever shrewd 'take no prisoners' businessmen that market and package the 'inventors inventions' and the typically uneducated consumer just assumes the man that owns the inventions is the clever one.

    Unsung heros comes to mind in this industry. Those clever ones and the US military for all of the research it did on the tax payer's dime to do the 'basic research' ie., the non profitable time intensive research that in fact did launch this industry. One could argue the American taxpayer heavily subsidized this industry in it's early evolution.

    Gates was cunning and to his credit did seize the 'zietgiest' and took control of it. People that are enchanted by him idolize him for his immense wealth more than a real understanding of the industry.

    He is soul cleansing now with his charity work. Wish more would do the same. There's no shortage of capital out there to solve the world's problems and pain just a radical distribution problem.
  33. John McCaffery from Australia writes: Gates was also one of the best people managers - he hired talented people and held onto them - allowed them to get rich on stock option - in that way he kept his staff long-term and over time won the market. It is a basic business strategy to maintain staff levels long-term - so few businesses seem to latch onto this or understand the risk to their business when they lose staff. Personally, I would put his success down to managing people, might sound corny, but it was mostly his staff driving the technology.
  34. Craig Cooper from writes: I've been using Vista for 9 months. No problems at all. Stop listening to the interminable yattering of Steve Jobs.
  35. Tkk Z from Canada writes: There is one MAJOR contribution by Gates. He is largely responsible for the creation of the unfettered take-no-prisoner, invent-your-law, sue-your-competitors, blitz-all-new-comers, copy-without-shame type of business ethos that has become de facto in American business today.

    I noticed some fools even call this 'greatest Computer Entrepreneur of the 20th century', an indication of the extent and damage of the Bill Gates brainwashing done to the younger generation.

    The business practice pioneered by Gates led to Microsoft being sued by a dozen national governments. He has destroyed the fine careers of so many true inventors, awesome designers, entrepreneurs and businessmen. He even destroyed entire software industry of foreign countries - Canada being one. Very few people knows how Japan great national hope - the Fifth Generation Computer Project of the 80's, was crashed to a cinder due in no small measure to Microsoft, with help of the US government. That's why you don't see any Japanese computer industry - software and hardware.

    Yes Bill Gates is the original Darth Vader who survived the Death Star. To a large extent, the destructive business practice that led to the .com bubble, IT outsource, Net crash, virus all over, beta software screw, etc originated from the malpractice of Microsoft.
  36. Voltaire's Distant Cousin from Toronto, Canada writes: I thoroughly agree with Tom Wilson. Bill Gates was a monopolist who has held the computer industry back for years.

    I have worked in the computer industry, and I have spent hundreds of hours dealing with microsoft's buggy inferior products.

    You can thank Bill Gates for the tens of thousands of viruses and worms that exist today. Had microsoft adhered to sound design principles when writing its software, the virus problem would never have grown to the level you see today. For microsoft, security was an afterthought, almost always bolted on to products after the fact. I gave my mother a windows computer that was fully patched and updated, and I connected the computer directly to the web (no router protection). Within a day, the computer was infected, without any intervention from her. With a router, the computer stayed virus free for 8 months before I had to reinstall windows. I finally gave up and bought her a mac. So far, she loves it, and there have been no problems.

    Have you ever noticed how windows machines get slower and slower over time? After a year or two most windows installs become so slow they are unusable (even with defragmenting and proper maintenance). The main reason for this slowdown is poor design. Windows has something called 'the registry', which is a place where programs store information. Over time, the registry grows in size, becomes fragmented and slow to access. Because all software has to access this single file, it becomes a pinch point that slows the entire system down. The most simple solution is to reinstall the entire operating system.

    Real operating systems don't have such problems. Real operating systems maintain themselves without user input (eg. defragmenting). Real operating systems don't require resource sapping anti-virus software; they are built securely from the ground up.
  37. Old Fart from Edmonton, Canada writes: As a much older and more experienced (45 years) computer professional than most of you here, I would just like to point out how easy it is to criticize another's operating system code, especially when you never wrote anything significant (and no, installation and maintenance of either systems or applications don't count). It's always easy to say, 'Why didn't you anticipate that?' How good are you at forecasting the desires and skills of hackers and criminals who have nothing better to do in life than try to break into your code? I don't recall Bill Gates ever saying that he (or his products) were perfect. Part of the reason for the proliferation of PCs over Apple's systems was the fact that IBM decided to make the specs and interfaces available to the public and developers. Meanwhile, Apple kept their specs proprietary. That explains a lot about things like the initial preponderance of Windows applications versus Apple applications, and also the number of viruses. The arguments about how 'great' Bill Gates is/was versus others in the computer hardware/software industry are irrelevant. He saw a business opportunity and he ran with it. I'm not trying to defend Bill Gates, but I'd like to point out that most of you posting on this site might not have had the opportunity to post without his entrepreneurial drive and vision. I'm off to my nightcap (double Crown Royal neat). Cheers, Geezer
  38. Child of the North in Canada from blind River, Canada writes: Just bought my first Apple computer. Will never go back to a PC until they routinely run on a different operating system other then Windows. As it is, I run my old PC using Firefox and Thunderbird, anything to avoid Microsoft software. I find running CCleaner daily helps keep the performance of a PC good. The constant vigilance required to stop being hacked and attacked was a drain (financially too). This is a growing nightmare for the PC industry running Windows products.
  39. Mike - from Waterloo, Canada writes:
    'Microsoft reported profit of $14.1-billion on revenue of $51.1-billion.' ... in other words 28%.

    That's what you get with a monopoly.
  40. Chicken Little from Canada writes: 'Microsoft posted profit of nearly $6-billion (U.S.) on revenue of $13.76-billion in its latest quarter'.

    44% profit !!! Wow !

    It pays to stifle competition and run a world wide monopoly with the tacit approval of the US government which benefits from having an American corporation completely dominate a crucial technology. Congratulations Mr Gates, you are the worlds paramount monopolist and control freak. Well done. Every single country in the world depends on your operating system which is just the way the US government wants it.
  41. biggar thomas from Guelph, Canada writes: Bill Gates and Microsoft get an 'A' for plagiarism. Just about everything that Microsoft has done it had done by copying the innovation of others. I would not mind so much but their copies are always inferior. Can anyone credibly say otherwise?
  42. Syed Abbas from Toronto, Canada writes:

    Mr. Gates was the biggest money making machine of the 20th century. His even larger achievement is that he made more of his colleagues and employees into billionaires than anyone else in history.

    Mr. Gates understood more than anyone else in history the capitalist law of supply and demand that he used to maximize his profit.

    His technological achievements leave much to be desired. As compared to the crash-prone Dos and Windows, other systems, e.g. Mac OS or unix (and linux) are much more stable and productive.
  43. Anuradha Bose from ottawa, writes: Now that he has bilked us all with Vista he can afford to do good works!
  44. Darryl Moore from Canada writes: Like the American robber barons of the 19th century, Gates will be remembers in history for all his philanthropic giving. Giving, that is, only some of the money he stole through shrewd anti-competitive (often illegal) practices.

    We'll never know what kind of world we would have had without him, but I strongly suspect a better one.
  45. Barry Kojima from Canada writes: Every so-called IT Pro should quit their whining and admit that Microsoft is what allows you to bill your clients those ridiculous fees to support their systems.

    Bill Gates exemplified trickle-down economics.
  46. Ramesh Fernando from Canada writes: Bill Gates for all his faults has to be given credit for taking every opportunity and making the best of it and creating a monopoly. Most of the blame can go to IBM, for instance his mom was on the same United Way board as the chairman of IBM at the time DOS was selected as the OS for the IBM PC. Digital Research's which had another operating system founder also in Seattle ignored the meeting with IBM and went flying, so of course IBM got f ed up and chose Quicky and Dirty DOS. Thanks to IBM's easy license, Gates was able to create MS-DOS for all clones like Compaq. Then IBM again messed up by concentrating OS/2 on 16-bit 286 and not being that compatible with DOS applications etc and concentrating on PS/2 line. Gates played a double game, concentrated on Windows while also working on OS/2 and once MS Windows 3.0 and 3.1 took off got rid of OS/2. By being tough, he got Excel to replace Lotus 1-2-3 as the big spreadsheet and MS Word on Windows to replace Wordperfect on DOS. Then he packaged all together and with PowerPoint and Access created MS Office complete office package. Lotu (later IBM) and Wordperfect (later Novell and Corel) could never compete with MS Office with all it's bloated features. Finally with Windows 95 he created a 'celebrity' image with Jan Leno hype and also got it licensed to every single PC maker so by the time Windows XP came around this decade OS/2 was dead and there was no real competition. Microsoft also created software after the initial creation, be it Windows after the Mac interface or MS Internet Explorer after Netscape Navigator. Yet, Microsoft is getting beat by Mozilla Firefox in Europe and Asia. Linux from Ubuntu to Red Dog Linux in China are creating markets. Openoffice is replacing MS Office in Europe so really there market share while still large is more like 5% not the 95% they had a few years ago. Cell phones->Internet not PCs Google to Nokia market advantage.
  47. True Canadian from Hamilton, Canada writes: 'the company he built into an international powerhouse and helped change the way humans interact with technology.'

    **
    It's more like Bill helped increase the human frustration with the technology he stole from others.

    All rich people have their own foundations for 'tax' purposes.
  48. Dan Radu from Calgary, Canada writes: Tom Wilson - You're pretty quick to grill the guy here. Sure he's no Alan Turing, but the guy is instrumental in putting a PC on everyone's desktop around the world. I have a feeling that if Jobs had been the guy, everyone would be bitching about the Mac OS simply because the sheer number of users would point out every bug in it.

    Ford didn't invent the automobile either - but quality is obviously NOT Job #1.

    As for the philanthropy - at least he's giving it away. He earned it all and certainly doesn't have to dole it out.
  49. Sean L. from Toronto, Canada writes: Big news! Bill Gates is taking his money and going home!

    In parting thanks to all windows consumers for buying authentic & unstable microsoft OS's, he quotes Nelson from the Simpsons: 'Ha-ha'.

    As for his IT legacy - give me a break, he was a great entrepreneur and marketer, not a technology innovator. He bought the original DOS operating system from some bright developer who lacked marketing know how, and smartly licensed it to IBM. Then he smartly recognized Zerox's inovation with windows when Zerox did not, and he bought the technology to compete with the real innovators in the market.

    Just once, it would be nice if MS issued a stable product with an intuitive user interface. Every time they change windows, they seem to offset improvements (usually copied ideas such as explorer 7 versus firefox) with clunky half baked revisions of the interface. MS is not really a tech company, they are a marketing company that sells tech.
  50. Hornsworth Portswiler from adanac, Canada writes: His philanthropy should be challenged too. There are disgraceful videos of him yelling at aid workers, pumping them to work harder for his glory. In a decent competitive market, there would be no need to take monopoly billions and buy good will, instead the quality of the market would have been all the good will required. It is astonishing how much time people waste on virus protection and other hacks on Windows, and it is shameful how much good tech Microsoft has ripped off and compromised by using their monopoly. Interviews with Gates are disingenuous. He conspires with clueless media, you'd think he invented rational thinking. Consider that MS had completely, completely missed the boat on the Internet. It would not occur to them to come up with such an open thing. It took them years to fully catch up with the tide and jury rig Internet access and develop decent software - Internet Explorer is STILL, ten years later, the bane of Web designers because of its incompatibility with standards. The lead IE developer actually apologized for this. Only now are they acknowledging open source as a more competitive, better way to work.
  51. andy c from Canada writes: good or bad (i see from most of the comments it's bad) gates has made the biggest impact on the personal computing industry period. his company may release buggy software but i think he will be remembered more as a business man (worlds richest man) then as a inovator for the computer industry.
  52. Blazej Urbaniak from Canada writes: Tom Wilson: I agree with you and I think your comments are well founded and educated. Bill Gates's Microsoft was just the most successful leech of the industry. Just a money making machine, nothing else.
  53. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: I'm not sure why some people think it is such an incredible thing that Bill Gates is giving most of his money a way.

    Forty billion is far more money than any human being could spend on themselves, so it is hardly a sacrifice on his part to give the bulk of his fortune away. Most of us would do the same if we were worth $40 billion.

    The simple truth is that Bill Gates is a clever crook who got rich by ripping consumers off selling junk products at high-prices while running an illegal monopoly.

    The fact that he is giving his ill-gotten gains away in order to improve his reputation and boost his already overblown ego hardly makes him a good man.

    Bill Gates knows all to well that there are many who understand the inner workings of the computer industry, and who understand the damage he and his company did, and the degree to which he cheated consumers.

    He may be trying to re-write the history books by being a mega-philanthropist, but the facts of what he did will always remain. People can idolize him if they want, but in doing so they are ignoring the truth.
  54. roy f from van, Canada writes: Tom Wilson from Canada writes: I'm not sure why some people think it is such an incredible thing that Bill Gates is giving most of his money a way.

    Forty billion is far more money than any human being could spend on themselves, so it is hardly a sacrifice on his part to give the bulk of his fortune away. Most of us would do the same if we were worth $40 billion.

    Well, thats a nice thought but I dont believe it for a second. Most people in Gates' league throw a few bucks around for show but very few have ever given as much back in real dollars. Regardless of his motivation, his efforts will make a big difference in the lives of many people. Of course it will be mostly people none of us know.

    No argument here about the sleazy way he made his billions, but then again nobody ever became a billionaire by being decent or fair-minded or anything like that. Hopefully he will inspire a few others to give back some of what they've taken so enthusiastically.
  55. Blazej Urbaniak from Canada writes: Tom Wilson: As much as I appreciate almost every word you say I think you are wrong on one part. Bussinessmen like Mr. Gates, who are possessed by money and power, rarely if not never give away the bulk of their fortunes. They are usually skilled and well positioned enough to enhance they philanthropic profiles without giving up a penny. On the contrary, they often might find even a devious ways to monetarly benefit from such a so called non-profit activity while maintainig a good profile. Of course there is always a possibility of a saint beining born on earth. At least that is what we try to believe in.
  56. Tom Wilson from Canada writes: Roy F said 'nobody ever became a billionaire by being decent or fair-minded or anything like that. '

    Not true at all, and what a defeatist view to hold. There are lots of counter examples to your point.

    For example William Hewlett and David Packard, the founders of HP, became quite wealthy indeed, yet they obtained their wealth through engineering excellence and a passion for honesty and for doing the right thing. They were never motivated primarily by wealth accumulation as Bill Gates has been.

    Many other engineers and entrepreneurs have run their businesses honestly with a passion for excellence. Most of them have never become as wealthy as Gates, but then his level of wealth is usually only obtained by running a monopoly and by substantially overcharging for inferior products.
  57. Comments are Closed from Toronto, Canada writes: This is all too funny. Gates only proved that suckers will buy anything to save a buck. Nothing else. ... Well except 'greed is good, if you can't invent it buy it, ... if you can't buy it, steal it ...
  58. Joseph Whistle from Canada writes: I have a problem how Bill Gates is being labeled as a person who helped how people interact with computers. Microsoft is just a cheap knockoff of technologies invented at other companies. Microsoft also bought a bunch of technologies. Hardly that 'innovative'.
  59. Paul G from Toronto, Canada writes: Love him or hate him it wouldn't surprise me if one of the presidential candidates asked Bill Gates to be their running mate this year...
  60. Neiland Robert from Canada writes: Joseph Whistle from Canada writes: 'I have a problem how Bill Gates is being labeled as a person who helped how people interact with computers. Microsoft is just a cheap knockoff of technologies invented at other companies. Microsoft also bought a bunch of technologies. Hardly that 'innovative'. '

    OKAY JOE... you take the award for turnip of the day. Hardly innovative huh? LET'S SEE YOU DO IT.

    What's that? Anyone could take 500 Billion Dollars and merge different ideas and technologies into a uniform service and product? Okay.. well go out and make 500 Billion on your first 12 ideas and perhaps you might prove people wrong.

    For me... I am still thinking about his 1997 predictions on Convergence and how the convergerce of technologies would guide our futures...

    And we are finally seeing it today (read: the last few years) ... MP3/MP4/Wireless Bluetooth/Video/Phone/E-mail/XM/GPS devices springing out of every nook and cranny... some that are all-in-one.... and look at how this one very concept about technology is coming to pass.

    I am sorry for calling you a Turnip JOE... but get real. The man (Gates) is a visionary and will be remembered much like how Rockefeller is remembered as one of the greatest minds (men) of the industrial age.
  61. roy f from van, Canada writes: Tom Wilson from Canada writes: Roy F said 'nobody ever became a billionaire by being decent or fair-minded or anything like that. '

    Not true at all, and what a defeatist view to hold. There are lots of counter examples to your point.

    For example William Hewlett and David Packard, the founders of HP, became quite wealthy indeed, yet they obtained their wealth through engineering excellence and a passion for honesty and for doing the right thing. They were never motivated primarily by wealth accumulation as Bill Gates has been.

    -More cynical than defeatist I'd say. I believe that to get to that level, everyones used a few questionable stepping stones along the way, whether its 3rd world outsourcing, tax avoidance, pressure tactics and a lot of other stuff the rest of us have little or no chance to witness.
    Anyway, I'll read up on the HP people, hopefully for a little inspiration. Bit of an unfair example though, given my utter dependance on my old HP48.
  62. Bob from Montreal from Montreal, Canada writes: Bill Gates - he is that guy from Microslop.

    There are only two reasons he is giving some of his money (a very small portion of it).

    1. It is a great tax write off.
    2. He finally has seen that he has ripped off millions of people.

    What a scumbag.
  63. Joseph Whistle from Canada writes: Neiland Robert: I agree that he's innovative when it comes to making money. He's a great business person. The problem I have is how he and other people label him as a great inventor of technologies. It's just not right.
    He doesn't invent anything new at all. He, and Microsoft, just uses knowledge he/they gather from other places and then pretend it's genuinely theirs, which it isn't.
    Granted they have to put a lot of pieces together, and they also have a number of people on staff that write new things like the .net engine, but I'm talking about the actual initial creation of something new out of nothing. For instance, virtual machine technologies weren't new at all, and after Java (not the first virtual machine) showed how you can be really successful, they copy-cat it with their virtual machine. They broke a few rules and were fined near 2 billion (that's right) dollars.
    End of day, I'm ok as labeling him as a successful business person, and he's really good at that - being in the right place at the right time and all, but please don't go label him as an inventor - he's just not that.
  64. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: Tom Wilson, you're confusing inventors with entrepreneurs. Gates dropped out of college and created the world's biggest corporation from scratch. Right place at the right time? If it was that easy, we'd all have done it. You sound like a bitter old programmer who saw the industry go in a direction you didn't want it to go, and never stopped pouting about it.
  65. Northern Girl from Nunavut, Canada writes: The comments here are laughable. We live in a free market economy and that is precisely what people are belly-aching about. The man was brilliant and anything else is just a case of sour grapes. Of COURSE the 'good guy' gets screwed. That is because he didn't have enough business savy. I think I'll just cry my eyes out now. Tough luck on him. Bill Gates has just the right amount of tech savy and economic moxy to make him what he is now. If he hadn't done it, somebody else would have. Case closed. And for all of you who are saying that its about time he came out and started doing philanthropic work, you are wrong. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has been around for YEARS and they have been actively giving their money (to the tune of $14.4 billion so far and with an asset trust endowment of $37.6 billion) to many needy organizations around the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave all Nunavut public libraries between 2-4 fully loaded computers (tons of cool software) plus a server about 5 years ago. This made a HUGE impace to the learning resources available in the territory (do a Google search if you don't know where it is). I would just LOVE to see Steve Jobs or Dell or IBM or Google or any other of these huge IT firms even come close to what this foundation has accomplished. Do your homework before you spout off on line, please.
  66. baz . from Toronto, Canada writes: Can anyone spell Apple....Are they doing anything different with the iPod and the required monopolist iTunes. No difference. Before the iPod, Apple was on the brink of non existence many times throughout the last 30 years. Steve Jobs finally understood what it was going to take to become successful. Do you honestly think Apple invented the iPod, they just stole or bought great ideas and packaged them into one product marketed by Apple. Most successful businesses do the same thing. Bill Gates must be respected for wrangling an industry that was so fragmented that it was going nowhere. He created a world standard to build on. Could it have been better? Maybe but no one will know for sure. Could it have been worse? Absolutely. There will always be an individual in every generation that will be accused of monopolistic unfair practices. Thats just the way it is when one becomes dominant in their industry. Live with it and stop the whining!!
  67. Harbinger from Out West from Canada writes: Bill Gates is the only guy I know that won't have to wait for a reply after e mailing his resume to anyone. He doesn't need a resume.
  68. Aslan On the Island from Canada writes: Way to go Northern Girl! Finally someone who understands the scale of Gates' philanthropy...regardless of how he accumulated the wealth. What he is doing and will do is incredible, and he doesn't go around advertising it like Oprah, who really needs to let you know how generous she is. There are a few people on this post who think that anyone with his wealth would give it away in the same fashion. Just isn't so. The tech heads on this post need to understand that Gates' talent was to seize opportunities and compete hard. What seems obvious now wasn't then, otherwise we would all have bought MST, Google, RIM etc.
  69. N L from Canada writes: Bill Gates' Great Legacy(fallacy) will be the millions of men he helped circumcise in Africa running around thinking they are 100% immune from the HIV/AIDS virus.
    The man couldn't even make his Windows system close to virus-free, what makes anyone think he'd know how to prevent other viruses from spreading.
  70. Aslan On the Island from Canada writes: N L from Canada: Your first statement is wrong and the following pun cute but pathetic. What legacy are you working on?
  71. Joseph Whistle from Canada writes: Northern Girl: no, the comments here are NOT 'laughable'. People have a problem him taking credit for things where he does not deserve it. Over simplified nonsense remarks from some with notions like 'he very rich, so he's done something right' is just stupid. Don't forget the (should be) illegal price fixing and monopolies he and Microsoft got away with. It's really NOT a clean operation at all.
    This oversimplified by just 'slapping aside' and ridiculing any against-arguments because 'he's such a good boy' is just wrong wrong wrong.
    It's dirty business and that's that.
  72. Dick Nails from Heaven nearing Earth, Canada writes: For the uneducated and small minded here posting about how better the world would have been without Gates et al, without the MS OS's and the millions of apps that run on various those OS's, the world would be poorer, dumber, less connected and stuck with DEC and other expensive, clumsy Unix OS's. You would not be typing your poison pen letters on a PC, you would be using regular mail.

    Hate Gates all you want. He did change the world. And you?
  73. Joseph Whistle from Canada writes: Dick Nails: NO! Unix OS's are NOT 'clumsy'. They are in fact far more intelligent. It's those zealot like remarks how Microsoft is good simply because they're big, that is so stupid.
    And NO, they world would NOT be 'poorer, dumber' and all that crap you're barfing up. And NO, he did NOT invent 'email'.
    And NO, he did not change the world in the sense that without him we wouldn't have computer like today. It's simply incorrect and uninformed.
    Without Microsoft's crappy OS, we'd likely have a far smarter OS from the real inventors, with far less identity thefts (Windows makes it so easy to steal personal information).
    So end of day, the world would have been a better place WITHOUT Microsoft, NOT with !
    Good grief, how some turn all this all around backwards.
  74. Dick Nails from Heaven nearing Earth, Canada writes: Whistle, you are the zealot.

    I have been writing code and using compooters for over 30 years. I have seen them all and used them all.

    Like all anti-Gates yobs, you can't see the big picture so you make one up which goes like this: without Gates there would be better computers, OS's and apps. Yeah, so why are we in a PC world?

    Hint: licensing.

    Get a grip and get some history of the IT biz. And then come back, sonny.
  75. Dick Nails from Heaven nearing Earth, Canada writes: Hey Whistle, blow this one: imagine a world without the visit to PARC by Jobs and Woz. Imagine if Xerox had the forsight and changed the world. Imagine....
  76. Ob Server from Canada writes: What an inspiration. First he puts a computer that actually does something other than word processing on our desks and then, after he's the richest man on earth he sets up a foundation to give away the majority of his wealth. To top it all off, he and Melinda are so good at supporting those in need that the 2nd richest man in the world entrusts them with most of his fortune to boot. I don't know about you but if that doesn't give you hope I don't know what will.
  77. Child of the North in Canada from Canada writes: To Northern Girl: Hope you have purchased lots of virus protection for those two MS systems.

    Gate's philanthropy is great but that still doesn't make him a great computer technology whiz and inventor. The fact that most people in the computer industry, his peers, loath and despise him is very telling.
  78. Will Farnaby from writes: Tom Wilson... that's about it. On balance, Gates and his cadre have been a significant negative. Ob Server, do a little research on the negative implications of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. There are, at the very least, some shades of grey involved... Globe and Mail: we live in Canada - 'gray is a color but grey is a colour'.
  79. harry carnie from Northern, B.C., Canada writes: Well good luck.. a long happy life (for all his family)..AND....joy for him in ..whatever his future enterprises .

    He certainly changed the world..(for the good).however the world continues to change.

    The new iMac and its systems, are much superior to P.C.s and Windows products. Mac programs still have a 'lack' in some areas .. but that will be rectified in the years to come.
  80. Ob Server from Canada writes: Will Farnaby, I have done the research and our organization at times works with the Gates Foundation. I can tell you that on balance, $32Billion and growing exponentially does alot of good to alot of people who need it, including here in North America.
  81. Chicken Little from Canada writes: He would make a great Republican President. He could turn America in a world monopoly (it almost already is, but not quite). The US would have exclusive control of the way democracy, freedom, and capitalism should be implemented and distributed. The US would write its own definition these concepts. And the US would make sure that all countries instituted the US version, and only the US version, of those concepts. All competition would be squashed. Communism, socialism and all other -isms would be crushed. The world would then become perfect, just like Microsoft software. The US would have a 95% share of the world market in every sector.
  82. Joseph Whistle from Canada writes: Dick Nails: I have also been writing code for about 30 years, so stop your sense of entitlement and your claim of seniority, it's not valid.
    I can very much see the big picture. The PC world was in fact started by IBM.
    Microsoft later forced all manufacturers to ship all PC's with Windows - THAT is how they did it.
    The Mac in the early days was already way superior to Windows. Way more features and more innovative.
    So in essence, you're emotional rant amounted to absolutely nothing.
  83. Festina Lente from Tampa Bay, United States writes: It is not possible for another country to produce a Bill Gates! Only in America.
  84. Chicken Little from Canada writes: Your're right about that Festina. Only in America would someone have an ego that big to want to dominate the whole world in an entire industry. And only in America would they let someone get away with creating such an all powerful, grasping, greedy monopoly which can use all kinds of dirty business tricks on competitors without fear of prosecution by the government. After all, why would the US government want to limit the power of a US corporation that controls the entire world market in such an essential and strategic sector as information technology ? Monopoly-bubble-scam-capitalism. Only in America.
  85. Sam Snead from Canada writes: It's pretty impressive that one OS could capture and maintain so much market share. If nothing else, you have to hand it to Gates for just this alone. Within the IT field Gates is not really known as an innovator etc., he is simply recognized for his business ability.

    Microsoft isn't the greatest OS and Apps out there by no means and it's easy to fault Microsoft in a number of areas. Still ... capturing that much market share is quite impressive.
  86. Sean L. from Toronto, Canada writes: Nails: you are clueless.

    Without Gates mommy hooking him up with IBM, IBM would have proceeded with buying or licensing some other second rate OS like DOS from some other nobody start-up. And Gate would have ended up as just another fad white box builder or something on the bottom of my shoe...

    His genious was in recognizing the potential for the PC that IBM did not see, and then repeating his OS sale to every one of their competitors.

    Nails, if you really knew anything about operating systems, you would not make such a ludicrous remark about UNIX. If the PC industry had slapped a xerox GUI on top of a Unix OS back in 1981, instead of outsourcing the OS to Gates, we would be far better off today.
  87. harry carnie from Northern, B.C., Canada writes: I wonder how many posting here . Who show petty hatred (and envy) of Bill Gates have Microsoft O.S and PC`s..

    I used P.C.`s and Windows systems for years.......3 months ago bought a new iMac (fed up with windows crap)
    My friends said I would be 'Sorry'...I AM ......sorry.. I did not get a Mac a few years back.

    Why vilify Gates?...it is US .. his customers ,who put him where he is........to rant now is rather pointless.

    He did bring computers into world wide use ... and built a huge company...WE WERE ACCOMPLICES TO THIS ALL..and IF he did NOT do it fairly...........what business does?
    Everyone.. To .get EVEN>>>GO OUT AND BUY A MAC...
  88. Voltaire's Distant Cousin from Toronto, Canada writes: Here is some background on operating systems before Microsoft: Unix was created as an operating system to run mainframe computers. These mainframe computers were often worth millions of dollars, and had hundreds of users using them at once. The operating system that ran on them had to be utterly secure and stable; otherwise, you could have a single stupid user crashing the entire million dollar system, cutting off computer access to the entire university. Unix has been around for decades, all the while being hardened and refined.

    Because today's computers are as powerful as the mainframes of years ago, Unix is an ideal operating system to use. It is highly secure, because it has been tested and refined on university mainframe computers for years. Because it was designed for systems with many users, it is ideal for home computers that have access to the millions of other computers on the internet.

    When microsoft windows was first developed, it had laughable network security; outside users could easily destroy a home computer connected to a network (thus the need for anti-virus and firewall software). When Bill Gates finally 'realized' that the internet was for real, network security was 'bolted on' to the existing operating system. Still, the security of windows machines was horrible. Even today, if you connect a windows 2000, let alone a windows XP machine directly to the internet, it will be hijacked within seconds. Vista is not perfect either.

    Compare that to computers based on Unix, such as Mac OS X, or Linux. Mac OS X has had zero significant viruses/worms. You don't need anti-virus software on a Mac. You still can install trojan horses if you download pirated software, but you actually have to install the trojan and type in your system password for any real harm to be done.
    • Posted 07/01/08 at 7:27 PM EST |