An End Of An Era : Bill Gates says Goodbye.

[anandk]

Sept 11, 2007. One last chance to hear Bill Gates speak before he leaves the company he co-founded to head up his humanitarian efforts, drew tens of thousands of Microsoft employees to the company's annual meeting at Safeco Field in Seattle. Estimates of this year's attendance ranged from 20,000 to 35,000. A demo of Microsoft's revamp to its flagship Web search engine, which is expected to be launched later this month, also created a lot of buzz.

Source : www.winvistaclub.com

 

[blackangst1]

It will be interesting to see where MS goes after his departure...although I would find it hard to belive he wont have any say so. Im actually glad he's leaving, because he has stated he will be working full time with his foundation...which is probably one of the most important foundations in the world in regards to poverty, health issues, and disease. /cheer

 

[Genx87]

Is he still the majority shareholder in the company? I would imagine he still stays on the board to help steer but not direct the company.

His charity work is phenominal when you think about it. A single man donates 17 billion dollars to his own charity. The numbers are crazy. That is a single years worth of MNs state budget.

 

[umbrella39]

Here's to hoping he does alot off good with that charity $$,$$$,$$$,$$$ :beer:

EDIT: oops, left out a few $$$

 

[blackangst1]

I just spent a little bit on his foundation's page looking at it's grants. Unfuckingbelievable. He has given 5.5 mill to New Orleans JUST for the developement and building of new schools in urban areas...300k for general rebuilding...my God. He has given more than 4.7 BILLION...THIS YEAR ALONE...for United States, and over 7 BILLION worldwide.

Staggering.

 

[manowar821]

Go Bill go!

Your OS pisses me off sometimes, but you do good with your money.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: blackangst1
I just spent a little bit on his foundation's page looking at it's grants. Unfuckingbelievable. He has given 5.5 mill to New Orleans JUST for the developement and building of new schools in urban areas...300k for general rebuilding...my God. He has given more than 4.7 BILLION...THIS YEAR ALONE...for United States, and over 7 BILLION worldwide.

Staggering.

My memory is a little hazy, but many of those organizations have to gift out a certain % of the beginning of the year balance to avoid massive taxation. It's a way to prevent people from sheltering assets, so his gifting #'s have targets.

Regardless, what he is doing with his money is amazing. Call MS whatever you want, there is only one other person in the world that even gets close to Gates and that's Buffet.

You look at every other petty ass with money, they are wastrels of society. Sure, Gates and Buffet aren't living in shacks and are reasonably pampered, but at least they have moral character.

If only the world was filled with more of them.

 

[Gand1]

Gotta love what that man does with his money!! Oh only if more sports stars and actors did 1/10 of the donations he does.....




still dreaming......

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I hope he's opened the eyes of people that can really make a difference. Thank you Mr Gates.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Any links about this news of his departure?

 

[First]

Good to hear that nerds still rule the world using both their smarts and kindness.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Is he still the majority shareholder in the company? I would imagine he still stays on the board to help steer but not direct the company.

His charity work is phenominal when you think about it. A single man donates 17 billion dollars to his own charity. The numbers are crazy. That is a single years worth of MNs state budget.

And all thanks to capitalism.

 

[Saint Michael]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: Genx87
Is he still the majority shareholder in the company? I would imagine he still stays on the board to help steer but not direct the company.

His charity work is phenominal when you think about it. A single man donates 17 billion dollars to his own charity. The numbers are crazy. That is a single years worth of MNs state budget.

And all thanks to capitalism.

Eh? The charity isn't thanks to capitalism, the money is. The charity is thanks to Bill Gates.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Evan Lieb
Good to hear that nerds still rule the world using both their smarts and kindness.

I bet him getting laid on a regular basis goes a long way towards him being so philathropic:thumbsup:

 

[jonks]

Doesn't anyone realize he achieved success and Microsoft's success at any cost, no matter how many start-ups he crushed, no matter how many little companies he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he could become the richest man in the world, no matter how many lives he ruined, or dot-coms he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he became the world's richest man, no matter how many Netscape's he buried, or how many other free browsers he left dead and bloodied along the way?

(Edit: didn't anybody see Zoolander??) http://www.hotmoviequotes.com/...ve-around-you-and.html

 

[Newfie]

Originally posted by: sirjonk
Doesn't anyone realize he achieved success and Microsoft's success at any cost, no matter how many start-ups he crushed, no matter how many little companies he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he could become the richest man in the world, no matter how many lives he ruined, or dot-coms he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he became the world's richest man, no matter how many Netscape's he buried, or how many other free browsers he left dead and bloodied along the way?

Bill would never do that!! He's an angel!

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: sirjonk
Doesn't anyone realize he achieved success and Microsoft's success at any cost, no matter how many start-ups he crushed, no matter how many little companies he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he could become the richest man in the world, no matter how many lives he ruined, or dot-coms he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he became the world's richest man, no matter how many Netscape's he buried, or how many other free browsers he left dead and bloodied along the way?

Stockholders don't pay Microsoft to play nice, they pay Microsoft to make money. Microsoft made that money and the resulting company continues to do so. Whether or not all of his business practices were perceived as being socially perfect does not matter. If a second major operating system were to be presented that were superior to MS, then I wouldn't doubt it would succeed.

However, when you look at any other system that has been presented they have been inferior for various reasons or barely superior. If they were so superior they would have enticed enough companies to dump them anyway.

This is akin to the Intel vs AMD situation. AMD never had a great product until the K7 series, everything else was lower-tier trash. Even then they didn't have a hugely great product until INTC screwed up with the P4 and compounded that mistake. People whine that INTC offered too many incentives, dropped prices, struck deals...etc so that AMD couldn't compete.

Frankly, I don't care. If AMD's product was so great then it would be more widely accepted, but the mere fact is that it has never been that great.

Others say that MS has such a crappy product that has only been supported through sheer monopoly. I find this laughable. What other OS provides a very easy to use system for almost *every* computer configuration available on the PC? Most of the problems are due to computers not adhering to the standard, or just the fault of having to account for every problem in every configuration.

How do you account for infinity? You can't. Apple does it by limiting users and hardware down into a narrow spec. However, the larger they become the more degraded the system becomes as a whole as they have to increase their system geometrically.

Frankly, I would rather have 1 MS running such a daunting task rather than 5 apples. The massive scale of such undertakings naturally appeal to one large company.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: sirjonk
Doesn't anyone realize he achieved success and Microsoft's success at any cost, no matter how many start-ups he crushed, no matter how many little companies he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he could become the richest man in the world, no matter how many lives he ruined, or dot-coms he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he became the world's richest man, no matter how many Netscape's he buried, or how many other free browsers he left dead and bloodied along the way?

Business is viewed by many as a form of warfare, and you just described a successful campaign. That he is sharing so much of his success with the less fortunate, is more than can be said for most that reach billionaire status. Carlos Slim Helu down in Mexico thinks he and Warren are idiots for giving away their money, and slim didn't get his by being a friend of the little guy either.

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: sirjonk
Doesn't anyone realize he achieved success and Microsoft's success at any cost, no matter how many start-ups he crushed, no matter how many little companies he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he could become the richest man in the world, no matter how many lives he ruined, or dot-coms he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he became the world's richest man, no matter how many Netscape's he buried, or how many other free browsers he left dead and bloodied along the way?

Stockholders don't pay Microsoft to play nice, they pay Microsoft to make money. Microsoft made that money and the resulting company continues to do so. Whether or not all of his business practices were perceived as being socially perfect does not matter. If a second major operating system were to be presented that were superior to MS, then I wouldn't doubt it would succeed.

However, when you look at any other system that has been presented they have been inferior for various reasons or barely superior. If they were so superior they would have enticed enough companies to dump them anyway.

This is akin to the Intel vs AMD situation. AMD never had a great product until the K7 series, everything else was lower-tier trash. Even then they didn't have a hugely great product until INTC screwed up with the P4 and compounded that mistake. People whine that INTC offered too many incentives, dropped prices, struck deals...etc so that AMD couldn't compete.

Frankly, I don't care. If AMD's product was so great then it would be more widely accepted, but the mere fact is that it has never been that great.

Others say that MS has such a crappy product that has only been supported through sheer monopoly. I find this laughable. What other OS provides a very easy to use system for almost *every* computer configuration available on the PC? Most of the problems are due to computers not adhering to the standard, or just the fault of having to account for every problem in every configuration.

How do you account for infinity? You can't. Apple does it by limiting users and hardware down into a narrow spec. However, the larger they become the more degraded the system becomes as a whole as they have to increase their system geometrically.

Frankly, I would rather have 1 MS running such a daunting task rather than 5 apples. The massive scale of such undertakings naturally appeal to one large company.

I'm glad you answered me seriously, but I was just paraphrasing Zoolander. (And was it MS or Intel that used its monopoly power to threaten its business partners (Dell?) with blacklisting if they used competitor (AMD/Netscape?) products?)

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: sirjonk


I'm glad you answered me seriously, but I was just paraphrasing Zoolander. (And was it MS or Intel that used its monopoly power to threaten its business partners (Dell?) with blacklisting if they used competitor (AMD/Netscape?) products?)

What is your point? If you just do biz with ethical "good guy" companies, you will soon be living like Davy Crockett Again, at least some of these fat cats are giving back, and giving quite a bit more than any of us would have predicted, at that.

 

[Kirby]

Originally posted by: blackangst1
I just spent a little bit on his foundation's page looking at it's grants. Unfuckingbelievable. He has given 5.5 mill to New Orleans JUST for the developement and building of new schools in urban areas...300k for general rebuilding...my God. He has given more than 4.7 BILLION...THIS YEAR ALONE...for United States, and over 7 BILLION worldwide.

Staggering.

If you think that's crazy, Warren Buffet is giving away 100 million shares to the Gates Foundation. That's $37 BILLION.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: sirjonk

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: sirjonk
Doesn't anyone realize he achieved success and Microsoft's success at any cost, no matter how many start-ups he crushed, no matter how many little companies he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he could become the richest man in the world, no matter how many lives he ruined, or dot-coms he left dead and bloodied along the way, just as long as he became the world's richest man, no matter how many Netscape's he buried, or how many other free browsers he left dead and bloodied along the way?

Stockholders don't pay Microsoft to play nice, they pay Microsoft to make money. Microsoft made that money and the resulting company continues to do so. Whether or not all of his business practices were perceived as being socially perfect does not matter. If a second major operating system were to be presented that were superior to MS, then I wouldn't doubt it would succeed.

However, when you look at any other system that has been presented they have been inferior for various reasons or barely superior. If they were so superior they would have enticed enough companies to dump them anyway.

This is akin to the Intel vs AMD situation. AMD never had a great product until the K7 series, everything else was lower-tier trash. Even then they didn't have a hugely great product until INTC screwed up with the P4 and compounded that mistake. People whine that INTC offered too many incentives, dropped prices, struck deals...etc so that AMD couldn't compete.

Frankly, I don't care. If AMD's product was so great then it would be more widely accepted, but the mere fact is that it has never been that great.

Others say that MS has such a crappy product that has only been supported through sheer monopoly. I find this laughable. What other OS provides a very easy to use system for almost *every* computer configuration available on the PC? Most of the problems are due to computers not adhering to the standard, or just the fault of having to account for every problem in every configuration.

How do you account for infinity? You can't. Apple does it by limiting users and hardware down into a narrow spec. However, the larger they become the more degraded the system becomes as a whole as they have to increase their system geometrically.

Frankly, I would rather have 1 MS running such a daunting task rather than 5 apples. The massive scale of such undertakings naturally appeal to one large company.

I'm glad you answered me seriously, but I was just paraphrasing Zoolander. (And was it MS or Intel that used its monopoly power to threaten its business partners (Dell?) with blacklisting if they used competitor (AMD/Netscape?) products?)

Using those types of levers against companies is a common thing. That's business. Stronger companies can offer more incentives (or offer more threats). However, if a competitor doesn't have a product to overcome those benefits, then that's where the money will go.

Nutscrape sucked, it was never really that great. The big issue was that MS bundled IE in with Windows, which many thought the verticle integration of the system would result in monopolistic systems that could limit competition. This would be akin to Ford offering Ford tires on every vehicle, in addition to every other part.

Why would that be so horrible? If there is a better tire, then that will get the business.

Naturally, one would argue that tires are already diversified, unlike operating systems and browers. While that's true, it's only true because other competitors with good replacements entered the market at good prices.

This is the crux of the issue. Does any other company, AMD, Nutscrape, Firefox, Linux, Apple, offer a product that is not only superior in price, but in features, such that it can bump off a bigger player even with those threats or incentives?

AMD did it with Dell because eventually INTC f'd up and AMD wiggled in. It's too bad AMD squandered their lead, but that's business.

People need to face the fact that MS has a task unlike any other company in the world. They have to write a piece of software for infinite configurations from infinite companies who often times can't even follow the simplist standards in their drivers or hardware. MS has no power to control those companies and thus, their system gets blamed. Naturally, they could do what Apple does, limit the hardware, limit the manufacturers, and above all, cut users off from a lot of the core of the system.

However, they cannot do that since somebody needs to not do it in order for the PC world to survive. My biggest fear is that Apple eventually becomes large enough to really challenge MS. Many think that they offer so many innovative features. Sure, but it's at a cost of innovation of anything outside of their control.

Personally, I admire MS for being able to address infinity so well. Linux can't even get close to doing it despite the whiney geek's best efforts.

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: nkgreen

Originally posted by: blackangst1
I just spent a little bit on his foundation's page looking at it's grants. Unfuckingbelievable. He has given 5.5 mill to New Orleans JUST for the developement and building of new schools in urban areas...300k for general rebuilding...my God. He has given more than 4.7 BILLION...THIS YEAR ALONE...for United States, and over 7 BILLION worldwide.

Staggering.

If you think that's crazy, Warren Buffet is giving away 100 million shares to the Gates Foundation. That's $37 BILLION.

Yes, well aware. Buffett also sits on the board of Gates' foundation. Also, a few years back, I remember reading in one of the financial rags an interview with Buffett saying he planned on giving most of his fortune away..which he is doing. Like LK said, sure, they tax and other benefits, but so what? The amount of GOOD they doing in the world far outweighs the tax benefits.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Gotta give props to Gates. Say what you will about MS but I'd take one Bill Gates in this world over 1000 Steve Jobs. He stated long ago that before he died he would donate the vast majority of his fortune to charity. He is keeping his word and a man of his word is golden in my book.

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
Gotta give props to Gates. Say what you will about MS but I'd take one Bill Gates in this world over 1000 Steve Jobs. He stated long ago that before he died he would donate the vast majority of his fortune to charity. He is keeping his word and a man of his word is golden in my book.

Are you thinking of Buffett?

Within months, he said, he would begin to give away his Berkshire Hathaway fortune, then and now worth well over $40 billion.