Ever wonder how Bill Gates works?

[Kaido]

Interesting article:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/30/news/newsmakers/gates_howiwork_fortune/

Nutshell:
-uses (3) 21" NEC LCD monitors
>left monitor = email list
>center monitor = specific email he is reading and responding to
>right monitor = browser (both for browsing and for opening email links)
-Uses a Dell desktop
-Has a tablet synced to his desktop to take to meetings
-Has a whiteboard with color pens for brainstorming
-Prefers email over other forms of communication (letters and so on)
-Faxes and voicemail are received via email
-Receives about 100 emails a day (via filtering and a personal assistant)
-Primarily uses Outlook, SharePoint, OneNote, and Windows Desktop Search

We all could probably learn a few things from him, seeing as he's a billionarie and we're not

 

[Kaido]

Forgot to mention he uses Windows XP

 

[xtknight]

I didn't know he worked at all anymore. I thought he just hired (paid) slaves.

 

[scottws]

Did you hear what he said though? He just browses the web and reads e-mail all day, apparently.

 

[Extelleron]

He uses a DELL? I thought he would build his own OMFG high-end PC...... apparently not.

 

[daniel1113]

That's a pretty humble setup for the wealthiest man in the country.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: daniel1113
That's a pretty humble setup for the wealthiest man in the country.

Did they mention that that LCD's are diamond-studded?

 

[Nothinman]

He uses a DELL? I thought he would build his own OMFG high-end PC...... apparently not.

Why? All he does is use email to coordinate other people now, that doesn't take a lot of computing power.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: scottws
Did you hear what he said though? He just browses the web and reads e-mail all day, apparently.

That's what a lot of managers do. That's pretty much all my boss does, and when I worked in sales, that was the majority of my day - answering emails and visiting customer websites. Gates is more of a business man than a technical guy at any rate, and now that he's hired the best and brightest to do the design & development work, he can completely focus on improving his business. If he really handles his workflow like he says he does, then he certainly has more discipline than I do

 

[stash]

Gates probably doesn't spend a whole lot of time in the office anyway. He travels all the time giving speeches, doing philanthopic stuff, etc.

 

[TGS]

Seeing as how the tablet is probably the only thing he uses beyond the typical user, the setup really isn't anything special.

Now if someone wanted to learn on how to rebadge software, capatilize on market segmentation, and develop add-on products, Bill might be the guy to talk to.

 

[Maximilian]

Hes made his umpteen billion. He dosent need to do much work anymore. Wish i had thought up windows first

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

He uses a DELL? I thought he would build his own OMFG high-end PC...... apparently not.

Why? All he does is use email to coordinate other people now, that doesn't take a lot of computing power.

Still, a Dell is just so..... un-1337 for a guy like him.

I wonder if he actually works on software that much anymore, or just tells other people what to do and they create it.

 

[Nothinman]

Still, a Dell is just so..... un-1337 for a guy like him.

Have you ever seen Bill Gates speak? He's about the most un-1337 guy on the planet.

I wonder if he actually works on software that much anymore, or just tells other people what to do and they create it.

I doubt he does much more than saying "It would be cool if this could do this, can we do it?".

 

[Pastore]

Saw that article yesterday, definitely interesting.

 

[kuba]

Originally posted by: Extelleron

Originally posted by: Nothinman

He uses a DELL? I thought he would build his own OMFG high-end PC...... apparently not.

Why? All he does is use email to coordinate other people now, that doesn't take a lot of computing power.

Still, a Dell is just so..... un-1337 for a guy like him.

I wonder if he actually works on software that much anymore, or just tells other people what to do and they create it.

Come on, you kidding, him do work now?
He's disgustingly rich, he hires people, all he does is toss ideas, tells people what he wants done, and that's it.
He's one of the most powerful people in the world, if not, THE, most powerful.
I wouldn't be working on programs, in some office.
He's always got something on his plate.

 

[kuba]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Forgot to mention he uses Windows XP

home or pro?
My bet is on Home, saving some coin...make him worth more on paper haha

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: kuba

Originally posted by: Extelleron

Originally posted by: Nothinman

He uses a DELL? I thought he would build his own OMFG high-end PC...... apparently not.

Why? All he does is use email to coordinate other people now, that doesn't take a lot of computing power.

Still, a Dell is just so..... un-1337 for a guy like him.

I wonder if he actually works on software that much anymore, or just tells other people what to do and they create it.

Come on, you kidding, him do work now?
He's disgustingly rich, he hires people, all he does is toss ideas, tells people what he wants done, and that's it.
He's one of the most powerful people in the world, if not, THE, most powerful.
I wouldn't be working on programs, in some office.
He's always got something on his plate.

Still, how bad could working on software and making $B's be? If I was in control of a company like Microsoft I'd want to be directly involved in MAKING the software/etc, I wouldnt want someone else doing it for me.

 

[Nothinman]

He's disgustingly rich, he hires people, all he does is toss ideas, tells people what he wants done, and that's it.

Some people actually like to develop software.

Still, how bad could working on software and making $B's be? If I was in control of a company like Microsoft I'd want to be directly involved in MAKING the software/etc, I wouldnt want someone else doing it for me.

I hope you never become a manager then, people hate that kind of micro-management. And the main problem is that you can't be in control of everything all of the time, especially with the amount of software that MS produces.

 

[kuba]

Agreed, no doubt, but, I think his involvement would be something along the lines of
day 15 of a 60 day software build, he drops in to check what's going on.
Final day, they present him with the final product.
Ever see Bill Gates' failures at the CES shows a few times.
Once in the opening of it with Conan O'Brian I believe, another time with one of his employees on stage and something froze or crashed.
So makes you think, how much testing or input he had before the final product was OK'd.
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2005/01/06.12.shtml
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2126451/blue-screen-death-crashes-gates-ces
http://games.slashdot.org/games/05/01/06/1337228.shtml?tid=109&tid=211
3rd one there's a link to the video on slashdot.

 

[Nothinman]

So makes you think, how much testing or input he had before the final product was OK'd.

Like any corporate venture it was probably agreed to before they know how much work it would actually take so everything got rushed, worked on a few test runs at MS and was deemed 'good enough' so long as nothing out of the ordinary happened.

 

[pkme2]

Henry J. Kaiser said that all he had to be was a wise man and hire a lot of smart engineers.

Bill Gates is a wise man hiring a lot of smart people to do the work. But it takes time overseeing his vast empire.
His time is very limited especially with all his meetings, speech giving , and charitable works, he can hire the best to oversee the realm.
He can afford anything to furnish his office but a man who could, doesn't need to. If you met the man, people say he gets directly to the point without any nonsense. His office reflects the man's personality. He doesn't need much to get what he wants.

Its too bad that the majority of his former employees want to stick it to him. His road to success is slewn with the bodies of burnt out programmers. Methinks his wife is trying to get him into heaven with his 'Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation'. Melinda, you goooo girl!

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

He's disgustingly rich, he hires people, all he does is toss ideas, tells people what he wants done, and that's it.

Some people actually like to develop software.

Still, how bad could working on software and making $B's be? If I was in control of a company like Microsoft I'd want to be directly involved in MAKING the software/etc, I wouldnt want someone else doing it for me.

I hope you never become a manager then, people hate that kind of micro-management. And the main problem is that you can't be in control of everything all of the time, especially with the amount of software that MS produces.

Still, at least with major releases such as Windows, I'd want to be involved in EXACTLY what will be going on in order to provide the best product for the consumer, and would want to be testing it vigurously myself- because if it didn't meet my standards, it wouldnt meet the standards of the consumer.

 

[Nothinman]

Still, at least with major releases such as Windows, I'd want to be involved in EXACTLY what will be going on in order to provide the best product for the consumer, and would want to be testing it vigurously myself- because if it didn't meet my standards, it wouldnt meet the standards of the consumer.

If I had to guess I'd say his over-involvement is one of the reasons that Windows is always so behind in it's release schedule. He's always talking about huge revolutionary thing like WinFS that are just too huge to do alongside everything else, even for a company with the resources that MS has at their disposal. Software should be evolutionary, not revolutionary.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Extelleron

Originally posted by: Nothinman

He's disgustingly rich, he hires people, all he does is toss ideas, tells people what he wants done, and that's it.

Some people actually like to develop software.

Still, how bad could working on software and making $B's be? If I was in control of a company like Microsoft I'd want to be directly involved in MAKING the software/etc, I wouldnt want someone else doing it for me.

I hope you never become a manager then, people hate that kind of micro-management. And the main problem is that you can't be in control of everything all of the time, especially with the amount of software that MS produces.

Still, at least with major releases such as Windows, I'd want to be involved in EXACTLY what will be going on in order to provide the best product for the consumer, and would want to be testing it vigurously myself- because if it didn't meet my standards, it wouldnt meet the standards of the consumer.

Well, that's why you and I are on the AT forums and why Gates is a billionaire. Back in the day, Gates and Jobs were both starting computer companies. Jobs dumped his cash into developing a good product, while Gates dumped his cash into marketing his product. Jobs ended up with an awesome command-line-free point-and-click system and Gates ended up with the empire. Gates knew that if he gained market control first, he could always use the money to fund further development to encourage users to stick with his product.

Starting with 2k Windows starting becoming a good product. XP is a lot better, although it still takes more work than necessary to maintain it (Adaware/Spybot/AVG/Windows Update/Disk Cleanup/Disk Defrag/backup are my weekly chores). As I've begun my switch to OS X, I can see why Mac users are so pro-Apple: the product is 1,000 times better in every aspect - stability, ease of use, cross-communication, even designer looks. Now that 99% of consumer software is available for or has equivalents in OS X, it's finally feasible for me to switch. Now with dual boot and virtualization I have even more incentive. My wife's iMac requires no maintenance - no defrags, no spyware scanning, no need to even have an antivirus solution. Dot Mac and a local Firewire backup disk take care of clones and backups for her. It's quite a nice setup. I think a lot more people will be switch to OS X now that it can dual boot and now that Vista is being release (six versions? yikes!).

At any rate, Gates was the smarter businessman, at least initially. It's not about the product so much as how you play the game, I guess.