The Road Ahead For Bill Gates Lasts Just Two More Years

from the wow dept

Thu, Jun 15th 2006 2:08pm — Mike Masnick

It's been over six years since Bill Gates handed over the CEO job to Steve Ballmer. While he's been quoted in various interviews saying how much he enjoys his role as Chief Software Architect, the company has certainly struggled with some of its software initiatives over the years. From his plans to stop all spam by early this year (whoops) to the problems getting their new Vista operating system out the door, the company has certainly run into some difficulties. Microsoft has also been working hard to come up with an internet strategy, but hasn't really found its footing there either. A lot of that internet strategy has recently fallen to Ray Ozzie, who Bill Gates has always been a fan of, since long before he bought Ozzie's company last year. It seems that all of this has combined to make the situation right for Gates to transition out of his day-to-day role at Microsoft, and hand over the Chief Software Architect title to Ozzie. He'll remain chairman, but it's still a bit surprising, given Gates' competitiveness. In the past, he had indicated that he had no interest in cutting back his role, but with people noticing lately that Gates has seemed friendlier and more mellow, perhaps he's finally recognizing that he can let go somewhat of the company he built. Still, it will be interesting to see how smoothly the transition really is, or if Gates feels the need to come roaring back at some point in the future.

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72 Comments

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Timothy Crowell, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:19pm

retire?
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Timothy Crowell, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:22pm

retire?
Bill Gates should go retire and play on his computer.Microsoft hasnt found anything decent to buy then call their own for a long time because they have strangled the computer software industry and held back open architecture 50 years..
They really havent changed anything for 10 years except forcing everyone to meet their standards...
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AzLinuxFan, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:26pm

Send him to IRAQ
Bill Gates needs to be drafted and sent to IRAQ to see what his evil corporate empire is doing to the worlds poor. We need a unified one world government based on Linux if we are to survive into the 22nd century.
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Jim, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:30pm

Re: Send him to IRAQ
One monopoly for another?
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STFU, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:30pm

Re: Send him to IRAQ
Hey, Stfu.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:33pm

You guys need to shut the hell up and go read some news. Bill Gates is one of the pioneers of the computing age, and without him we'd be in a completely different world. Learn to respect him and the work he's done for the industry.
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Searcher619, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:33pm

Re: Send him to IRAQ
LOL!!! PLEASE tell me you aren't serious! Bill Gates is resp for the pain of the world's poor? Give me a break. This has to be THE most head in ass statement I have read yet regarding Gates. Talk about irratinal hatred. Maybe I should call it envy.
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Searcher619, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:34pm

Re: Send him to IRAQ
Oh yeah...

and STFU!!!
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AzLinuxFan, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:39pm

WIll the HATERS back the hell up
If you support GATES you support evil tyranny and opression of the free peoples of the earth. Bill Gates is indeed solely intent on the suffering of others and promoting an evil operating system to achieve this.

Linux on the other hand is the operating system of Good and Truth. It will be the cornerstone of a new world system of peace and brotherhood. Linux has done more for world peace in the last 10 years than everyone else combined.

I pray you see the reality and goodness that is involved when using Linux to solve your problems.
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Linux Love, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:45pm

Bill Gates: The Anti-Christ.
It's obvious....
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SarcasmFan, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:48pm

Jeez.
I pray some people see the sarcasm and humor in AZLinuxFan's commentary!
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AzLinuxFan, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:50pm

SarcasmFan you have been warned
you do not speak for me or anyone else in the Arizona Linux Community. Please do not belittle my comments or make assumptions that are not true.

I work to foster world peace with the use of Linux nothing more and nothing less.
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haywood, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:51pm

Direct X
I'm a gamer, not exclusively, but none the less, a gamer. I would run Linux in a heart-beat if, it could run games designed for MS Direct-X. It can't EOD. I know there are Linux games, but I want the mainstream games, I want Grand Theft Auto!!, I suppose if one lives long enough Linux versions will be released a few years after Mac versions. Linux developers are you listening?
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Linux Love, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:53pm

Look...
Lets just put it all out there ok.... Microsoft Is bad... Because its goal is money... Linux is good because its goal is growth and knowledge as a community.....
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Republican Gun, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:54pm

Actually....
Microsoft hopefully will split up into the four or five companies it should be and start raking in the money. I, a former stockholder of msft, I have always felt that BG had been holding the company back by sticking to what HE thought the company should be. If he had left ten years ago, msft would be what goog is today. Discuss.
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Linux Love, 15 Jun 2006 @ 2:57pm

Gamers....
I have to agree that when it comes to gaming Windows is the only way to truly go. I choooe to dual boot. The only reason I do go into Windows is to do things that wine might not be able to handle... Certain games and some apps.
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Anonymous Bum, 15 Jun 2006 @ 3:03pm

Legends
I loved playing Legends ( a tribes 2 clone ) on my windows box but most players where on Linux.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 3:09pm

YTMND vs Scientology
The funniest thing on the net now is the war between ytmnd and scientology. Check out www.ytmnd.com and these sites:

http://lolscientology.ytmnd.com
http://hahadianetics.ytmnd.com
http://sue4xenu.ytmnd.com
http://whatisscienctologylol.ytmnd.com/
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Linux Sux, 15 Jun 2006 @ 3:36pm

To all you haters
You people are full of yourselves.

Since when has leaving a chief architect job to concentrate more on charity and education work been a sign of evil.. i think most just cant bear it when someone is more successfull than themselves. chill the hell out..

you guys should be focusing your hate more on people like Bush i mean cmon! GWB is living proof that no matter how inept someone is if they really put thier mind to it they can accomplish anything.

As for Linux, it will never be mainstream like windows because its too complicated for the average user. So you elitist nerds can rest easy knowing your always gonna be that little bit smarter than everyone else because you know what sudo and root means..

STFU! haters
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 3:49pm

uh oh
door closer? can't be slammed that easiily, he may be right about bush though.
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NutzAbound, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:00pm

I really shouldn't ask...
Just how is it that Linux has "done more for world peace in the last 10 years than everyone else combined."? If only we could get a copy to Bin Laden. DAMN, why didn't GB think of that? Just how hot is that Arizona sun, anyway?
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Ben, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:10pm

Re: Send him to IRAQ
You just go on believing that you simple twit.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:10pm

Re: Send him to IRAQ
Dude... You are an idiot... and STFU
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AzLinuxFan, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:11pm

Linux and Christ will save you
http://www.kde-look.org/content/files/12256-jesus_linux2.jpg
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Gates still bad, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:11pm

microsoft sucks
I don't know how anyone can say MS has contributed to technology, all they have done is stolen or bought a few things and forced others to meet their standards. They have made then entire industry work around them, when it should be the other way around.

I agree with Linux Love, all msft cares about is money, not quality, which is why they hold the tech industry back. If msft never existed, computers today would have the ease of a Mac and the power of a linux box.
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Ugh, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:12pm

Linux vs Windows
Window's objective is to make me want to hit my computer.
Linux's objective is to make me want to hit my computer harder.
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Ben, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:14pm

Re: Actually....
Maybe, but since he created it, ultimately its his choice what happens. i mean, whos going to argue with the richest man in the world about how to run a buisness
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linux and peace, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:15pm

RE: I really shouldn't ask
without linux the internet would have never been possible. The internet has been a major contributor to knowledge and peace. That's pnly one of the many ways linux has contributed to world peace
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Ben, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:16pm

Re: WIll the HATERS back the hell up
what are you smoking? how is windows evil? how is windows causing war? how can linux fix it? how many people do you plan on offending?
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ben can blow me, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:21pm

why ms evil
windows is evil because it hit the breaks for the tech industry, Microsoft promotes monopolies which is the exact oposite of what America stands for, linux is about freedom of choice and sharing of knoweledge. Linux is America values summed up into a 700mb cd.
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Linux Love, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:22pm

Linux Ease of use....
CLearly those of you who feel linux is Too hard... Have yet to try some of the newer releases.. I challenege you to try the newest Ubuntu Release. Download the Desktop Iso and give it a shot. You will be surprised. TRY IT! You dont have to install to try the OS http://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/linux/ubuntu-releases/6.06/ go and dooooooooooo it.... Then take a look at synaptic package manager and look into easyubuntu on google. To the followers of Windows I urge you to just give it a shot.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:33pm

he is very right about GWB.....not to mention a good chunk of our right sided gov't.....those guys need to chill.....

bill gates isnt all that bad....i mean, he is not any more worse then any of the other corporate/rich guys(think OIL, CIGARETTE, ALCOHOL, AUTO industries).....they are all bad on that note(being paid 450X the amount that is paid to the average employee).....but hey lets pick on the nerd!...BG built MS from the ground up from nothing....

and besides that.....microsoft WILL teeter away....i bet that vista will be the last BIG release as we know it now....linux is catching up at alarming speeds....it is getting easier to use and setup......

now linux, man that is some tasty stuff......like chicken gravy with free beer!.....i have been a linux user since slackware 7.....and at the moment slackware 10.2.....yes i have to dual-boot(i am a gamer....ATI and Linux dont get along that well.....thanks ATI)....its all good..... linux is a revolution of free speech and ideas....revolutions take a second, but when they hit....MAN!..... WHAM!.... BAM!!!
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Tyshaun, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:34pm

I love linux but....
Linux is great, I love it lot, but let's give credit where credit is due. The growth of the internet rests squarely on the shoulders of the proliferation of computers to the average household, and windows was a huge piece of that. I would dare say that if DOS, linux or any other command line driven OS was the only choice for computers, they would have never have been accepted into mainstream culture.(yes, I know linux had a GUI too but most of the functionality is on the command line!)

I agree that Gates company may have tried to monopoloize the computer technology market, but monopolies don't always imply evil. The railroad companies and early telephone companies were monopolies. If they weren't willing to lay down the infrastructure than the modern freight/transport rail system and telephone system wouldn't exist!

Anyway, good luck Gates. Can't say I'll miss you but you definately played the game like a champion. When giving to your charitable donations don't forget me!
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Dan, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:34pm

Re: To all you haters
In the immortal words of Snoop Dogg

Fo' Shizel
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:47pm

Re: Look...
Microsoft Is bad... Because its goal is money...

That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. By that logic 99% of all companies are bad. That is the normal world.

So google is bad, yahoo is bad, tech dirt is bad, delta air lines is bad, target is bad, amazon is bad, etc, etc.?
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AzLinuxFan, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:49pm

Linux and Christ will save you
If you charge money for what you provide to the greater good of humanity you are essentialy an evil person. This is just common fact.

Linux is the tool necessary to cleanse the souls of the human population and enable us to live in global harmony
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 4:51pm

Re: Re: Look...
the goal of money isn't the reason they are bad, its the fact that they only care about the money and don't give a crap about the quality of their products or their customers
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Voice of reason, 15 Jun 2006 @ 5:00pm

You've got to be kidding......
I must say that I am an old DOS user who went to Windows kicking and screaming. In the last few years, I have learned a lot about Linux and overall, I like it. But, I see one major reason why Linux will likely never be where Windows is today - every version does things differently.

When I started working with Linux, I used RedHat, then I switched to Mandrake when RedHat went purchase-only. Recently, I decided I wanted to work with something else that would provide less hand holding, so I looked at Ubuntu and Debian. Little did I know that much of what I know from RedHat/Mandrake did not apply to Ubuntu and Debian. I quickly ditched that idea and now use Fedora. And, that is just one example. Nevermind the fact that some programs will not run on some Linux distros. Then, there is the headache of getting some hardware to work properly on Linux......

Yet, this whole time, Windows still works basically the same. Sure, newer versions of Windows have differences compared to previous versions, but I know companies that are still running Windows 3.1 apps on XP.

While Linux is great for some things, it sucks as a desktop OS in terms of ease of use and widespread compatibility, especially for novice users.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 5:16pm

linux as desktop
the only reason that linux has compatibility problems and a lack of commom software is microsofts deathgrip. They have given benifits to many companies to only develop for their software. Linux will ride a steep slope to the top as soon as ms stops buying their way
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Trvth Jvstice, 15 Jun 2006 @ 5:48pm

IMO
As soon as Linux is easy enough for the average user,and gains any popularity, some company will license it and attempt to make a profit off of it.
The idea of linux as the free future savior of the home computer user is naive (although it is a beautiful dream)..
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poopie, 15 Jun 2006 @ 6:26pm

linux is too hard for novice users
Novice users are still too stupid to install linux. Also there are no games for linux. These are the only two things that are keeping ms in charge and linux in the shadows. (the gaming part is what keeps mac in the shadows as well)
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Apennismightier, 15 Jun 2006 @ 6:29pm

Why doesn't Bill stop making promises he can't keep, like the spam thing, or OS's that won't crash and destroy the competition and work on something that could dominate the market?

How about working on your freaking XBOX, huh Gates? The initial system was junk, having recall orders for plugs burning down houses, as well as firmware upgrades that were needed after only 5 months in which consumers had to either buy new XBOX's or pay another $100 to upgrade their firmware to play certain games. The controller was by far the worst and most clunky design ever. The Gamecube controller was less annoying.

Now that XBOX360 is out, it still has flaws. It was released too early, doesn't really show any new generational advances other than an overbearing attention to miniscule detail (so you can see Shaq sweat... big whoop) other than making more realistically looking characters and movements and engines for games. XBOX360 is where Microsoft's future SHOULD be. Windows has already cornered the market and people will buy Vista regardless of how it performs as well as have it spoon fed to them via every PC they buy til the next OS he dreams up.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 6:35pm

distribution
If linux is what HP, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Gateway, etc. used as their default OS linux would be more popular. The only reason windows has the market it has is because many people don't know Linux exists, and if they do they dont know what it is and what is capable of.
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linux man, 15 Jun 2006 @ 6:36pm

Re: linux is too hard for novice users
the default install for many recent linux distributions (ie. fedora) isn't any harder to install then linux.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 6:37pm

Re: Re: linux is too hard for novice users
typo: isn't any harder to install then windows
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Tyshaun, 15 Jun 2006 @ 6:52pm

Re: distribution
of course linux would be more popular if the major compter makers installed it as their default OS, but any maker doing so would see an almost immediate drop in sales.

Say what you want about how cool linux is, until it has an array of high quality games and productivity apps that beats, not rivals, Windows, you're living in fantasy world if you think linux has a chance.

I have a lot of experience on Windows, Macs, and multiple flavors of linux and I can honestly say that while linux platforms are by far the most stable, they really are a bear to upgrade/reconfigure certain parts. It took me almost 2 days of reading manuals and going to usegroups to figure out how to install a custom video card on one linux platform, and then I ended up having to change and re-build driver code to do it! I so can't see the average e-mail/web surfer doing this type of thing.
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Unpopular Guy, 15 Jun 2006 @ 7:14pm

Observation
I see alot of the same arguments here that MS is evil and Linux is "salvation" and I just have to say that they are wrong. First of all to the people who say that MS is bad because it's goal is money. No shit? You mean a company wants to make money? I got news for you. Linux distributers just wanna make money too. They just use a different business model. And to the people who say that if Windows hadn't been released, we'd be using Linux instead, I agree. However "we" would consist of everyone who wouldn't have a Mac. Running Windows on cheap hardware is what changed the computer market. Computers just wouldn't be in nearly everyones home at this point in time. Linux was to complex for the home users and Macs too expensive. "Average Joe" just wouldn't have bothered with computers. Not to say that Linux hasn't come far but it's still the OS for geeks. The potential of what Linux could be can be seen in Apple's OSX. You almost never need to drop to command line and software can be purchased or downloaded with a standardized installer. That's what Linux needs. Now before anyone says I don't know what I'm talking about, I will fully admit that I've only given Linux a limitted try because of frustration. Just to install Java, I had to search the web forever. Sun's instructions make too much of an assumption about my ability level. This is where Linux is weekest in my opinion. You cannot install software with no experience out of the box. With Windows and OSX you can just download a software package and install without thinking. Let me rephrase that. You CAN just install things in Linux but software venders don't write their software that way. I personally think this is the most important key to what keeps Linux down.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 8:56pm

Re: Linux and Christ will save you
so...every good businessman is evil? i'm evil because i provide a service to my employer and get paid for it? if you have a job, then you too are evil. i mean, it's just common fact!
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Adam, 15 Jun 2006 @ 8:57pm

Getting dragged in to this...
I use Windows. I tried Fedora Core 4, but quickly got frustrated. My wireless card didn't have Linux drivers available, and I wasn't about to spend more money to use a free OS. Things like help files to get started were not included, which is a shame because things were different from Windows. Well over half of my games didn't install, I couldn't look into my Windows partition from Linux, and it just wasn't worth whatever meager benefits I would gain from using it.

Bill Gates is not the devil. He's a guy who was in the right place at the right time, and had the skills and drive to turn that into massive amounts of cash. If Microsoft was crap, it would have died. It's happened plenty of times. Have they made some incredible mistakes? Yes. Windows ME wasn't worth the plastic it was distributed on. That would be why no one in their right minds runs it anymore.

If the only advantage of Linux is Open Source, and that makes it 'more pure' than Windows, I have a question for you. When has open source software developed purely for the joy of coding ever held a candle to closed source alternatives that were developed for a career? Other than Mozilla.
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Adam, 15 Jun 2006 @ 8:57pm

Getting dragged in to this...
I use Windows. I tried Fedora Core 4, but quickly got frustrated. My wireless card didn't have Linux drivers available, and I wasn't about to spend more money to use a free OS. Things like help files to get started were not included, which is a shame because things were different from Windows. Well over half of my games didn't install, I couldn't look into my Windows partition from Linux, and it just wasn't worth whatever meager benefits I would gain from using it.

Bill Gates is not the devil. He's a guy who was in the right place at the right time, and had the skills and drive to turn that into massive amounts of cash. If Microsoft was crap, it would have died. It's happened plenty of times. Have they made some incredible mistakes? Yes. Windows ME wasn't worth the plastic it was distributed on. That would be why no one in their right minds runs it anymore.

If the only advantage of Linux is Open Source, and that makes it 'more pure' than Windows, I have a question for you. When has open source software developed purely for the joy of coding ever held a candle to closed source alternatives that were developed for a career? Other than Mozilla.
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asshat, 15 Jun 2006 @ 11:08pm

Prolific Prediction and Pontifications
i've been thinking aloud for years that bill would eventually phase out OS production and eventually settle into more of a home entertainment type monoply. then came the xbox, then the intel Macs, then the 360. meanwhile MS OS software seems to almost be standing still. and now the Mac media blitz is on...

i've also been pondering aloud that in the not too distant future our MS based pc's will be the equivalent to the computing world as the atari is to the modern console game...

i'm a pc user, and i don't own a Mac, i'm not even saying Mac will take over the market but, if i was a betting man and if i had $10- 20,000 to invest, i'd plunk it down on old apple and run like hell...
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2006 @ 11:28pm

I don't care what anyone says in response to what I have to say on the subject, but Bill Gates has been a true pioneer and visionary in this industry. All of the things he has done that the masses call "evil" have been brilliant -- excellent business move after another. Regardless of whether you like what Microsoft has to offer or not, you have none other than Bill Gates to thank for the processing power at your disposal at this modern age of computing. Remember the huge effect Windows 95 had on the hardware market? Buckle your seatbelts because Vista is going to have the same, if not a greater, affect on that same sector of the industry.
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Ben, 16 Jun 2006 @ 7:21am

Re: Linux and Christ will save you
Preach on brother Linux. Teach these pagens about the almighty trueth. these heratics must burn for there sins of blindly following in the Windows way. May no one make money and the communist way prosper.

(Long live Microsoft and Bill Gates)
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Ben, 16 Jun 2006 @ 7:23am

Re: YTMND vs Scientology
Hah, watch out for xenu
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Ben, 16 Jun 2006 @ 7:24am

Re: Linux and Christ will save you
See note above
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Ben, 16 Jun 2006 @ 7:37am

Re: why ms evil
I'm all for Freedom, i love america and i've used Linux. but I'm a gamer, and for most games windows is required. just because Billy figured out how to make a huge amount of money doesn't make him evil (especially since he's donating most of the money to chareties after he dies). Like i said, i've no problem with linux. and as far as choice, well if you wanna get technical there are quite a few OSs out there that, if you want to pay for them, you can use. Just because MS figured out how to do it better than the rest doesn't make them evil. You want to work for free? and as for as putting the breaks on the tech industry... you're and idoit with that statment. the Tech industry CHOSE to use windows. no one forced them to. America was never about free product, go read the constitution dumb ass
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Limerat, 16 Jun 2006 @ 8:31am

So long Mr. Gates.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Microsoft with Gates stepping back.
I also use Linux and so far have tried the very easy Linspire and PCLinux and am looking at Suse.
The biggest problem I see with Linux is installing apps and compatability It needs a drop-dead universal installer really bad.. Not to mention there are more distros than you can shake a stick at..
Getting a difficult distro can send a MS user running back to Gates faster than a bullet train.
As to installing Linux,I've found the versions I've tried very easy,but keep in mind,a lot of people don't know how to install any OS and only have Windows cause it was on their machine when they bought it.
The other big thing I see from my little window is people balking at Linux cause it can't run the apps they want, especially games.
There are pros and cons to every OS......I chose Linux cause I wanted stability, security and to not have to deal with the Big Brother aspects of Microsoft.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jun 2006 @ 8:33am

It's all about the money!
If I had the same job selection and pay level using non MS software then I would. As long as MSFT is still the leader in the job market then I will be a MS supporter. It's as simple as that. Thanks Bill, for allowing me a means to put food on the table!
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ebrke, 16 Jun 2006 @ 8:57am

Re: WIll the HATERS back the hell up
On the off chance that you are not speaking tongue-in-cheek, please be quiet and stop giving linux users a bad name. Most of us are not unbalanced.
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Ben, 16 Jun 2006 @ 9:25am

Re: I love linux but....
Thank you!
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Ben, 16 Jun 2006 @ 9:30am

Re: So long Mr. Gates.
Exactly, windows fits the needs of most people, hence its huge sales. I support Linux and think its absolutely great, for somethings. Open source code is a great and wonderful thing but it is geared more towards techies, not grandma Pearl who uses her computer to send emails to her kids and grand-kids.
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Position OPen, 16 Jun 2006 @ 9:59am

Gates in Retirement
Now may master plan of offering a good chunk of founder's stock to lure him out fo retirement is taking shape.
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Jay, 16 Jun 2006 @ 11:16am

Re: Send him to IRAQ
Your an IDIOT! Linux has been in the peoples hands for a long time now, and it is still a useless pile of open source!! Windows kicks ass. FREAK!
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Louis, 16 Jun 2006 @ 11:54am

Re: Send him to IRAQ by Jay
No, Jay. First you have to learn how to use a computer before you can handle an OS like Linux. You keep your copy of Windows. And all your Security Updates the Gates squad churns out to plug the holes in its software.
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Cool Person, 16 Jun 2006 @ 12:09pm

Bill should just save up money build a super computer and give it to me
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asshat, 16 Jun 2006 @ 1:00pm

Re: Send him to IRAQ
once any OS becomes the flavor of the month and starts making money and gaining a market stronghold it will be exploited, hacked and despised...
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jun 2006 @ 7:46pm

Re: WIll the HATERS back the hell up
Wow, I want some of whatever you are on...
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jun 2006 @ 7:51pm

Re: microsoft sucks
Come on, give credit where it is due.

Without Gates and Allen getting IBM to let them do their thing, the personal computer could well still be a hobbyist thing... Who knows what path computing would have taken?

I agree, that Microsoft has really gone over the top in the last ten years though...
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jun 2006 @ 7:55pm

Re: IMO
Well...

"some company will license it and attempt to make a profit off of it"

Can you say Red Hat, for starters? Mandriva, perhaps?

On the other hand, can you say Linux From Scratch?
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Max, 18 Jun 2006 @ 10:04am

Bill Gates was a true pioneer in a covered wagon and that was a good thing back in the days of covered wagons.

The world has moved on but, Gates and Microsoft still do the covered wagon pioneer mode. They code like it's 1980. The software development methods that worked then haven't scaled to the massive projects they do now. That's why Vista is late and may be impossible to complete. The old ways don't work anymore.

Best thing that could happen to Microsoft is to get over hiring Bill Gates clones.
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VPR, 23 Jun 2006 @ 1:39am

When has open source software developed purely for the joy of coding ever held a candle to closed source alternatives that were developed for a career? Other than Mozilla.

http://www.phpbb.com

Take your foot out of your mouth now.

I use both XP as well as SUSE (it really is fun). Suggestion for newbie Linux users--buy books & spend some time reading. Yes, you'll actually have to learn something beyond double-clicking a pretty picture. What's funny is you have to do that in Windows for some applications too ;)

I have little to no respect for spoon-fed fools who act like their shit don't stink.
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Harvetr8, 7 Mar 2007 @ 11:08am

Re: Send him to IRAQ
"Evil corporate empire" - sounds like a disgrunteled employee or competitor.
Although MS has certainly had questionable business practices, this rant seems more like a complaint on capitalism in general. Show me a country that does more, on average, for global releif than the capitalist US. Using capitalism as an evil of the world is utopian rhetoric. While the system isn't perfect and should incorporate more socialist ideals, innovation and evolution w/out competition is unfortunately against human nature. One must work towards globalization of the principles of empathy, compassion and tolerance in people before governments and markets can change.
As for Gates, despite his participation/direction of MS's questionable business practices, he'll probably go down in history as one of the, if not the, greatest philanthropists.
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