End of an era : Bill Gates retires

GTO · 28th June 2008, 15:03

You may love or hate Gates / Microsoft / Windows. But you cannot deny the fact that they have changed the way we work and made personal computers a commodity. One of the most influential personalities from one of the most influential organisations of our time.

Bill Gates retires this week from his full-time role as Chief Software Architect @ MS. Well, he's only 52 so what gives? Primarily because he wants to focus on philanthropy through the "Bill & Melinda Gates foundation".

Truly one of the most remarkable icons from our time. Good luck, Bill!

Must Reads:

An Icon's second act
MS without Gates
Ruthless Philanthropy

bblost · 28th June 2008, 15:13

Slightly old but a good one on Bill Gates retiring
The Letterman take:
Life After Coffee David Letterman on Bill Gates Retirement

speedzak · 28th June 2008, 15:26

Goodlucks with your retirement, Mr. Gates!
You made lots of a difference in our lives.

ECM · 28th June 2008, 15:43

Same goes for Buffer as well,look at this news
Lunch with Buffett will cost more than $2 million
proceeds go to charity.

Lunch with Buffett will cost more than $2 million

tsk1979 · 28th June 2008, 15:45

Aah! finally. Good riddance! I must say.

SumitB · 28th June 2008, 15:48

To some he was a prick. To some a messiah! One thing is for sure, the PC as we know it today, would not have been the same had Bill not been there. So Mr. Gates, thank you for everything. Enjoy your fortunes and we hope that those who replace you, will carry on with your legacy. Have a good life.

srijit · 28th June 2008, 16:31

I'd rather we throw out Ballmer, and some of the guys in the Vista team.

DirtyDan · 28th June 2008, 17:24

Congratulations, Bill, on making user unfriendly, poorly conceived, poorly executed and minimally tested software a way of life for hundreds of millions.

Bill Gates will never die (darn it!) he will just "hang up".

Byte me Bill.

HappyWheels · 28th June 2008, 17:35

Wishing all the best for BG!

He did change the world as we know it!

Jaggu · 28th June 2008, 18:15

Lucky bugger, retiring to billions of $$$

iceman91 · 28th June 2008, 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Lucky bugger, retiring to billions of $$$

tell me about it..people whine about his products but he still made more than half the world buy it or use it

aaggoswami · 28th June 2008, 19:11

What ever people have to say about Bill Gates and his company's products, I appreciate him for what he has done. The products of Microsoft are not the best and were not the best. But they ( the products ) had certain amount of user friendliness not seen earlier. Its only because of Microsoft that many, many people are finding it easier to use computer.

I respect such a human being for what he has managed to accomplish.

Thad E Ginathom · 28th June 2008, 19:15

Biggest con ever. Save on the development; spend on the marketing; take over the world.

Well, maybe he didn't quite achieve the last point, but who's saying he's given up trying?

Microsoft have always been imitators and buyers, not innovators at all. Didn't even that first DOS operating system, that Gates used family connections to sell to IBM, get bought off someone else?

But whatever they actually succeeded at, and whatever the quality of the product, sure; its the great success story of the age --- even though I'm using Firefox browser, it's still Windows XP.

But it was IBM's decision to let others manufacture what has become known to all of us as "The PC" that ensured its place on everybody's desk.

lancer_rit · 28th June 2008, 19:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Biggest con ever. Save on the development; spend on the marketing; take over the world.

Well let's say M$ stretched and even broke laws on multiple occassions. However, they have made +ve contributions for the average Joe, and they were resilient, persistent and willing to change when they failed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

But it was IBM's decision to let others manufacture what has become known to all of us as "The PC" that ensured its place on everybody's desk.

As for the PC, IBM did nothing of the sort. Fellows at Compaq reverse engineered the IBM PC BIOS in top secret to make their own PC compatible computer. They also had to "guess" about the ISA bus because IBM never released the specs...

kvish · 28th June 2008, 19:32

Whatever said and done, he has acheived what no one else has and its very hard to imagine anyone else can grow to that stature even in the future.

Kudos to an extraordinary individual! Lets hope his philanthropic effort is as fruitful as his career.

28th June 2008, 15:03	#1
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,512 Thanked: 300,693 Times View My Garage	End of an era : Bill Gates retires You may love or hate Gates / Microsoft / Windows. But you cannot deny the fact that they have changed the way we work and made personal computers a commodity. One of the most influential personalities from one of the most influential organisations of our time. Bill Gates retires this week from his full-time role as Chief Software Architect @ MS. Well, he's only 52 so what gives? Primarily because he wants to focus on philanthropy through the "Bill & Melinda Gates foundation". Truly one of the most remarkable icons from our time. Good luck, Bill! Must Reads: An Icon's second act MS without Gates Ruthless Philanthropy Last edited by GTO : 28th June 2008 at 15:04.
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 15:13	#2
bblost Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 11,008 Thanked: 15,334 Times View My Garage	Slightly old but a good one on Bill Gates retiring The Letterman take: Life After Coffee David Letterman on Bill Gates Retirement
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 15:26	#3
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	Goodlucks with your retirement, Mr. Gates! You made lots of a difference in our lives.
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 15:43	#4
ECM BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Posts: 226 Thanked: 15 Times	Same goes for Buffer as well,look at this news Lunch with Buffett will cost more than $2 million proceeds go to charity. Lunch with Buffett will cost more than $2 million
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 15:45	#5
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Aah! finally. Good riddance! I must say.
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 15:48	#6
SumitB BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Shillong Posts: 986 Thanked: 263 Times	To some he was a prick. To some a messiah! One thing is for sure, the PC as we know it today, would not have been the same had Bill not been there. So Mr. Gates, thank you for everything. Enjoy your fortunes and we hope that those who replace you, will carry on with your legacy. Have a good life.
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 16:31	#7
srijit BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 598 Thanked: 8 Times	I'd rather we throw out Ballmer, and some of the guys in the Vista team.
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 17:24	#8
DirtyDan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Dharamsala, H.P Posts: 2,075 Thanked: 1,564 Times	Congratulations, Bill, on making user unfriendly, poorly conceived, poorly executed and minimally tested software a way of life for hundreds of millions. Bill Gates will never die (darn it!) he will just "hang up". Byte me Bill.
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 17:35	#9
HappyWheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,106 Thanked: 537 Times	Wishing all the best for BG! He did change the world as we know it!
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 18:15	#10
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,906 Times	Lucky bugger, retiring to billions of $$$
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 19:11	#12
aaggoswami Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara Posts: 4,982 Thanked: 2,931 Times	What ever people have to say about Bill Gates and his company's products, I appreciate him for what he has done. The products of Microsoft are not the best and were not the best. But they ( the products ) had certain amount of user friendliness not seen earlier. Its only because of Microsoft that many, many people are finding it easier to use computer. I respect such a human being for what he has managed to accomplish. Last edited by aaggoswami : 28th June 2008 at 19:12.
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 19:15	#13
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,004 Thanked: 26,427 Times	Biggest con ever. Save on the development; spend on the marketing; take over the world. Well, maybe he didn't quite achieve the last point, but who's saying he's given up trying? Microsoft have always been imitators and buyers, not innovators at all. Didn't even that first DOS operating system, that Gates used family connections to sell to IBM, get bought off someone else? But whatever they actually succeeded at, and whatever the quality of the product, sure; its the great success story of the age --- even though I'm using Firefox browser, it's still Windows XP. But it was IBM's decision to let others manufacture what has become known to all of us as "The PC" that ensured its place on everybody's desk.
	() Thanks

28th June 2008, 19:32	#15
kvish BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 627 Thanked: 195 Times	Whatever said and done, he has acheived what no one else has and its very hard to imagine anyone else can grow to that stature even in the future. Kudos to an extraordinary individual! Lets hope his philanthropic effort is as fruitful as his career.
	() Thanks