Waving Good-Bye to Bill Gates

[Rob Williams]

As Matt posted to the front page:

As June 27 gets closer and closer, technology pendants, competitors and fellow colleagues face the growing realization that Bill Gates will soon leave the technology industry and his position as chairman of Microsoft. It's not entirely clear what impact the leave will have, but the entire incident remains to be a historical event worth noting.

The man, despite any personal grievances one may hold, has made many contributions to the technology and software industry, as well as to the world through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Although Gates will still have a part time job at Microsoft, he will not be there on a day-to-day basis and will instead focus his efforts on his charity.

It's a nice thing to see fellow CEOs give their respects and say their goodbyes to the man who essentially changed the personal computer to be what we know it today. CNet has a collection of 13 technology leaders saying goodbye to Bill Gates, and his legacy.

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As Bill Gates steps down from full-time work at Microsoft, well-wishing cheers and not-so-nice jeers are echoing from Silicon Valley. After 32 years of competition and acquisition, Gates managed to ruffle some feathers, while still making some famous friends. After the end of this month, Gates plans to spend only 20 percent of his time as a Microsoft chairman and the rest of his time will be devoted to the Gates Foundation and other pet projects.

Source: CNet
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[Rob Williams]

I couldn't agree more. Just say his name out loud, "Bill Gates"... so many thoughts could start rushing through anyone's head. Even when I first got into computers and hopped onto a DOS 5.0 machine, I knew who Bill Gates was!

Microsoft tends to be hated by many people, and Gates as well, but he was definitely a leader and innovator... else the company would not be where it is today. What a robust career he has behind him, and at 52-years-old, he still has a lot of living to do.

 

[b1lk1]

If you ask me, Microsoft will stagnate more than innovate without him driving the bus. He IS the reason we have Windows the way we do. People can jab all they like, but this makes me even more believe that Vista will be older than XP before it is replaced.

 

[Kougar]

Gates was good at finding innovative companies and projects with good potential to buy up and swallow, and use his financial muscle to make them into bigger and better things. Considering Gates started it all this way with buying what became DOS outright, before turning around and launching MS with it... This is great for a small or medium business, but it doesn't work as well for large businesses... let alone something the size of MS today.

I think that era's time has come and gone. MS is to large to keep doing the same tricks, it only creates inefficiencies and bloat due to Microsoft already being to large to easily buy up and nimbly turn out the finished project or with the original innovation left reasonably intact.

I think this might be a good thing for Microsoft... they can see the handwriting on the wall and either ship up, or they can continue what they've always done which I expect would lead down the path to their eventual demise a very long time from now. Regardless, the time for them to turn the ship around would be now.

 

[Rob Williams]

I think this might be a good thing for Microsoft... they can see the handwriting on the wall and either ship up, or they can continue what they've always done which I expect would lead down the path to their eventual demise a very long time from now. Regardless, the time for them to turn the ship around would be now.

I'm not sure how much effect Bill Gates' leaving will have on the success, but the fact is, they do need to make changes. Right now, they are fortunate to have such a grasp on the market. The majority of computers (non-server) run Windows, and most who use an office application use Office. It's going to take a while before a severe threat comes along that nudges people towards a different direction.

We have Apple OS X, which overtime costs as much as Windows. But on top of it, it requires their machines, which are overpriced, so it's not a good way to catch on. Then we have Linux, which is free, but doesn't offer enough to the majority of people. So while I think Microsoft is on some sort of downslope, they have quite a while before they really have to begin worrying.

The sad thing is... Vista and their other products aren't that bad. They are just plagued with so many annoyances that people turn their heads. The same can be said about Office. It works, and works 'ok', but a lot of people don't like the direction they are pushing it.

The next five - ten years are going to be incredibly interesting, that's for sure.

 

[Kougar]

Well, exactly! MS would be in deep trouble if the OS market was easier to get into, and OS X wasn't limited to Apple computers.

It probably also helps that OS X is beginning to develop legitimate security problems. This is not some theoretical proof of concept release, it's finally a real attack. LINK It is also not just a single incident, it's a series of them that's currently ongoing. OS X users will need to be running good firewalls and anti-vrius software now if they want to be safe. Link

What I was getting at is that with Bill Gates gone, some new faces and opinions are going to be introduced to fill that. If they have any sense whatsoever, they'll start attempting to fix MS's current shortcomings before they grow into huge issues.

 

[Merlin]

Well, exactly! MS would be in deep trouble if the OS market was easier to get into, and OS X wasn't limited to Apple computers.

It probably also helps that OS X is beginning to develop legitimate security problems. This is not some theoretical proof of concept release, it's finally a real attack. LINK It is also not just a single incident, it's a series of them that's currently ongoing. OS X users will need to be running good firewalls and anti-vrius software now if they want to be safe. Link

What I was getting at is that with Bill Gates gone, some new faces and opinions are going to be introduced to fill that. If they have any sense whatsoever, they'll start attempting to fix MS's current shortcomings before they grow into huge issues.

I had always thought apples could have worms as well )

Merlin

 

[Rob Williams]

It probably also helps that OS X is beginning to develop legitimate security problems. This is not some theoretical proof of concept release, it's finally a real attack. LINK It is also not just a single incident, it's a series of them that's currently ongoing. OS X users will need to be running good firewalls and anti-vrius software now if they want to be safe. Link

The sad thing is that was bound to happen, and as the usage in the OS grows, the security risks are going to grow right with it. Same would happen with Linux, if it had such a large usage among home users as well. Apple's real problem right now is that they force people to use their OS on their computers. Why that even sells, I have no idea. People complain about having lack of choice, unless it is an Apple computer.

I had always thought apples could have worms as well )

Smart ass.

 

[Kougar]

Oh, I know it was bound to happen, I saw that handwriting on the wall long ago. But the timing is certainly helping Microsoft, since MS hasn't been on such a bad looking foundation in a long time. If the attacks on OS X users continue to escalate in numbers enough that it ruins the misperception that Macs are safer, it will be interesting to see how much that'd hurt their sales...

Merlin, that's really bad.