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http://news.mobile.msn.com/en-us/articl ... d=25408326

Gates exits Microsoft, keeps his 'quests' alive

One of the richest men in the world is getting a new job.
Bill Gates today ends his tenure as ultimate boss of Microsoft to devote full time to his huge charitable foundation. Instead of working to solve problems in the information technology business, he'll be working to solve the world's health problems.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
Gates is retiring from Microsoft on Friday, although he will remain the company's non- executive chairman.
Since Microsoft's start in 1975, Gates has piled nearly all its hats on his head: genius programmer, technology guru, primary decision maker and ruthless leader.
Analysts and scholars credit him with changing software into a money-making enterprise, rather than a pastime for hobbyists.
For Microsoft, the challenge come Monday morning will be how to deal with problems even Gates couldn't solve, including competition with Google.
Recent remarks indicate the company won't even try to find a replacement for Gates but will divide his functions among whole groups of employees.
In an interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw on the eve of his departure, Gates spoke about his new role and the outlook for Microsoft, and said he does not think a deal with Yahoo Inc is likely.
Microsoft had sought a tie-up with Yahoo for more than a year and by early May had offered up to $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, to buy the Internet company.
The software giant had hoped a Yahoo deal would accelerate its ability to capitalize on Web advertising growth and compete with Google Inc, which is increasingly fighting for the same Internet audience



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Maybe Bill can solve the problems of the world.....nobody else seems to be able to!

I wish the man luck!

I saw an article on Wired a couple of months ago that said most people are more touched by single problems (one starving kid with a full story) than many similar problems (I.E. Darfur...), but it's guys with minds like Gates that process a lot of stuff and come up with simple solutions to bigger problems that have a better chance at coming through.

Sort of designing an algorithm that works for itself instead of working on a ton of small solutions.

I read in a magazine a few months ago not to be surprised if someone like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs ran for President one day. The article was referring to businessmen taking the reins of the USA instead of hard-core politicians. Michael Bloomberg was also an example.
Well, I tell ya. The places where Gates has donated millions for immunizing children he is almost looked upon as a messiah, or something like that. Money can be evil lucre, but it also can save lives if used wisely&for the betterment of humanity instead of its dstruction.

Gates using his iPhone to connect to the Exchange Server in Redmond one last time-



I just hope that Jobs doesn't sue him for this latest hack- I think he did this trick himself. (He has been programming since he was in the eighth grade, after all)

Gates's Last Days- CES-2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr5w3X4R8b4

Produced by: (who else?) Microsoft Corporate HQ - in Redmond

Microsoft Buys WebTV
David Lazarus 04.07.97
As a major broadcasting industry conference kicks off in Las Vegas, Microsoft made a typical splash by announcing its US$425 million acquisition of WebTV Networks, the Palo Alto company that delivers the Net to ordinary TVs.
"We've been planning for some time to use Windows CE across a number of appliances," Microsoft senior product manager Alan Yates said Monday. "The more we evaluated WebTV, the more we saw how well it would fit with our plans."
The move is Microsoft's nimble attempt to outmaneuver its rivals in the digital television goldrush. The software giant is aggressively moving to push — and dominate — the developing merger of PCs and televisions. The purchase of WebTV, which lets users get email and browse the Web on a TV set, will position Microsoft to penetrate the home-television market, which includes 98 percent of American homes.
Many aspects of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, remain unclear. Such as how WebTV will fit into a joint push by Microsoft, Intel and Compaq to maneuver for dominance in defining new digital TV standards and whether this a pre-emptive strike on burgeoning efforts to deliver Internet access via cable television lines?
Microsoft said it plans to incorporate its Windows software and Internet Explorer browser into the WebTV service. It also plans to make the Microsoft Network available via television, and to possibly include content from MSNBC.
Web TV was founded almost two years ago by former Apple Computer and General Magic engineers. It licenses its set-top technology to Sony and Philips Electronics, and provides the interface to surf the Web and receive email on one's TV.
Despite a costly marketing campaign and favorable reaction from industry pundits, WebTV has been slow to catch on with consumers. The company will not release figures for number of subscribers, except to say the total is now well over 50,000. WebTV got a big boost recently when major hotel chains agreed to feature the service in their rooms.
Yates said Microsoft is ready to put its full marketing muscle into bringing WebTV to a wider audience. "There's a technology piece and a marketing piece to the deal," he noted.
For his part, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said in a statement that the acquisition of WebTV "underscores our strategy of delivering to consumers the benefits of the Internet with emerging forms of digital broadcasting."
If the deal goes through, WebTV would become a subsidiary of the Redmond, Washington-based software giant, and WebTV's management team, including CEO Steve Perlman, would remain on board. More than half the purchase price would be paid for in Microsoft stock.
"Our vision has been to make Internet access via TV a low-cost, fun, easy, and compelling experience for consumers," Perlman said in a statement. "We look forward to working with Microsoft to make that experience available to an even broader range of consumers."
On Friday, Microsoft, Intel and Compaq said they would make their pitch for a leading say in digital TV standards at this week's National Association of Broadcasters conference. They want the PC, and not the TV, to be the bedrock for next-generation television.
Under rules approved last Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission, broadcasters will receive free licenses to digital TV, and in return will phase out existing analog technology over the next decade or so. When the process is complete, all TV-equipped homes will have purchased brand-new sets at prices as high as $2,000 apiece.

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Boy, sometimes I'd like to kick Bill Gates in the ass for this move! But, I'm sure he made a pretty penny off this gadget, and there are still millions of folks worldwide still using this litle gip, I mean, gem.

I still use the Webtv because it IS secure, no worry about hackers, or viruses. Its slow as molasses, though, which can be annoying. Hell, my son had a 1997 450MHz HP as a spare that I used until the HD went bust, and it was SMOKIN' compared to this Webtv. But I'm hoping soon I can be off this thing and using a PC soon.

@miditek, are MACs any good? I mean, how does the OS&all compare with a windows-based machine?
Those iMACs look pretty sharp&can go as fast as 2.6GHz and I think there is one that is 3.06GHz.

browneyedgirl wrote:Boy, sometimes I'd like to kick Bill Gates in the ass for this move! But, I'm sure he made a pretty penny off this gadget, and there are still millions of folks worldwide still using this litle gip, I mean, gem.

I think that webtv certainly met a niche- it was simple to setup and easy to use. I have a friend that is a popular local radio personality that swears by his webtv as he is otherwise- computer and techno-phobic. He'd rather drink beer, check his e-mail, and download porn than have to play screwdriver jockey and tinker with a PC.

browneyedgirl wrote:@miditek, are MACs any good? I mean, how does the OS&all compare with a windows-based machine? Those iMACs look pretty sharp&can go as fast as 2.6GHz and I think there is one that is 3.06GHz.

Macs are great machines, and I've actually had a couple of them over the years. As far as them being useful for the average Joe, you have to ask yourself what do you want to do with your system? Tolkki, for instance, being a professional musician as well as an amateur photographer seems he would take to a Mac like a fish to water. It does everything he needs, and for music composing and production, it's ideal for him. For his photography, he's probably using either Adobe Photoshop or it's open-source equivalent, GIMP 2.0.

Non-musicians/artists may find the PC to be more affordable, will run a lot more software titles, and are typically "good enough" if you are simply wanting to use one to browse the Internet, use e-mail, balance the checkbook, and other day to day tasks. There are also a lot more places to get service/repairs for PC's as opposed to Macs as well- as Apple products are targeted at niche markets, such as music and publishing, although the PC has made a lot of inroads into those markets in recent years as well.

You can probably find refurbished Dell Optiplex (business) desktops at overstock.com for $200.00 or less as of this writing. Not long ago, Apple switched over to the Intel-based hardware platform, so now the innards of PC's and Macs are just about virtually indistinguishable from each other.

Jens had some amusing anecdotes on his web page where he assigned political terms to computer operating systems- something like Macs being Communist, PC's being Fascist, and Unix/Linux being anarchist. It was hilarious!

Yeah, Vic is in the middle of building me a PC, but he has alot on his mind&in his life these days. So, I may just go ahead and purchase one myself.