Maybe Microsoft ain't all bad

[cambournepete]

Bill Gates at school - in Deptford!

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Bill Gates at school - in Deptford!

you are confusing BG with more money than many countries, who never has to work again. With the the way the young BG and Microsoft Got to be so all pervasive.

BG as he is now seems to be mostly good and sincerely trying to improve health.

As he was, the leader of a company that is/was, crafty, manipulative, economical with truth, a major user of FUD and pirating others work.

 

[bugbear]

Bill Gates at school - in Deptford!

you are confusing BG with more money than many countries, who never has to work again. With the the way the young BG and Microsoft Got to be so all pervasive.

BG as he is now seems to be mostly good and sincerely trying to improve health.

As he was, the leader of a company that is/was, crafty, manipulative, economical with truth, a major user of FUD and pirating others work.

Indeed - it's almost a reversion to the magnates on turn of the century America, Carnegie etc. Made money by (ahem) aggressive means, but did good with the money later.

BugBear

 

[Dibs-h]

is/was, crafty, manipulative, economical with truth, a major user of FUD

Would have made a successful Politician if not president. :wink:

 

[gregmcateer]

Bill Gates at school - in Deptford!

As he was, the leader of a company that is/was, crafty, manipulative, economical with truth, a major user of FUD and pirating others work.

Probably true - though I am just reading the biography of Steve Jobs and interestingly, (IMHO), his erstwhile competitor and self-proclaimed David vs Goliath (IBM) was a pretty mean sonofabitch - and certainly manipulated the truth, (even according to his wife, family, dedicated followers - so much so, it was known as his 'Reality Distortion Field'. Additionally, although he was clearly brilliant and a great bringer of products to market, he was more than happy to 'steal' ideas and admittedly enhance them.

and rather amusingly, the 'minnow' that was his Apple, decreed would 'spend every last dollar of the xxx billion in the bank crushing google's android' (his words), because they dared to produce a competitor to the iphone.

He also states he has no interest at all in philanthropy.

Quite an eye-opening read, if anyone's interested.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Bill Gates at school - in Deptford!

As he was, the leader of a company that is/was, crafty, manipulative, economical with truth, a major user of FUD and pirating others work.

Probably true - though I am just reading the biography of Steve Jobs and interestingly, (IMHO), his erstwhile competitor and self-proclaimed David vs Goliath (IBM) was a pretty mean sonofabitch - and certainly manipulated the truth, (even according to his wife, family, dedicated followers - so much so, it was known as his 'Reality Distortion Field'. Additionally, although he was clearly brilliant and a great bringer of products to market, he was more than happy to 'steal' ideas and admittedly enhance them.

and rather amusingly, the 'minnow' that was his Apple, decreed would 'spend every last dollar of the xxx billion in the bank crushing google's android' (his words), because they dared to produce a competitor to the iphone.

He also states he has no interest at all in philanthropy.

Quite an eye-opening read, if anyone's interested.

Right Steve was not a "nice" man I agree. But while he/Apple did copy the ideas from Xerox park. Xerox had invited the Macintosh design team to view their GUI computers at the PARC research lab. Apple licensed elements from from xerox. Xerod did sue apple but

Xerox's lawsuit appeared to be a defensive move to ensure that if Apple v. Microsoft established that "look and feel" was copyrightable, then Xerox would be the primary beneficiary, rather than Apple.

Apart from that I don't know of any major suggestion of Apple stealing code and none of the "embrace, expand, destroy" or the use of FUD that Microsoft has maintained its business using. Microsoft has a few successful products but only one that could be said to be revolutionary and even that is open to debate. Steve and apple 5 (may be 6) Steve 6 (and there may be 1 more to come)

 

[Kalimna]

Perhaps the fact that MS essentialy drove the technology that allows everyone using a computer today might mitigate some of the questionable business practices. Don't know of evidence that he stole code. Evidence that he was a brilliant young coder himself and had the foresight to sign a deal with IBM, well yes, along with the buying out (perhaps that is what you mean by 'stole') of other companies whose technology was assimilated.
Apple produce nice machines, but would be nowhere near as widely used as they are now if it wasnt for Bill Gates et al. And to accuse MS of questionable ethics when Steve Jobs governed a considerably more closed system, is a little biased, dont you think.
Im no expert on the history of computing, but if it was for Apple and not Microsoft, we would probably be still in the 16bit era and paying through the nose for it.

Adam S

 

[sometimewoodworker]

.
Im no expert on the history of computing, but if it was for Apple and not Microsoft, we would probably be still in the 16bit era and paying through the nose for it.

Adam S

Hummm well neither am I however I clearly do know quite a bit more.
Stealing one example there are other well known ones: Microsoft had all Apples code before they produced Windows (they needed access to write program's for the Mac). There is evidence that windows was heavily based on that code.

The IBM deal was not brilliant coding but smart business. BG didn't write MSDOS he bought it. The smart business deal was keeping the right to licence it.

16bit/32bit computing: The Mac was fully 32bit well before Windows. In the same way with full 64bit.

. And to accuse MS of questionable ethics when Steve Jobs governed a considerably more closed system, is a little biased, dont you think.

Not at all, you are confused. Questionable ethics has no relation to a closed system.

Fact: MS used unfair business practices (there are court cases that prove this)
Fact: Apples is a more controlled system.
Fact : There is no relationship between the last 2 facts

 

[devonwoody]

BG, I have got to admit is a successful business man and performs at the same level most probably as all others of the past.

Personally I want my last years to be as good as the earlier ones so I do not complain at the situation.