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375 Comments
- Sarawanan, on 06/27/2008, -19/+735Just to clarify, the "Thank You!" is for the great things he's done in advancing computers and what he will be doing at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- ecofriend, on 06/27/2008, -15/+517No arguing, this guy changed the world. Now that he is "leaving" Microsoft, he will change the world again with his foundation.
- denied, on 06/27/2008, -18/+467this will so get delayed to Q1 2009.
- lolgamoff, on 06/27/2008, -14/+394This is a big day in the history of technology. A great man with a great mind is stepping down today, no doubt about it. He changed the way we will use computers forever.
- danibobanny, on 06/27/2008, -11/+319Gee, I hope he saved up for retirement :)
- soopafly, on 06/27/2008, -42/+345For once Bill Gates does something before Steve Jobs....
/ducks - radsprack, on 06/27/2008, -12/+297He can probably afford to be immortal.
- RichG13, on 06/27/2008, -4/+274Who will sign my Microsoft certifications now?
- synned, on 06/27/2008, -8/+232Thanks for the start menu bro...
- rebotfc, on 06/27/2008, -13/+190So long, and thanks for all the fish.
- directrix13, on 06/27/2008, -2/+156If it was Google this would be Retirement Beta.
- diggB, on 06/27/2008, -3/+148Say what you will of Bill Gate's role at MS, but what he's doing (and plans to do) as a philanthropist is unprecedented. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is planning to tackle problems on a global scale with financial resources in the tens of billions (hat's off to Warren Buffet as well for contributing a large chunk of that money) to actually make a difference (their resources are said to exceed the United Nations World Health Organization). The foundation is funding research to stop the spread HIV/AIDS, distributing vaccines, eradicating polio, building libraries and educating children, and a host of other ambitious things. In fact, Bill plans to give most of his wealth to the organization before he dies. Holy *****.
Source: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/default.htm - larfus, on 06/27/2008, -2/+127My question is what do you get a guy like Bill Gates for retirement?
- MattBD, on 06/27/2008, -6/+112A copy of Ubuntu?
/sarcasm - warplayer, on 06/27/2008, -20/+99There goes my hero...
- flashboy131, on 06/27/2008, -3/+58true, even if you hate MS, you have to respect Bill Gates for what he has accomplished. I use Macs btw.
- FutureGuy, on 06/27/2008, -14/+67He has done a lot of things before Steve. Bill will be remembered long after Apple, MS and Steve are long forgotton.
- crainiarc, on 06/27/2008, -13/+63It sucks when they declared "Bill Gates Day" on my birthday...
- kevinisnthere, on 06/27/2008, -4/+53Happy Birthday.
- ljzmcm, on 06/27/2008, -9/+54The man is absolutely brilliant. Small, otherwise insignificant criticisms of Window's fallacies pale in comparison to the legacy he has created for himself.
- Pronation, on 06/27/2008, -2/+47I think he is. He survived both the RROD AND the BSOD. No mortal could possibly survive.
- theotheragentm, on 06/27/2008, -2/+43I got the Red Ring of Death once, but a little Preparation H fixed that right up.
- 32bytes, on 06/27/2008, -7/+46Ballmer!
Or maybe the developers, developers,developers. - 3leggedHorse, on 06/27/2008, -3/+41 Wonder if they had a leaving bash. I don't expect wine would have been a good choice of beverage.
- masti1234, on 06/27/2008, -17/+53He is a genius
- Iwantawii, on 06/27/2008, -2/+37…watch him as he goes!
- specialK16, on 06/27/2008, -4/+36My role model when I was 8 year old, and even so I'm 18 and I spend the night drinking beer and eating greasy pizza.
- whatsthatsmell, on 06/27/2008, -3/+35ctrl-alt-del
- defenswens26, on 06/27/2008, -7/+39A sad day in the world of computing. Lets just hope Ballmer doesn't go on one too many rampages and destroy the company...
- gskill, on 06/27/2008, -8/+39Nerd-baron, that's classic.
- MRintheKeys, on 06/27/2008, -3/+30No. That was just pretty lame, honestly.
- chrgrose, on 06/27/2008, -1/+28I made you a cookie...
.....but it wouldn't fit in teh intertubes....so i eated it.
Happy Birthday :) - inactive, on 06/27/2008, -4/+27I can't help but remember Apple's poem from the "Think Different" Ad:
Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do. - tylermenezes, on 06/27/2008, -1/+23Certainly. I respect Apple as a company, but from what I've heard Steve's a bit of an ***** (ex. parks in the handicap spaces, gets upset at people asking for a picture with him, etc). Gates has been a bit arrogant at times, but he's a pretty good person.
- inactive, on 06/27/2008, -19/+40http://tinyurl.com/6qca24
- rharris, on 06/27/2008, -2/+22You can hate Microsoft while still appreciating the contributions Bill has made to the industry and philanthropy.
- diggB, on 06/27/2008, -3/+21You do have a point. There is no doubt that both Rockefeller (who gave millions to colleges and education) and Carnegie (who created an abundance of libraries) are well known philanthropists. But what Bill Gates is doing dwarfs both of them in terms of global scope and reach and generosity. Bill is donating almost ALL of his wealth and the amount of the wealth (even in consideration of inflation) is/will be much more than either Rockefeller or Carnegie have contributed. So, yes, I stand by my choice of words. This is ***** unprecedented.
- aimhelix, on 06/27/2008, -3/+20As much as people talk ***** about Microsoft, I still like Gates. He's a good guy. One of the few good wealthy men who I actually don't mind having all that money.
- fakekevinrose, on 06/27/2008, -0/+17What part of "i jerk off to the view" didnt you understand
- Nidy1, on 06/27/2008, -2/+18That sucks. Happy bi- oh man, Bill Gates is retiring!
- achoi, on 06/27/2008, -1/+17I may have problems with Microsoft the corporate entity, but I don't have problems with Bill Gates the person.
The dude is a quintessential geek success story. What's with all the hate?
Say what you want about the man, I wish I had his life. - Zyphron, on 06/27/2008, -13/+29He has done other things too...Like hit 10% OS market share....Steve Jobs is still hoping for that one.
- Scagli3tti, on 06/28/2008, -1/+17Sorry, but anyone who gets a 1590 on his SATs, leads the development of BASIC, and goes on to become the richest man the world has ever seen is a genius in my book. Gates might not be surrounded by an aura of nerd charisma like Woz is, but doubting his genius is just ridiculous.
- kidjay, on 06/27/2008, -1/+16well said.
- TimEllis, on 06/27/2008, -4/+19No kidding, he's done a lot more good with his money than some people. I thought this editorial really highlighted the difference: http://nakedloon.com/?p=547
- yosserhughes, on 06/27/2008, -7/+22Forgive me for my ignorance, but what has MS done that warrants all the abuse? The PC I'm in front of now runs on XP SP3, and even as I sit here on FF, I am DL two movies with Azuerus at 300kbs, PG2 is running, I have a four camera external security system running, Crysis is minimized to the task bar, as is Excel, Outlook and Word, ALT Tab will get me back to any of them in an instant, and on top of all that I've logged on to my VPN to do some occasional work.
All this works flawlessly, my PC is nothing fancy, I put it together myself two years ago around an MSI MB with 4gb of ram for less than $800.
So will a MAC do more than this? Will it do it for the same price? - gamehunter101, on 06/27/2008, -2/+16Regardless of what you think of him,the man has played a vital role in making technology what it is today and I thank him for that.
- Troy64, on 06/27/2008, -1/+14I wouldn't play poker with him.
- WorldBuilder, on 06/27/2008, -3/+16Sodascape, you are an A.S.S.H.O.L.E.
You too, mrgreenjeans9. - FutureGuy, on 06/27/2008, -1/+13He is a good man, its hard to stay good after making a few dozen billions, its hard to stay humble knowing that most of the developed world spend a good chuck of their lives staring at an OS his company build. He is in a class of his own. Good luck Gates and wish you all the best!!
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