Bill Gates Did More Than Program Computers

I have been known to speak irreverently and harshly about Microsoft®. Most often these diatribes are prompted by some “blue screen” error or other irritation emanating from my computer. Even if it is something I did wrong, I am prone to blame the crew from Redmond, Washington. Well, that crew now has a new captain. The end of June marked the end of one of the most storied business careers ever, as Bill Gates stepped down from day-to-day management of Microsoft® and will now serve only as the board Chairman.

As a college student in 1975, Bill was the quintessential math nerd. There were the glasses and the tussled hair. I’m not sure if there was a pocket protector, but I bet there was a slide rule or two hanging on his belt. He was hardly what the blue bloods of industry would have predicted to become one of the most influential persons of the century. His innovations are not only in the technology arena, but permeate new business management practices and more important, modern philanthropy.

It was due in large part to what he conceived in college, what he developed in the proverbial garage, and what he sold to some skeptical suits at IBM, that our world today is radically changed and can barely function without the computer. If you step back and reflect on how our home life, our work life and even our leisure pursuits have changed in the 30 some years since he and his college buds founded Microsoft®, you can’t be anything but amazed.

While he and his colleagues have contributed greatly to the technology we use and enjoy, it is only part of much broader contributions. For example, the collaborative and participatory management style used to develop software is now taught at the very university from which he dropped out. Once only found in the cubicles of Silicon Valley and Redmond, Washington, the informal work environment, less hierarchical chain of command and collaborative approach to problem solving are now just as prominent at P&G, Kroger and GE as they are at Cisco, Google and Apple.

What is even more impressive to me is what Gates and his wife have decided to do with the fortune that he has amassed by working with the bits and bytes. Mr. Gates is said to be the third richest person in the world. Now that he has relinquished his day job, he and his wife are concentrating on the operation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation has already made a big impact on major health and education improvement in this country and around the world especially in sub-Sahara Africa. Gates brings many of his experiences honed at Microsoft® to the foundation. He gets the best of the best to find new, creative and effective ways to address humanitarian issues.

To be sure, we should not elevate him to sainthood. There are those pesky antitrust suits that keep coming up. You do have to say, though, that it has not been a bad career for a smart skinny kid who dropped out of college.

Bill Gates Did More Than Program Computers

I have been known to speak irreverently and harshly about Microsoft®. Most often these diatribes are prompted by some “blue screen” error or other irritation emanating from my computer. Even if it is something I did wrong, I am prone to blame the crew from Redmond, Washington. Well, that crew now has a new captain. The end of June marked the end of one of the most storied business careers ever, as Bill Gates stepped down from day-to-day management of Microsoft® and will now serve only as the board Chairman.

As a college student in 1975, Bill was the quintessential math nerd. There were the glasses and the tussled hair. I’m not sure if there was a pocket protector, but I bet there was a slide rule or two hanging on his belt. He was hardly what the blue bloods of industry would have predicted to become one of the most influential persons of the century. His innovations are not only in the technology arena, but permeate new business management practices and more important, modern philanthropy.

It was due in large part to what he conceived in college, what he developed in the proverbial garage, and what he sold to some skeptical suits at IBM, that our world today is radically changed and can barely function without the computer. If you step back and reflect on how our home life, our work life and even our leisure pursuits have changed in the 30 some years since he and his college buds founded Microsoft®, you can’t be anything but amazed.

While he and his colleagues have contributed greatly to the technology we use and enjoy, it is only part of much broader contributions. For example, the collaborative and participatory management style used to develop software is now taught at the very university from which he dropped out. Once only found in the cubicles of Silicon Valley and Redmond, Washington, the informal work environment, less hierarchical chain of command and collaborative approach to problem solving are now just as prominent at P&G, Kroger and GE as they are at Cisco, Google and Apple.

What is even more impressive to me is what Gates and his wife have decided to do with the fortune that he has amassed by working with the bits and bytes. Mr. Gates is said to be the third richest person in the world. Now that he has relinquished his day job, he and his wife are concentrating on the operation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation has already made a big impact on major health and education improvement in this country and around the world especially in sub-Sahara Africa. Gates brings many of his experiences honed at Microsoft® to the foundation. He gets the best of the best to find new, creative and effective ways to address humanitarian issues.

To be sure, we should not elevate him to sainthood. There are those pesky antitrust suits that keep coming up. You do have to say, though, that it has not been a bad career for a smart skinny kid who dropped out of college.

2008 Consumer Electronics Show Review

Well, neither my day job employer, CET, nor the Harrison Press was willing or able to ante up for my travel to the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which ran January 7 thru 10 in Las Vegas. While I do serve on a national advisory group that held its meeting as part of the show, by the time I found that out the limited hotel rooms were long gone. For the uninitiated, the CES is the largest trade show in the US. This year more than 140,000 (that’s right, one hundred and forty thousand) people attended. For those interested in technology and technology trends, this is as close to heaven as it gets. I have been able to vicariously participate by monitoring various blogs, news reports and getting first hand reports from people who were there.

For as long as I can remember, Bill Gates has always given a Key Note speech to open the show. This year with his upcoming retirement, he announced that this would be his last one. There is a really neat funny video produced as part of his presentation that you just have to see. You can view it anytime on YouTube.com. The address is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1M-IafCor4 For anyone who follows Microsoft this video is a must.

Spread out over acres and acres of exhibit space were products ranging sfrom giant plasma TVs to cell phone ring tones. Here are a few of the more interesting products and announcements.

The High Definition DVD Player wars seem to be coming to an end. By this time next year the victor should be known. Right now Sony® and its Blue Ray™ technology seem to be winning the battle as more and more content providers are siding with this technology. While Toshiba® and its HD DVD™ system has not yet thrown in the towel, I think they will soon. If most of the good movies are available only on Blue Ray™ it will be tough to fight. Many analysts note that for most people the quality of the picture is just about same for Blue Ray™ and HD DVD™. So content will be king.

Panasonic® obviously feels that “bigger is better” as they displayed the largest Plasma TV in the world. This 150 inch behemoth produces a TV picture that can cover an entire wall. You could use it in your living room where it could double as a “virtual window.” Don’t like looking out your window at your neighbor’s 1964 pick up truck propped up on blocks? Now you can have view of the skyline of New York or the mountains of Colorado. It will cost you, though. Since it is a prototype, a firm sticker price has yet to be set. But as they say, “if you have to ask…?”

I am a bit cautious about even mentioning the next technology since it has been displayed for two or three years and has yet to come to market in any substantial way. It is called WiMax. This technology provides high speed access to the Internet and other computer applications wirelessly over very large areas. You can think of it at WiFi on steroids. While several cell phone providers have data networks, they really are not as fast as a typical connection in your house with DSL or cable modems. If this technology does finally make it to market this year you can look for big changes in what you can do on line in a car, bus or train. Even radio as we know it may change since you will be able to listen to any radio station on line from anywhere in the world using an internet connection in your car. There are still several hurdles to overcome, but vendors promise WiMax network roll outs in Washington DC, New York City and a few other major cities in 2008.

2008 Consumer Electronics Show Review

Well, neither my day job employer, CET, nor the Harrison Press was willing or able to ante up for my travel to the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which ran January 7 thru 10 in Las Vegas. While I do serve on a national advisory group that held its meeting as part of the show, by the time I found that out the limited hotel rooms were long gone. For the uninitiated, the CES is the largest trade show in the US. This year more than 140,000 (that’s right, one hundred and forty thousand) people attended. For those interested in technology and technology trends, this is as close to heaven as it gets. I have been able to vicariously participate by monitoring various blogs, news reports and getting first hand reports from people who were there.

For as long as I can remember, Bill Gates has always given a Key Note speech to open the show. This year with his upcoming retirement, he announced that this would be his last one. There is a really neat funny video produced as part of his presentation that you just have to see. You can view it anytime on YouTube.com. The address is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1M-IafCor4 For anyone who follows Microsoft this video is a must.

Spread out over acres and acres of exhibit space were products ranging sfrom giant plasma TVs to cell phone ring tones. Here are a few of the more interesting products and announcements.

The High Definition DVD Player wars seem to be coming to an end. By this time next year the victor should be known. Right now Sony® and its Blue Ray™ technology seem to be winning the battle as more and more content providers are siding with this technology. While Toshiba® and its HD DVD™ system has not yet thrown in the towel, I think they will soon. If most of the good movies are available only on Blue Ray™ it will be tough to fight. Many analysts note that for most people the quality of the picture is just about same for Blue Ray™ and HD DVD™. So content will be king.

Panasonic® obviously feels that “bigger is better” as they displayed the largest Plasma TV in the world. This 150 inch behemoth produces a TV picture that can cover an entire wall. You could use it in your living room where it could double as a “virtual window.” Don’t like looking out your window at your neighbor’s 1964 pick up truck propped up on blocks? Now you can have view of the skyline of New York or the mountains of Colorado. It will cost you, though. Since it is a prototype, a firm sticker price has yet to be set. But as they say, “if you have to ask…?”

I am a bit cautious about even mentioning the next technology since it has been displayed for two or three years and has yet to come to market in any substantial way. It is called WiMax. This technology provides high speed access to the Internet and other computer applications wirelessly over very large areas. You can think of it at WiFi on steroids. While several cell phone providers have data networks, they really are not as fast as a typical connection in your house with DSL or cable modems. If this technology does finally make it to market this year you can look for big changes in what you can do on line in a car, bus or train. Even radio as we know it may change since you will be able to listen to any radio station on line from anywhere in the world using an internet connection in your car. There are still several hurdles to overcome, but vendors promise WiMax network roll outs in Washington DC, New York City and a few other major cities in 2008.