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By contrast, all I hear about Linus is him buying some expensive sports car. Oh well, I guess the guy isnt really the second coming of Christ, after all.

Was the post meant to be ironic? As a space nerd, I'm happy that Paul Allen is funding the development of a spacecraft, but all in all, I don't think a suborbital spacecraft is more important than trying to eradicate AIDS, malaria, and hunger. Check the Gates Foundation web site.

And no, I'm not saying we have to choose between earthly needs and exploration.

Ahh, you mean like set up something like this?

Unless of course you are meaning to imply that private space travel is more important than these other causes.

Systems Management Server.

You're a community organisation - just ask Bill and Melinda for a few licenses.

You said more than you know. Time to trot out the financial statements of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, once again. The Foundation increased their net worth almost $800 million in 2002, mostly from investments. I'm not knocking a great symbiotic relationship, the mega-wealthy steering money from taxes to charitable donations, but it shouldn't be portrayed as Bill writing personal checks. Also, if you look at their grant programs for 2002 a very significant portion went to universities, a market segment in which Microsoft has a very strong interest.

He donates 2 million to India to fight Aids
He donates 50 million to SCO to fight GPL in spreading fud.

You make an excellent point, except that you're totally wrong on both counts:

The Bill Gates foundation provided $100 million for AIDS work in India

And the very article you didn't read in the slashdot posting states that MS didn't provide this $50 million to SCO (The article even provides information on who did -- you should have a look!)

You can not believe it all you want, but those are the facts.

It would help if I had included the link to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

It's the Gates Foundation, not Microsoft, people. Here is a list of grant money distribution from the Gates foundation for 2002.

Bill Gates can build all the schools he wants to and Linux can't for one reason and one reason only: Windows makes an offer. Bill and Melinda have built a foundation with grants galore for the implementation of the Windows system. Whether you see it as gifting technology to the masses or corrupting the youth to the product, the point remains that public schools would gladly take the technology no matter who offers it. And these days, it's not as though anyone in the non-Windows world is giving the schools a whole lot of alternatives.

The solution: quit complaining about the philathropic efforts of Windows and start an Open Source Foundation. Have an endowed fund and accept grant applications. Built it. They will come.

You have no fucking clue.

Let's see the charitable donations from your tax return last year.

First off, here's the link to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Now, I'm no fan of Bill Gates. I don't think he's a saint and I don't think he's a minion from hell. I think Windows (and many other MS products) is not as good as it could be and that using market forces to exterminate competition is not healthy (for IT or the economy as a whole).

To claim that Gates has no interest in charity is plain wrong. He's got more money than could possibly be spent in his lifetime, and probably the lifetimes of any of his children. He's stated numerous times that he plans to give away almost all of his money during his lifetime. (1) just because he hasn't given away half his net worth to charity makes him wrong? How much money as a percentage of income or net worth do you give? (2) what's the relevance of this? Just because you're pussy whipped doesn't mean everyone is. (3) How does $40 million toward reproductive health in 3rd world nations work to benefit Microsoft? No conspiracy theories please.

Over 600 million each donated to child health, and HIV/AIDS/TB. As staggering as the absolute magnitude of those numbers are, even in percentage terms they are quite remarkable. Given his total career earnings of, say, $50 billion or so (to date), this represents more than 1% to each of those causes.

To put it in perspective, do you know any other moderately well off computer geek, who may make $3 million in their career, pledging 1% ($30,000) to each of those causes? He's also indicated that global HIV/AIDS/health is a top priority, so expect him to give a lot more in that area before he's done.

Before you make some STUPID blanket statement simply because you are caught up in hating MS like most other children.. Why don't you check out the 6 BILLION that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given out. Yeah.. That's BILLION.

You're probably referring to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was started with the Gates' own money (a $24 billion gift) and is not affiliated with Microsoft. AFAIK, they are a very good charity. According to their grants page, they have given nearly $6 billion over the life of the charity. Since they aren't directly affiliated with Microsoft, I doubt they're giving away much software, so that is probably a real 6 billion dollars. It's very admirable that Gates set up this organization.

You're probably referring to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was started with the Gates' own money (a $24 billion gift) and is not affiliated with Microsoft. AFAIK, they are a very good charity. According to their grants page, they have given nearly $6 billion over the life of the charity. Since they aren't directly affiliated with Microsoft, I doubt they're giving away much software, so that is probably a real 6 billion dollars. It's very admirable that Gates set up this organization.

You're probably referring to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was started with the Gates' own money (a $24 billion gift) and is not affiliated with Microsoft. AFAIK, they are a very good charity. According to their grants page, they have given nearly $6 billion over the life of the charity. Since they aren't directly affiliated with Microsoft, I doubt they're giving away much software, so that is probably a real 6 billion dollars. It's very admirable that Gates set up this organization.

A decade or so back, Bill Gates and Microsoft got a lot of flak about being in the newer generation of wealthy that wasn't nearly as philanthropic as the old weathly.

After that, he made statements about shifting his focus to philanthropy after he retired (I think he said at age 50, at the time). Then after he got married, his wife has been extremely active in charitable donation (most notably with grants to urban schools and to youth in third world countries with disease problems).

One of the easiest ways for Microsoft itself to be philanthropic is to donate their products, rather than to donate cash. So it seems to make perfect sense for them, if they are trying to contribute to society in a charitable fashion, to donate their products to nonprofits and other needy organizations.

Yes, they may be helping improve their market share with these donations. But you people can't have your cake and eat it too -- if bitch about them not giving to charity, and then you can't turn around and bitch about them doing it, regardless of how they do it (unless they're giving all their money to the KK or something). This would be like bitching about Ford trying to increase their market share if they donated trucks to organizations that brought meals to the elderly that couldn't get out of the house. This is a totally ridiculous topic, the text describing the article itself is basically flamebait.

Bill (and Missus) Gates received and deserved praise for their significant contribution to the eradication of malaria.

At face value, the donation of expensive software to not-for-profit organisations is a good thing.

On reflection, however, this is how they destroyed Netscape - they gave away Internet Explorer free, as in beer (okay, TCO budgets aside).

Verdict? Too soon to say. Applaud the effort, monitor the effects.

From the Gates Foundation contact info page:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
PO Box 23350
Seattle, WA 98102
Phone: (206) 709-3140
For general questions or grant inquiries, please contact the foundation via email, info@gatesfoundation.org

From the Apple Store page:

106 Bellevue Square
Bellevue, WA 98004
425-709-3100

Someone please tell me, am I missing something here?

WHA? - say what you want about Gates and his software company, but the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has a 23 *billion* dollar endowment and is doing more for world health than ...well...just about anything.

Gripe if you want about his software, but he's not stingy with his charitable giving.

And the tired whine that he doesnt give as much as philanthropist xyz misses the point. Charity isn't a contest.

I for one certainly do not feel that MS is at middle age. Their products are still making huge profits. Windows and Office especially are very profitable. Even their hardware is making money for the company. Bill on the other hand.. is middle-aged.

Furthermore I expect to see great things for him after he retires. He is a bright guy and is doing great things with his fortune for the betterment of human kind. The Gates foundation is almost ten years old, and has given away so much money to find cures for diseases, and poverty. To those that take issue with Gates Foundation giving PCs with Windows to third World Countries, would you expect him to give Macs?

My prediction: In fifty years junior high school kids will be learning about the Gate's vaccine for Malaria. (named after the benefactor for the research)

I'm sure there are more humanitarian things he could do with that money, but he isn't really doing that either.

Regardless of what you think of Gates, accusing him of not being a good humanitarian just demonstrates that you really don't know what you're talking about.

Yes, actually he is. He's given over $3 billion to global health alone. You can't expect Bill to give away close to his full net worth, especially at the young age of 47. People don't get to be multi-billionaires by spending everything they have no matter what the cause.

The Gates Foundation is now estimated at $24 billion. Since its inception, the Foundation has given away over $5.5 billion.

The Gates Foundation is now estimated at $24 billion. Since its inception, the Foundation has given away over $5.5 billion.

You cannot say that the club is unbiased - but you do not know that the club is biased either. This is not because it straddles some ambiguous nether-region. It is because you know nothing of the club beyond what you have heard or read. (Come visit sometime, the pizza is for non-members too!)

At the foundation of the club is a set of values that supercedes any corporate affiliation. At the core is the desire to learn about technologies that we are not exposed to in course material, yet may encounter in the business world.

Since Ohio State students are likely to graduate without meaningful technical exposure to Microsoft products, this is often the logical choice when looking for a solution to explore. Undoubtedly we can fall back on the assumption that if we choose a Microsoft solution it will be provided to us free of charge, but this does not drive our selection process as much as an outsider might imagine.

In a recent discussion on source control there were over 60 discussion posts over the course of two days - largely debating the merits of CVS vs. VSS. Ultimately we elected to set them both up and conduct an analytical study of the merits of each. If anything, as with society at large, I've noticed a subtle anti-MS bias among club members.

Later in your post you complain about a professor of yours whom you feel is being tempted by the beast.

You then comment on his apparently poor administration skills (only negligent admins were hit by the SQL worm). Maybe he's still learning?

You also use the term "allegedly" to describe your lack of knowledge regarding the financing behind the lab in question. I suspect that in your unbiased comments regarding the many Unix, Solaris and Mac labs in campus, you replace "allegedly" with "generously" when describing how financing for these labs were secured?

Perplexed at how an instructor might achieve impartiality given all of this bribery, you retreat to the rationalization that Java (with an 7 year head-start) development outpaces development in (1 year old) .NET. You sound like a boastful mother bragging that her son can read to the parent of an infant who still needs his diapers changed!

My point is that for someone who seems to continually lace his/her prose with subtle inferences to your distaste for MS, you're not a poster child for objectivity.

That's really naive - it's just marketing. Their foundation is just an other Microsoft way of forcing others into Windows. It's pretty clever for it's tax deductable so it's much cheeper then ordinary marketing. That is you taxparyer contribute and help the Gates foundation to brainwash thous poor kids.

No it's not worth respect.

I'm all for a little cynicism, but isn't there such a thing as too much? Bill Gates' foundation has given away 5.5 billion dollars. That's nearly 10% of the total assets of his company ($67 billion), and a much bigger share of his own personal net worth. And more than half of it was given away for global health improvement. How exactly does that brainwash people into using Windows? The people who are getting that money aren't concerned with what's on their desktop-- they're worried about dying of AIDS or tuberculosis!

Listen, I realize that his personal giving does provide good publicity for Microsoft, and some of the things that company does makes me want to dry-heave, e.g. donating "free" software to the countries thinking about switching to open source alternatives. But to say that the man doesn't deserve any respect even after giving several billion dollars to charity-- causes that help the millions of people that are dying in third world countries-- well, that's just cold. I'm hoping that that your message's just flamebait, but if you're really that cynical, I feel bad for you.

Nope. Try Melinda, as in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Forget 10 years. In a hundred years Bill Gates will remembered for this, and be considered one of the greatest humanitarians of all time.

"If only everyone named Gates did stuff this cool." Come on people grow up. Oh...and check the facts. Truth is that out of all the big moneymakers in the tech industries, Bill Gates does more good stuff with his money than any of the other richy rich children out there. Just check out the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I know some people who work there and they do some truly excellent stuff. Maybe not the flash of of a camera, but i'm sure the MILLIONS of people positively affected by this Foundation think it's at least as cool. p.s. This reply typed on my powerbook, via the Chimera browser.

But now we get to hear about all the competition Microsoft has put under instead. Isn't "progress" great? Now Microsoft gets all our money, and they wonder why Comdex is so boring... At least Bill is spending our money on self-aggrandizing "philanthropic" missions. What a swell guy he is. :starry eyes:

You're delusional. Fact is that any employer would just take that theoretical difference and pocket it, leaving you with the same salary as before, only without unemployment insurance or workman's comp to cover you when the shit hits the fan. You'd be left buying your own insurance on the same salary, facing the choice between losing a significant chunk of your income or doing without insurance for inevitable hard times. In fact, I could see companies viewing employees who buy workman's comp. or unemployment insurance as disloyal, since they wouldn't trust their employer to take care of them.

The government may be inefficient, and it may be corrupt, but in the end it pays out reliably and consistently. That's more than any for-profit venture would do if given the chance to take over the potential market for either insurance.

Even if you only make $36k a year- the average salary- you're paying half your income in taxes- and that's just direct. The things you buy, would be %30 or more cheaper if there wasn't a federal income tax, etc. (And the value of the services you get from the government? Less than %10 of what you pay in taxes-- thats how much you're being ripped off.)

AS they say, if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

The outrage one should feel is that while the average American citizen gets only a 10% return on the near 50% of our income we pay into the system, the wealthiest members of our society see massive returns on the relatively tiny share of their money that they pay into the system. Corporate welfare kickbacks, polluter's tax credits, offshore shelters, and all the other tricks in the book used to stimulate the economy through trickle-down voodoo economics mean that those lowest on the social totem pole see the lowest return on their buck, while the CEO's of the world see a heavy return on their taxes.

Many people accuse me of "bashing" Microsoft because I spout dire disdain against the company. Do these people forget what Microsoft has done? Do any of these people realize how much needless costs Microsoft imposes upon companies? DOes any of these people understand how far they have set us back? Has any of these people ever had to sit across a table from a squad of Microsoft sales people and listen to them out right lie to your management, selling them "solutions" that you know will force your company to can two or three good people a year from now just to afford it?

Microsoft will go down in history as one of the great evils of our capitalistic age. Microsoft taxes the world more then the old "Trust" could have ever hoped to. Microsoft is unabashed about whose pockets they will drain againt their will, or what tactics they will stoop to in order to gain a share of a market. Just as car salesman pitches a deal that is "too good to be true" to a blue collar worker, Microsoft conceals itself in the garb of a sheep and hunts the third world with the ploy of "gifts".

We need to knuckle up. If they win everything will continue to change for the worse. Before long it will be too late to fight, and we will all be asking ourselves "why the hell didn't we fight them when we had the chance?"

I hate people that hate Windows because they hate Bill because he's so damn rich. Well let me tell you a little something... Bill Gates is a good guy. He does a lot for the city of Seattle, the state of Washington, and people around the world. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation do quite a lot. Five point five billion dollars in grants. Take a little stroll through that list of who got grants. Now, tell me what Bill Gates is not honerable. It disgusts me to see him get constantly flamed. Look at Borg Bill on /. Yes, he does have a lot of money BUT he does put some if it to good causes. Thank you.

Instead of ranting, I suggest you look at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's financial statements for 2001. It made $1.2 billion in investment gains and $2.2B in contributions. Also take a look at their grant history, at a rough guess half goes towards installing Microsoft product in needy areas. Or not so needy areas, like the huge rollouts in Canadian libraries. Gates isn't withdrawning from his daily savings account with these donations. He should be given due credit for the good his foundation does but that doesn't mean that we should take the founder and driving force behind one of the most ruthless companies in the world at his word on everything related to it.

Yes, it's all a horrible and evil conspiracy, with the Gates foundation existing as nothing more than an extention of the Evil Empire.

Get real.

wouldn't it have made more sense to donate to the #1 country (Africa) dealing with an AIDS epidemic than #2 (India)?

Ok, first off, Africa is not a country. You've failed 3rd grade Geography. Perhaps you should apply for some of the $1.6B that the Gates Foundation has given out for global education.

That said - $5.9M over 5 years for research in Uganda, $10M over 3 years for African Children, $1M for 1 year for African First Ladies against AIDS, $25M over 5 years to fight AIDS in Nigeria, $7M for South Africa, another $1M for children with AIDS in Africa, and, finally, $50M for fighting AIDS in Botswana.

Obviously the $50M for Botswana was to insure they wouldn't go start using Linux either. Good business strategy there Bill!

Of course, that excludes the other $450M or so that has been donated to other countries or groups specifically for fighting HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. It also excludes the $2 Billion for other health programs. Which, overall, is roughly half of the $5.5B donated on behalf of the Gates foundation for charitable causes around the world.

Sorry, I hate Microsoft too, but this foaming-at-the-mouth, ad-hominum attacks on the Gates Foundation proves just how shallow and thoughtless a lot of the Linux fans are. Frankly, it's disgusting.

Yes, it's all a horrible and evil conspiracy, with the Gates foundation existing as nothing more than an extention of the Evil Empire.

Get real.

wouldn't it have made more sense to donate to the #1 country (Africa) dealing with an AIDS epidemic than #2 (India)?

Ok, first off, Africa is not a country. You've failed 3rd grade Geography. Perhaps you should apply for some of the $1.6B that the Gates Foundation has given out for global education.

That said - $5.9M over 5 years for research in Uganda, $10M over 3 years for African Children, $1M for 1 year for African First Ladies against AIDS, $25M over 5 years to fight AIDS in Nigeria, $7M for South Africa, another $1M for children with AIDS in Africa, and, finally, $50M for fighting AIDS in Botswana.

Obviously the $50M for Botswana was to insure they wouldn't go start using Linux either. Good business strategy there Bill!

Of course, that excludes the other $450M or so that has been donated to other countries or groups specifically for fighting HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. It also excludes the $2 Billion for other health programs. Which, overall, is roughly half of the $5.5B donated on behalf of the Gates foundation for charitable causes around the world.

Sorry, I hate Microsoft too, but this foaming-at-the-mouth, ad-hominum attacks on the Gates Foundation proves just how shallow and thoughtless a lot of the Linux fans are. Frankly, it's disgusting.

Yes, it's all a horrible and evil conspiracy, with the Gates foundation existing as nothing more than an extention of the Evil Empire.

Get real.

wouldn't it have made more sense to donate to the #1 country (Africa) dealing with an AIDS epidemic than #2 (India)?

Ok, first off, Africa is not a country. You've failed 3rd grade Geography. Perhaps you should apply for some of the $1.6B that the Gates Foundation has given out for global education.

That said - $5.9M over 5 years for research in Uganda, $10M over 3 years for African Children, $1M for 1 year for African First Ladies against AIDS, $25M over 5 years to fight AIDS in Nigeria, $7M for South Africa, another $1M for children with AIDS in Africa, and, finally, $50M for fighting AIDS in Botswana.

Obviously the $50M for Botswana was to insure they wouldn't go start using Linux either. Good business strategy there Bill!

Of course, that excludes the other $450M or so that has been donated to other countries or groups specifically for fighting HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. It also excludes the $2 Billion for other health programs. Which, overall, is roughly half of the $5.5B donated on behalf of the Gates foundation for charitable causes around the world.

Sorry, I hate Microsoft too, but this foaming-at-the-mouth, ad-hominum attacks on the Gates Foundation proves just how shallow and thoughtless a lot of the Linux fans are. Frankly, it's disgusting.

Yes, it's all a horrible and evil conspiracy, with the Gates foundation existing as nothing more than an extention of the Evil Empire.

Get real.

wouldn't it have made more sense to donate to the #1 country (Africa) dealing with an AIDS epidemic than #2 (India)?

Ok, first off, Africa is not a country. You've failed 3rd grade Geography. Perhaps you should apply for some of the $1.6B that the Gates Foundation has given out for global education.

That said - $5.9M over 5 years for research in Uganda, $10M over 3 years for African Children, $1M for 1 year for African First Ladies against AIDS, $25M over 5 years to fight AIDS in Nigeria, $7M for South Africa, another $1M for children with AIDS in Africa, and, finally, $50M for fighting AIDS in Botswana.

Obviously the $50M for Botswana was to insure they wouldn't go start using Linux either. Good business strategy there Bill!

Of course, that excludes the other $450M or so that has been donated to other countries or groups specifically for fighting HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. It also excludes the $2 Billion for other health programs. Which, overall, is roughly half of the $5.5B donated on behalf of the Gates foundation for charitable causes around the world.

Sorry, I hate Microsoft too, but this foaming-at-the-mouth, ad-hominum attacks on the Gates Foundation proves just how shallow and thoughtless a lot of the Linux fans are. Frankly, it's disgusting.

Yes, it's all a horrible and evil conspiracy, with the Gates foundation existing as nothing more than an extention of the Evil Empire.

Get real.

wouldn't it have made more sense to donate to the #1 country (Africa) dealing with an AIDS epidemic than #2 (India)?

Ok, first off, Africa is not a country. You've failed 3rd grade Geography. Perhaps you should apply for some of the $1.6B that the Gates Foundation has given out for global education.

That said - $5.9M over 5 years for research in Uganda, $10M over 3 years for African Children, $1M for 1 year for African First Ladies against AIDS, $25M over 5 years to fight AIDS in Nigeria, $7M for South Africa, another $1M for children with AIDS in Africa, and, finally, $50M for fighting AIDS in Botswana.

Obviously the $50M for Botswana was to insure they wouldn't go start using Linux either. Good business strategy there Bill!

Of course, that excludes the other $450M or so that has been donated to other countries or groups specifically for fighting HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. It also excludes the $2 Billion for other health programs. Which, overall, is roughly half of the $5.5B donated on behalf of the Gates foundation for charitable causes around the world.

Sorry, I hate Microsoft too, but this foaming-at-the-mouth, ad-hominum attacks on the Gates Foundation proves just how shallow and thoughtless a lot of the Linux fans are. Frankly, it's disgusting.

Yes, it's all a horrible and evil conspiracy, with the Gates foundation existing as nothing more than an extention of the Evil Empire.

Get real.

wouldn't it have made more sense to donate to the #1 country (Africa) dealing with an AIDS epidemic than #2 (India)?

Ok, first off, Africa is not a country. You've failed 3rd grade Geography. Perhaps you should apply for some of the $1.6B that the Gates Foundation has given out for global education.

That said - $5.9M over 5 years for research in Uganda, $10M over 3 years for African Children, $1M for 1 year for African First Ladies against AIDS, $25M over 5 years to fight AIDS in Nigeria, $7M for South Africa, another $1M for children with AIDS in Africa, and, finally, $50M for fighting AIDS in Botswana.

Obviously the $50M for Botswana was to insure they wouldn't go start using Linux either. Good business strategy there Bill!

Of course, that excludes the other $450M or so that has been donated to other countries or groups specifically for fighting HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. It also excludes the $2 Billion for other health programs. Which, overall, is roughly half of the $5.5B donated on behalf of the Gates foundation for charitable causes around the world.

Sorry, I hate Microsoft too, but this foaming-at-the-mouth, ad-hominum attacks on the Gates Foundation proves just how shallow and thoughtless a lot of the Linux fans are. Frankly, it's disgusting.

Yes, it's all a horrible and evil conspiracy, with the Gates foundation existing as nothing more than an extention of the Evil Empire.

Get real.

wouldn't it have made more sense to donate to the #1 country (Africa) dealing with an AIDS epidemic than #2 (India)?

Ok, first off, Africa is not a country. You've failed 3rd grade Geography. Perhaps you should apply for some of the $1.6B that the Gates Foundation has given out for global education.

That said - $5.9M over 5 years for research in Uganda, $10M over 3 years for African Children, $1M for 1 year for African First Ladies against AIDS, $25M over 5 years to fight AIDS in Nigeria, $7M for South Africa, another $1M for children with AIDS in Africa, and, finally, $50M for fighting AIDS in Botswana.

Obviously the $50M for Botswana was to insure they wouldn't go start using Linux either. Good business strategy there Bill!

Of course, that excludes the other $450M or so that has been donated to other countries or groups specifically for fighting HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. It also excludes the $2 Billion for other health programs. Which, overall, is roughly half of the $5.5B donated on behalf of the Gates foundation for charitable causes around the world.

Sorry, I hate Microsoft too, but this foaming-at-the-mouth, ad-hominum attacks on the Gates Foundation proves just how shallow and thoughtless a lot of the Linux fans are. Frankly, it's disgusting.

I mean, I know that Mr. Gates is heavy into the cause of fighting global diseases but wouldn't it have made more sense to donate to the #1 country (Africa) dealing with an AIDS epidemic than #2 (India)?

Sheesh, what make you think they aren't? Here's a clue: type "gates foundation aids africa" into Google. OH MY GOD! Look what pops up: A whole section devotes to Africa.

But it's probably all about those African software developers, right?

It's kind of difficult for a child to "learn to immunize himself", which is where most of the Gates Foundation's funds go it.

But beyond that, you might look at how much of the foundation's money goes to education.

You might read through the the Foundation's Web Site sometime. Gates agrees with you -- he invests his money in things that have long-term payouts, not single day handouts.

I'm not trying to suggest anything devious here BTW, only pointing out that India is continuing to get a larger amount attention in the international spotlight..

It lies outside the ken of most Slashdotters, but Bill and Melinda Gates have donated millions upon millions of dollars to third world charities devoted to killing brown children, err, I mean reproductive and sexual health. Most Catholics like children, and want to see more of them, so your typical Spanish Catholic feels a severe crisis of faith knowing that his money is eventually going to kill the unborn children of his faith, Going with Linux instead of MS is a way around this conundrum.

Speaking of Linux, I installed RH8.0 this weekend, and am posting this article from Mozilla. Perhaps I will be able to join my brethren and get rid of the Protestant, baby killing Microsoft.

Bill Gates was faced with this same dillema when he first set up his foundation. He went to conferences, heard pitches for thriod world EMAIL, web access, broadband, etc. Finally, he realized the same thing you have - that there was little humanitarian benefit to pushing high tech solutions where they didn't fit naturally. Instead, he got solidly behind vaccine development.

Say what you will about Bill, but he knows how to leverage his money to the task at hand.

PS - And, please, no flames on "he only donates a tiny fraction of his money, so he's still evil incarnate..." I was just using the guy as an example.

Bill Gates was faced with this same dillema when he first set up his foundation. He went to conferences, heard pitches for thriod world EMAIL, web access, broadband, etc. Finally, he realized the same thing you have - that there was little humanitarian benefit to pushing high tech solutions where they didn't fit naturally. Instead, he got solidly behind vaccine development.

Say what you will about Bill, but he knows how to leverage his money to the task at hand.

PS - And, please, no flames on "he only donates a tiny fraction of his money, so he's still evil incarnate..." I was just using the guy as an example.

Listen up: Any charitable foundation, like the Gates, has to give at least 5% of assets every year to maintain its non-profit 501c status. Note that the numbers on Grants Paid are in thousands, so that's $855+ million for health care, $177.9+ million for education. The amount given in 2001, a little under $1.5 billion, corresponds to an asset value a little under $30 billion.

That $30 billion is what Gates gave to the foundation, to create its endowment. Then the foundation invests its endowment, plus gives away at least 5% per year (a well invested foundation can give away its 5% and continue to grow every year, so it can continue to give for an indefinite time).

Now if you wanna argue about how cheap Bill G. is or isn't, remember that the gift he gave was the foundations's endowment. Back when B&M endowed the foundation, they gave more like $20 billion (over a few years), and they had a net worth that peaked around $80 billion. So at worst, they gave away approx 25% of total net worth.

Know any other billionaires that generous in terms of net worth? Ted Turner is more generous. But not Scott McNealy. Certainly not Larry Ellison or Steve Jobs. Not Warren Buffet or Michael Dell or Ken Lay or almost any other billionaire you can name.

How about you, slashdot reader? How much, as a percent of net worth, does your lifetime giving amount to? Still wanna call Bill G a cheapskate?

Disclaimer: My wife and I are in the process of endowing our own small foundation, but only about 10% of net worth, so I don't make it into the Gates class either.