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Are you suggesting that's all the Gates Foundation gave to charity this year?

You're dreaming if you think that's the case. Just go to the front page of their website and there's news of a $4 million grant to the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Being a reader of Slashdot, I'd hope you'd be able to use the website and easily find the following information:

Foundation Grants total 5.5 billion dollars.

Somehow I know you could have found this information, but chose to play stupid because it didn't suit your agenda. Go ahead, look at the above link, you'll see several multi million dollar donations that occured in just the last year.

Are you suggesting that's all the Gates Foundation gave to charity this year?

You're dreaming if you think that's the case. Just go to the front page of their website and there's news of a $4 million grant to the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Being a reader of Slashdot, I'd hope you'd be able to use the website and easily find the following information:

Foundation Grants total 5.5 billion dollars.

Somehow I know you could have found this information, but chose to play stupid because it didn't suit your agenda. Go ahead, look at the above link, you'll see several multi million dollar donations that occured in just the last year.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that philanthropy is a wonderful tax write-off, especially as Gates can donate money to his own foundation, from which he receives money back via administrative and charitable expenses.

There are a lot of people out there that would like to save the world (myself being one of them.) Mr. Gates happens to be in a position to accomplish part of that goal. That doesn't mean that he can actually do so. A lot of his donations go to medical research, which will help everybody, not just foreign people.

You might also want to take note that he has a section of his foundation that is dedicated to helping out the poor in his area. That doesn't exactly seem, to me anyway, the way to give the country you owe your millions to the middle finger.

Besides, what's so wrong about bragging rights? It gives the affluent a reason to give in the first place. Sure, it would be better if they did it purely for altruistic reasons, but that's not being realistic.

Besides, how often do you really hear about the Gates Foundation in the news anyway (besides here on slashdot, since we're somewhat biased anyway)? I could walk up to ten people right now who would not know that the Gates Foundation exists until I told them about it. I'm actually surprised at how quiet the Gates (and even Microsoft) is about all those contributions.

I have read lots of literature on Mr. Gates, and all of it leads me to the same conclusion, he really does care about all the contributions he makes, and it really isn't about bragging rights, but he's more than happy to show anyone all his contributions. He just doesn't have the same altruistic motives when it comes to business.

Their website has a lot of information on what it's done, and I must say, the foundation rocks. Click on the "Grants" link for a graph of grants given. $5.5B. That's a lot of mo... In 2001 (from the annual report), "...we gave over $1 billion in grants in support of more than 2,050 grantees." You may hate the company, but that monopoly is doing some good somewhere!

Here's more about the grant to Maine.

Their website has a lot of information on what it's done, and I must say, the foundation rocks. Click on the "Grants" link for a graph of grants given. $5.5B. That's a lot of mo... In 2001 (from the annual report), "...we gave over $1 billion in grants in support of more than 2,050 grantees." You may hate the company, but that monopoly is doing some good somewhere!

Here's more about the grant to Maine.

First read about them here: Gates Foundation

Here's a few highlights of the year ending 12/31/2001

Financial Position highlights
Amounts are in thousands of dollars.
Net assets: $32,751,466
(note: That's BILLIONS)

Grants Paid

Global Healthcare: $855,567

Education: $177,944

They are the largest private contributor fighting global health issues (and it is believed to be the largest driving force behind malaria eradication in the world)

First read about them here: Gates Foundation

Here's a few highlights of the year ending 12/31/2001

Financial Position highlights
Amounts are in thousands of dollars.
Net assets: $32,751,466
(note: That's BILLIONS)

Grants Paid

Global Healthcare: $855,567

Education: $177,944

They are the largest private contributor fighting global health issues (and it is believed to be the largest driving force behind malaria eradication in the world)

First read about them here: Gates Foundation

Here's a few highlights of the year ending 12/31/2001

Financial Position highlights
Amounts are in thousands of dollars.
Net assets: $32,751,466
(note: That's BILLIONS)

Grants Paid

Global Healthcare: $855,567

Education: $177,944

They are the largest private contributor fighting global health issues (and it is believed to be the largest driving force behind malaria eradication in the world)

Yeah they're real fuckers killing all those innocent people and committing genocide.

Oh wait, what do they do? They sell software?

You're a fucking retard. Do us a favor and commit a little genocide of your own against stupid people by starting with yourself.

This is ironic, the Gates Foundation gave a $1 million grant to fund the project in Maine... Gates (Bill) gives money to Maine to buy Macs? I just thought that was slightly amusing...

(btw, check the site for refference, it's on the right)

This could be a coincidence, but Bill Gates just announced that he will be going to India early next month. In fact, GoI's Linux announcement seems to have come out the day after Bill announced his trip. Ouch!

Yup, don't we adore the people thinking about the children? :-)

It would take an obscene amount of money to feed everyone that is starving in the world, provide the infrastructure necessary to send the food everywhere it needs to go, and insure that they will be able to provide for themselves in the future

Actually, that all exists already. There is already way too much food in the world - the US and EU destroy millions of tonnes of it every year. After all, food surpluses are a precondition of population growth, not the other way round, and the population is growing.

Growing the food is easy - our civilization understood farming centuries ago. Distributing the food is easy - logistics is a well-developed science, practiced by Walmat, UPS and the Marines, you can even do a degree in it. The difficult part is purely in the realm of the political. So long as tyrants like Robert Mugabe use starvation as a tool of population control, or nations like Somalia keep feudal civil wars going, famines are inevitable.

These are the men with just enough "obscene amount of money", but have failed to act.

The Gates Foundation has given billions away. Literally. What have you done?

3,000,000 counts of manslaughter per year.

If you really believed that, you wouldn't have a computer to post to /. from, or indeed any other posessions. You would have given every cent to charity and right now be working for free on a subsistence farm in the third world. But you'd rather sit on the sidelines and run your mouth about things that are far beyond your understanding.

There are limits, though. The thing that a laser is real good for is high precision procedures (think Lasik) that will still require all the infrastructure to operate robotic machinery (computer, electrical power, etc.) Also, the big health issue in real poor countries is access to sanitation, trained health care workers, and vaccines (on that last, say what you will about Bill Gates, but he recognizes his philanthropy is better spent on vaccines than PDAs and gizmos for third world hospitals - the knee juerk techno solution I would've lunged at).

Still, this is a great development. Will it completely change health care in poor coutnries? No. But it is another (very useful) tool in the toolbox for health care in poor countries.

Well, the Bill Gates Net Worth Page says Bill is worth 33,141,420,513 USD.

So out of his own pocket, this money is 0.00166 per cent of his net worth.

Yes, that's less than two thousandths of a per cent.

Taking a look at my bank account and (non-existant) stock portfolio, that is equivalent to me donating 10 cents to Perú. Tell the president my check's in the mail.

Philanthropy? Yeah, right.

Why doesn't Bill Gates do something really cool for humanity, like fund a private Mars program?

Because instead of doing something cool, he's people who don't even know what Mars is because all they think about is their starvation and the deadly diseases that plague them.

He wanted to become the richest dude on Earth by running the world's biggest software company. That's it.

We all have our own interests, as well as opinions on what's valuable for humanity. How dare you judge someone just because they don't share the same values that you do.

This guy and others (Bill Gates) have enough money to change the world if they wanted to. Why dont they put their money to some good use rather than stupid crap like this. They could change a small country that is dying off due to starvation or lack of water but what do they spend their money on.

Perhaps like giving $1 billion to projects focused on the prevention and control of infectious disease. I don't have to like Bill's operating system, but I do have to admire the way he sheds his disposable cash.

I swear I'm not a Microsoft fan, but even I have to acknowledge that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has done more for humanity than most of us could ever hope to. One could argue that Gates won't exactly starve for those billions he's donated, but I think it's a little unfair to overlook what he has done.

Linus Torvalds's wife could probably beat up Bill Gates's wife.

With one hand tied behind her back.

Um, are you fucking kidding? The Gates foundation has an endowment of over 23 BILLION DOLLARS and has already given out over 5 BILLION DOLLARS in grants. Get a clue.

Um, are you fucking kidding? The Gates foundation has an endowment of over 23 BILLION DOLLARS and has already given out over 5 BILLION DOLLARS in grants. Get a clue.

I give credit to Melinda, personally - she's obviously got a fine head on her shoulders.

Pretty fine shoulders, too, come to think of it.

Say what you will about his business practices, Bill (with, I'm sure, some conscience prodding from his wife) is doing some good stuff with his money. More than you'd ever see Ellison or McNealy do with their coin (if they had as much as he does, that is).

Hell, Ellison would do something loony like buy Costa Rica and turn it into the Federated Republic of Oracle, complete with its own airforce and navy.

Now that I mention it, that'd be sorta cool.

US Library Program Grantee Technical Support Limitations

Could the US do more? Sure. If someone defeats the US with superior firepower, will they do better? Not a chance. Power acquired though violent means is rarely employed for the good of the majority.

I would prefer to see the US retain its abililty to defend itself against aggressors. If the US is defeated in war, the victor is not likely to be someone who does a better job fighting the "very serious problems of disease, starvation, and poverty." If that matters to you, you should be glad for the United States' military superiority.

We have superiority today, but if we stop developing bigger, better, badder weapons, that will change. Superiority is a process, not a result.

now don't get me wrong, i'm not a microsoft lover, and i do think that they are an unethical company, but this slander against gates is pathetic.

Do you know where those bucks in Bill's wallet end up?

What Microsoft is really proposing is simply to have Bill donate a lot of money to his existing Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation? If you look at the grant breakdown, you'll see that $1.6 Billion has already been "granted" to Education. Increasing that to $2.7 Billion over five years makes an excellent tax write-off, although I'm not too certain that it wouldn't have reached $2.7 Billion in five years on its own anyway.

BG: I know! I'm giving away money each year to education anyway; let's tell them that I'm going to do it to settle this. Mwahahaahaha!

It's also worth noting that $160 Million goes towards what is essentially an MSCE-primer school, and then $38 Million goes towards paying those MSCE-primer students to support to new computers. And 200,000 reconditioned computers and laptops? In other words, they are simply redirecting what would otherwise be either landfill or freely donated anyway. I don't understand the $90 Million in teacher training either, unless it is not how to use computers, but how to make use of computers in an educational environment. Wasn't Windows XP supposed to be as easy to use as a Mac? They copied everything else, why not ease of use? (Microsoft doesn't have R&D, only D.) And yeah, $900 Million in software probably has a real cost to Microsoft of $1 Million. People need to know that the cost of duplicating software is nil.

What Microsoft is really proposing is simply to have Bill donate a lot of money to his existing Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation? If you look at the grant breakdown, you'll see that $1.6 Billion has already been "granted" to Education. Increasing that to $2.7 Billion over five years makes an excellent tax write-off, although I'm not too certain that it wouldn't have reached $2.7 Billion in five years on its own anyway.

BG: I know! I'm giving away money each year to education anyway; let's tell them that I'm going to do it to settle this. Mwahahaahaha!

It's also worth noting that $160 Million goes towards what is essentially an MSCE-primer school, and then $38 Million goes towards paying those MSCE-primer students to support to new computers. And 200,000 reconditioned computers and laptops? In other words, they are simply redirecting what would otherwise be either landfill or freely donated anyway. I don't understand the $90 Million in teacher training either, unless it is not how to use computers, but how to make use of computers in an educational environment. Wasn't Windows XP supposed to be as easy to use as a Mac? They copied everything else, why not ease of use? (Microsoft doesn't have R&D, only D.) And yeah, $900 Million in software probably has a real cost to Microsoft of $1 Million. People need to know that the cost of duplicating software is nil.

We gave $40M to the Taleban this year for "anti-drug" efforts, so there is obviously some priortization to work on here, as well.

I'd suggest you touch base with several other organizations that are doing similar work around the country, including:

The Bay Area Video Coalition in San Francisco, which is training adults for jobs in Internet industries. They will probably be familiar with local groups doing stuff for kids locally.

Playing to Win A long-time New York organization providing computer training in East Harlem. Director Mara Rose is particularly helpful.

The National Urban Technology Center, Inc. which has developed a curriculum for 4th graders to be taught at neighborhood computer centers in New York. Pat Bransford was the president last summer and very helpful.

United Neighborhood Houses of New York, Inc. which is running a tech program at 8 community housing projects in New York City. Director of the information technology initiative is Michael Roberts.

Also, you might as well go directly to the Borg. The Gates Learning Foundation was set up to fund efforts like this. They are probably an excellent source for finding groups that have already been working on curricula.

I'm not sure how you can say this. While I may disagree with Bill Gates' philosophies towards business, I've never seen/heard/read anything that would indicate that he is a "horrible human being". The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is doing some pretty good work all around the world. Perhaps your ideology is distorting your view a little?

Those open-source freaks aren't the only one -- there are also people like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, that just gives away computers and software and money, like socialists or communists! Just encouraging people to beg for things instead of earning it! If they're not good enough to pay for things, they should just crawl into the sewer and die, and get out of the way of the capitalists who keep our country strong!

Some of these promises were made by people looking only to exploit the medium for the money. Some of these promises were made by well intentioned people *hoping* these things would come true.

Point is, the people on the Internet are the priveldeged few (compared to the world population) and so it will change some people's lives, but not everyones.

Technology, as it is applied today, may or may not, solve societies ills. Alot depends on matching people's needs with the proper application of technology. Gates had a very interesting speach here that hightlights this very issue.

So yeah, Katz is right on. Mebbe overly dramatic, but on.

On the other hand, progress is rarely linear, and with thoughtful application, the Internet can be all the things that are hoped for. Just not today.

(ck goes away to do a bit of searching, comes back 10 seconds later)

Hey!, here is the word direct from the horse's mouth! Hmmm, from the numbers there it sounds like $3600 per libarary. Although that reference doesn's say whether they are USD or CDN dollars. I presume USD since it's on the BMFG site, which does translate to just over $5000 CDN.

Ah hah! And there it is right in this release, a "half million dollars worth" of software from Microsoft! With 215 computers that works out to "$2,000 worth of software" from Microsoft, which may mean what, $500-$800 in tax breaks?

(ck goes away to do a bit of searching, comes back 10 seconds later)

Hey!, here is the word direct from the horse's mouth! Hmmm, from the numbers there it sounds like $3600 per libarary. Although that reference doesn's say whether they are USD or CDN dollars. I presume USD since it's on the BMFG site, which does translate to just over $5000 CDN.

Ah hah! And there it is right in this release, a "half million dollars worth" of software from Microsoft! With 215 computers that works out to "$2,000 worth of software" from Microsoft, which may mean what, $500-$800 in tax breaks?

(ck goes away to do a bit of searching, comes back 10 seconds later)

Hey!, here is the word direct from the horse's mouth! Hmmm, from the numbers there it sounds like $3600 per libarary. Although that reference doesn's say whether they are USD or CDN dollars. I presume USD since it's on the BMFG site, which does translate to just over $5000 CDN.

Ah hah! And there it is right in this release, a "half million dollars worth" of software from Microsoft! With 215 computers that works out to "$2,000 worth of software" from Microsoft, which may mean what, $500-$800 in tax breaks?

The fact of the matter is, that if these are the things you want to see or read, then do it from home. Computers are affordable for most people and with internet appliances, just for that purpose, well you can see where I am going.

as a public librarian serving a community where my patrons can't afford to pay off their library fines, i see this daily. many of my users don't have telephones because they either can't afford them or they've been turned off multiple times. one of my regular library users just got a full-time job for $6.50/hour, and she's thrilled, because it's the most she's earned, ever.

these are the same people that frequent my building to use our internet access. over the past couple of years, they've become savvy net users - using free email to keep up with family rather than the phone, surfing for discounts and coupons, and gaining skills that just might someday help them move up and out of minimum wage jobs.

but for now, having a computer at home is a luxury these people cannot even fathom. their kids need school clothes, it's cold and snowy and their boots are falling apart, and public transportation and/or cabs are gets expensive, but there's no other way to get to work.

it's probably not wise 'round these parts to mention how my community is bridging the digital divide, but we're working very hard every single day to promote responsible internet and PC use, IN the public library.

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/pressroom/default.a sp Check out how much Bill gives away this year. I remembers hearing that on his death, all of his money is going to the trust, aside from under a 100 million going to his family - No idea if this is true, can't find confirmation on the web.

It's interesting how Bill Gates has become the equivalent of Satan or Adolph Hitler in some people's eyes. Were you aware that the vast portion of his fortune will end up in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? He's already transferred enough of his money to it to give it one of the largest endowments of any foundation in the world. Did you know that the foundation will be dedicated to providing vaccinations and health care to the people of the third world? Do you have one single idea about what you're bleating about? I thought not. You're more interested in bitching about how the damned 'rich' people don't really need all that money they earned, and so let's just take it from them. Here's a free clue: it's the 'rich' who employ people. You wanna see starvation and poverty, take the money away so that they can't hire you.

I'm amazed that people are debating if this news should be covered on Slashdot. In fact, I also submitted the story last night...but I did not have the link to Sanccob that makes things easier.

First of all, yes we should care about everything. But we can't. Humans are messing up the world too fast for us to work on it all, but what we can do is pick one thing and concentrate on it. And the penguin (or perhaps all seabirds) is a good place to start.

Was the penguin chosen because it is our logo? Of course. If you want to support something else, that's fine...but why not start with our little Tux friends. If you want to support Gnus that's fine as well. The sonoran toad? No problem. But a Penguin seems a logical choice.

This subject is topical 'cause it is a call for Linux community action. Note that even Billy Gates has a cause.

Is Billy a nicer guy than the Linux crowd? We know that is not true, and here is a way to prove it.

I am saddened by the number of people who say "Hey, who cares". I hope that many of those posters are kids and suffer from the foolishness of youth. Because who fails to see the importance of a balanced environment and diversity of life on the planet is a poorly educated individual. I'm not some environmental wacko; I eat meat and support controlled hunting. But I also support our planet.

I agree to this. Metallica does have all the right in the world. However, the wealthier you are, the more responsibility you have to share that wealth.

Unilateral assertions regarding the moral and ethical responsibilities of other people aside, this is a shocking thing to say. You seem to concede that Metallica's rights have been abridged, but justify it on the basis of the fact that they've got money. Please explain to me how your assertion differs signifigantly from the following statement: "I agree that rich people have the rights to things they own, but they have a responsibility to let other people take it."

Microsoft, on the other hand, got a lot of bad press, when Bill Gates commented that they would NOT give ANY money to any charities any time soon.

Perhaps you were thinking of Eric Raymond, who warned charitable organizations against hitting him up for money?

There is also the other factor, that what you give to the world, you get back threefold. It really is good karma to give things away. Within limits, of course, (gotta maintain that self sustaining balance) but the better off you are, the more you're able to give.

I agree to this. Metallica does have all the right in the world. However, the wealthier you are, the more responsibility you have to share that wealth.

Unilateral assertions regarding the moral and ethical responsibilities of other people aside, this is a shocking thing to say. You seem to concede that Metallica's rights have been abridged, but justify it on the basis of the fact that they've got money. Please explain to me how your assertion differs signifigantly from the following statement: "I agree that rich people have the rights to things they own, but they have a responsibility to let other people take it."

Microsoft, on the other hand, got a lot of bad press, when Bill Gates commented that they would NOT give ANY money to any charities any time soon.

Perhaps you were thinking of Eric Raymond, who warned charitable organizations against hitting him up for money?

There is also the other factor, that what you give to the world, you get back threefold. It really is good karma to give things away. Within limits, of course, (gotta maintain that self sustaining balance) but the better off you are, the more you're able to give.

I think that at least deserves mentioning cause most of you either don't know it or don't care to remember it...