Slashdot Mirror
Bill Gates Interview w/ Spiegel
DaVinciXL writes "Bill Gates just gave the German magazine "Spiegel" an interview which can be read (in English) on the magazine's website. Gates speaks about issues of computer security, competition, software bundling and how he lives with the downsides of his wealth and fame." He does a pretty good job of answering a lot of hard questions.
This may sound like flamebait, but I've often wondered if a lot of the vitriol comes not from genuine hatred of him and his products but out of envy that he and his company are one of the most successful and richest companies in the world. To the anti-corporation, anti-money, dorm room students who post on here, that is something to really hate. Even Steve Jobs says the battle was won, Microsoft won it, and people should move on (and that a victory for competitors doesn't have to mean a loss for Microsoft).
I know this doesn't apply to everybody here...but I'm guessing most.
Or maybe he did answer the questions; you just didn't get the answers you wanted to hear from Bill Gates.
Gates also contributes a lot of money to charity
Gates contributes to charity exactly what he is required to, to avoid taxes, and not a penny more. And even at that, his contributions are often cynically directed to further his business goals, such as PR in India just as India had announced official support for Linux, or purchasing vaccines at high prices from multinational drug corporations who are on the same side of the table as Gates on forcing the US IP regime on the rest of the world, or contributing to education by purchasing Microsoft software.
Gates is a mizer through and through, with a heart of ice.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.