Slashdot Mirror
Bill Gates On the Past, Future, and Google
editingwhiz writes "eWEEK reports that Bill Gates told PBS talk show host Charlie Rose and a Stanford University audience at TechNet Wednesday that 'We're at the beginning of something important again' in the development of technology — just as in the 1980s with the advent of the PC. He also discussed the growing Microsoft-Google competition, world health issues, how to give lots of money away to the benefit of mankind, and whether he'll return to Harvard to finish his studies." From the article: "On whether there's another idea today that is as powerful as the idea of the personal computer in the 1970s: 'If I knew medicine like I do computers, I would like to be able to control the [human] immune system, to fight against the onset of disease on a world level ... but I think the idea of the PC still would have topped that.'"
The reason I have been feeling as sick as a dog all day today is because my immune system is stressed out about what it might have to face in the future.
Anyway, I believe that the next big thing will be an expansion of high speed communication to cover most of the human race. Sure, it's pretty obvious... but as I recall so was the idea that the internet would be a world changing phenomenon in 1994 and I have a file that was originally written on a BBC master in 1987 explaining how the computer would be widespread in business and the home.
Over the next 20 years? Same as the last 20. Continual progress towards more devices that communicate more freely.
Think of the Children; Sleep with your Sister
his job is to continue to leverage his single stroke of phenomenal luck - being at the right place at the right time a few decades ago - to sustain the ongoing illusion to the unwashed masses that he is some kind of unparalleled genius, and by extension, that microsoft is the beginning and end of computing.
free software, open standards, open file formats, no software patents.
Bill doesn't know personal computers any better than the average hospital administrator knows the human immune system. And I'd bet you that when someone does make the next breakthrough in understanding and controlling the human immune system, that someone will not be a hospital administrator. I'd also bet that at least one hospital administrator will believe he did it though.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
His wish to be able to cure people and eradicate diseases is noble, but saving every sick person will not save the Earth. In fact, it will make the Earth's population grow way out of control.
So instead of dying from cancer, HIV or bird flu, we'll starve for lack of food and water.
In other words, dying is a necessary evil fact of life. If we can make it happen without pain and suffering, so much the better. But trying to prolongue it forever is foolish.
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
"Steal from 100 widows, support 1, collect humanitarian award."
and microsoft steals from widows.....how?
Plus, charity is not that great, and it just doesn't work very well.
Charity alone is not something to praise a guy for.
That's why he has a foundation, and there are strict rules governing the way that the money is given to 3rd parties. It's run like a business - your charity has to produce results for you to get the money, and to keep getting more, you need to keep producing results. Otherwise, he gives his money to another charity which will do a better job.
Pretty smart way of handling it actually - which is why Warren Buffet jumped on board too.
Coming soon - pyrogyra
Gates was talking about spam from a users point of view not a technical one. Spam, for users, is not a big deal anymore because of how good spam filtering takes care of it. I get MUCH less spam delivered to my inbox (1 or 2) than I did 2 years ago (100+). My spam filter gets over 200 a day still, but it really doesn't impact me at all.
To win the Lotto is a "single stroke of phenomenal luck".
To build the company as he did, by outsmarting other competitors like IBM, is not luck. Far from it. He provoked the situation and get the most out of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS
As yourself: would you have done the same in the same position?
Sneak teach kids Algebra using a game