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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.'"

3 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hot Air by WeAreAllDoomed · · Score: 5, Insightful
    His job is to say things like this. He's been saying this for over a decade. It's a lot of hot air.

    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.

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    free software, open standards, open file formats, no software patents.
  2. Re:Philanthropy for Dummies by kz45 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Steal from 100 widows, support 1, collect humanitarian award."

    and microsoft steals from widows.....how?

  3. Re:FP by spectecjr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

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    Coming soon - pyrogyra