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Gates to join Simonyi in Space?
gadgetopia writes "On Russian state television, cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin tells journalists in a live video interview from the ISS that "Charles said that Bill Gates is also preparing to visit space"." Gotta wonder what that insurance premium is going to look like.
why did TFS look like
/ 1066/">Bill Gates is also preparing to visit space"."
"On Russian state television, cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin tells journalists in a live video interview from the ISS that "Charles said that a href="http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/11258
could it be because some one missed a "" and no one seemed to notice... come on editors! its a work day after all...
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
the only person with enough money to be able to provide the insurance policy is Gates himself.
Where can we donate to the "Leave Bill on the Moon" cause?
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
Well, we'll all hope that they'll remain there and never return to the Earth.
On the other hand... 'Space overlords' line doesn't look good...
Even bad html in article summaries gets to the main page. I'm not sure how you managed to miss that Taco.
.
Looks like you're missing an anchor tag there. I highly recommend it. They're great for linking!
Oh wait, this is a story about Bill Gates. Is this a joke about how IE doesn't follow w3 standards for HTML? If so, it's not that funny.
Dear diary: Today I stuffed some dolls full of dead rats I put in the blender.
[ Space ] [ Microsoft ]
gadgetopia writes "On Russian state television, cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin tells journalists in a live video interview from the ISS that "Charles said that a href="http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/11258
You expect me to copy and paste the link? You expect me to fix your broken post. Sorry I'm too lazy.
Philip
Signatures are broken
On a more serious note, however, the Slashdot editting have reached a new low.
...as he sits there in his spacesuit in his capsule next to the Russian cosmonaut commander as "Soyuz 12 - Powered by Windows Vista" flashes up on the main control screen just before the primary engine ignition sequence...
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Slashdot provides a link to what Fyodor Yurchikhin said about what Charles Simonyi said about what Bill Gates supposedly intends to do.
Anyone heard whether Steve Ballmer is thinking of taking the trip too ?
Read radical news here
No. Apparently the mission objectives are a dozen orbits around Ballmer's ego while safely retrieving items of loose furniture in unstable orbits around him.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Why would Gates even have insurance, it's not like he needs one with that wealth.
Reminds me of an old Ukrainian joke how when Gagarin went into space some guy announced that Russians have gone into space to which the auditory hopefuly asked if all of them and was greatly disapointed to learn that only one.
Can we tag this article "metoo"?
My GP was pretty lame, but this is exactly the kind of joke I would have loved to find.
Joking aside, I wonder exactly what would change should Gates not make it back to the Earth?
Would his empire fall, or would his second-in-command just jump into his chair and everything continues as usual?
Would there be a slew of 'secret' things suddenly appear? Would these secrets hurt or help the business? I could see it going either way... Secret projects would probably boost the company as speculation about them flooded the news, but secrets about Gates' personal life would do the opposite, I think.
I'm pretty sure MS stock would plunge, so not much speculation there.
Personally, I think we'd be worse off as Gates is sort of held personally accountable for everything Microsoft does, and I think he has a conscience. But if someone else took his place, there would be less personal influence and it'd be the company rampaging out of control. Short term horror, at least... Long term, it'd tear the company apart and be a blessing. But then, everything dies in the long term.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
But just imagine the possibilities! If you throw a chair in the space - it will fly almost eternally (until its orbit decays).
Gates would go to orbit only if Steve Jobs goes there first. He would not understand why Steve went, but just to be sure he has would not be blind sided like he was with iPod, he would go there.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
...kept in static geostationary orbit only by the sheer magical power created in chanting repeatedly the word "developers" while performing an ancient ritualistic dance.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Gates in space? Is that "SpaceLikeWord95" or "SpaceLikeOnASoyuz"?
Guess this explains why Gates declined that grassroots group's pleadings that he run for president: Imagine all those Secret Service agents crammed into the space station.
/ 08/1749210
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03
I like that it's A Bill Gates. Makes me wonder if it's THE Bill Gates. Maybe this isn't such a big story after all.
...and he has to wait three months for a patch to fix it?
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
...to recreate historical events, I think Ballmer ought to be the one to go, rather than Gates.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, write technology blogs.
Send him to the planet Pluto.
While marketing Windows Vista Super Ultimate Galactic Edition, Bill Gates was accidentally left at the ISS. Provisions are limited however NASA officials claim Gates will be able to live off a steady diet of old ASP.NET books until a rescue crew arrives.
Jason-Palmer.com
I'd be so into this were he willing to go into space if his craft and mission computers were all running off-the-shelf Vista. Let's see how much faith he really has in his flagship product...
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
A. One's a shit in a capsule... the other relieves constipation.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
On the other hand, maybe the current "high" in sunspot activities will lead to a dramatic solar flare ("sun burps"), with the resultant high velocity expulsion of partially digested, beryllium-infused, greenish-tinted solar matter ("sun vomit"). This material and the associated cosmic rays will engulf the international space station and cause strange genetic mutations to the inhabitants. When they return to earth they will each have unexplained "super" powers:
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
All that goodwill he had gained with his beloved foundation will be undone if he is seen spending his earnings from the windos tax on frivolities like this one. So I expect an ex(t|p)ensive PR campaign that will emphasise all the good Billyboy is doing with his windos loot, like giving away free copies of his coolaid OS to vulnerable countries (in exchange for a crackdown on OS piracy).
Maybe BabyBush was thinking about this opportunity when he reinstated the missile defense system.
This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
Mark Shuttleworth: "Been there a long time ago buddy ..."
..." ;)
Bill: "But I want to be like you Mark!"
Mark: "I know, its like with Ubuntu, always years ahead
"Houston to Bill, Houston to Bill, do you read Bill?"
"Loud and clear Houston. Go ahead."
"Bill, we're all go here. We just need you to push the big red button in front of you."
"OK Houston, I'm pushing the button, and... huh?"
"What is it Bill?"
"This big window just popped up saying 'You do not have privileges to access applications Orbit and Space.' Oh, now the whole screen's gone blue. Is that normal Houston?"
Work smarter, not harder.
Judas priest...this post and all the replies should be labeled troll and deleted. It's obvious it's simply there to elicit a response from all the fanboi Gates/Windows haters out there - just have to jump on the wagon to be with the cool crowd on here.
And folks, people with the kind of money Gates have do not normally carry life insurance - they are what's called self-insured - there's no earthly reason for him to pay any kind of premium when he could simply put away whatever amount he wanted to carry on his life into some other kind of investment vehicle (that also pays on his death) - he would be making money instead of paying it. (Don't even get me started on the whole 'but insurance is an investment vehicle' thing...)
- dm - The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity.
It would be GOLD one of the cosmonauts would pie him in the face as soon as he came through the airlock. GOLD.
What a mess, though.
Vonnegut was right: Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been."
With a net worth equal to three and a half years of NASA's budget, it's a wonder why he doesn't build his own space program to the ISS, instead of simply paying the Russians for a seat. He could probably even build a space armada. Plus, to be a contender in the world-wide alpha-geek competition these days, you've got to go above and beyond what's already been done.
If we can send "a" Bill Gates into space, why can we not send them all there?
(and leave them, preferrably without a pressure suit)
Is it the home premium rocket, the enterprise professional rocket, the ultimate upgrade rocket or simply the standard home professional 32-bit edition rocket?
I'd think the best thing Gates can hope for is to NOT be able to convince the Russians to upgrade to windows before lift-off...
Gotta wonder what that insurance premium is going to look like.
When you have several billion dollars, do you even worry about insurance anymore?
A story leaks out that just prior to flight bill quietly asks if they will be running windows OS on the mission critical systems. They respond no, we run unix, linux and custom a few custom ones and bill breaths a quiet sigh of relief, smiles and says, I am ready.
I don't want to sound bitter or anything, but I am deeply annoyed by Bill Gates and other Microsoft Millionaires. I mean, he is rich and everything, but let's not forget how he came about all that moolah. His company's illegal monopolistic business strategy of killing any and all competition in the Operating System marketplace, thus forcing consumers and the U.S. government to use an overpriced, inferior product channeled literally billions of dollars into his pockets over the last 20 years. We (you, me, and millions of other PC users and taxpayers) are funding Simonyi's and Gates' luxurious and extravagant lifestyles. Let's not lose sight of that...
Some will argue that Gates' philanthropic efforts balance out his company's illegal tactics... My counter-argument is that no matter how you spend money you acquired illegally, it is still stolen money. And how come they keep donating PCs running Vista to those poor elementary schools in developing countries ? Methinks some corporate strategist wants to get vendor-lock-in (MS Office proprietary document format) at 8, 9, 10 years old. Just like the tobacco companies -- hook 'em while they're young.
God only knows how many people are now paying twice or three times for a single copy of Winblows, due to the new Winblows Genuine Advantage and Business Software Alliance scare tactics.
I propose a lifetime per-person Net Worth cap of 10 Billion Dollars in the United States. Furthermore, Gates should return the money he illegally got using price-gouging tactics by refunding all customers the difference between monopoly and non-monopoly price. Finally, the government should pass legislation mandating that tech companies can only make CASH donations, not donations of their own product, to avoid creating artificial demand for their products and services due to vendor-lock-in. They take all kind of business-tax-write-offs on that donated technology anyway. So let's see how truly altruistic they are.
Anyway my point is, I read these articles about "ooh Ballmer has a big a$$ yacht and wow Gates donated Billions and OMG Simonyi is blasting off to Jupiter" and I think, well guess what if you had a Bujillion Dollars you would be doing crazy sh1t too !
I can throw as many stones as I wish; my house is made of transparent aluminum.
...following yesterday's tragic news concerning the explosion aboard the Soyuz 15 spacecraft which left only one functional spacesuit for either Commander Bill Gates or his co-pilot Bobo The Chimp to attempt Earth re-entry and splashdown into the Black Sea, the Russian Space Agency has just released some good news and pictures of Bobo happily reunited with his chimp troop in Moscow Zoo...
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
They need to send Bill Gate's monkey into space first. You know Steve Ballmer.
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
That was milk-out-of-nose funny. Are there any nappy-headed hos in the ISS?
-Will P.
...50,000,000 geeks along the Eastern seaboard of the United States simultaneously switched on and off their home lighting to spell "Linux Rocks" in illuminated 500 mile high letters as Mr Gates passed overhead in the Soyuz 15 spacecraft...
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Has there ever been a better chance to start a real life MST3K?
It would solve all our problems!
"No, no, no, don't tug on that! You never know what it might be attached to."
> Anyone heard whether Steve Ballmer is thinking of taking the trip too ?
The ISS can handle micro-meteorites, but what about chairs?
[Insert pithy quote here]
Gates it's ready to launch Microsoft ISS?
'Windows for Spaceships'
Now if somebody could just get Ballmer up there with him and fix it so they never get back to Earth... sweet!!!
which would effect an immediate plunge of downfall towards earth, since the developers sequence wont be echoing in space.
that will take him out of classification of evil it persona and puts him in "hazardous heavenly object" class however.
Read radical news here
fastest launch through the stratosphere I can envision....
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Just curious how long it'll take Bill to return to SECTOR 0 0 1.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Lets just hope Bill has a lovely XPerience and doesn't crash into the Blue Ocean of Death.
Maybe he's spying on someone. http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html
Under the influence of Post-Cyberpunk Gonzo Journalism
Steve Ballmer has been throwing chairs for years. He would be perfect to throw anyone in the chair.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVgR6fAHKuU
Slashdot provides a link to what Fyodor Yurchikhin said about what Charles Simonyi said about what Bill Gates supposedly intends to do.
Windows development is always that way, pawn, and that's why most people don't bother. Windoze - the only way to win is not to play.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
I feel that if Bill Gates does travel into space, the guidance system of the vehicle he travels in should be changed over to run on Microsoft Windows in his honour.
[cancel] [allow]
"In Soviet Russia, program cancels you!"
Given Mr. Gate's reputation for hygiene, his fellow cosmonauts would fix him up with duct tape in no time.
Hard work is OK. It's the "go to hell" attitude for the rest of the world that turned out to be a problem. That and a lack of product. No one really wants to be confined with that, so I doubt even the Russians will put Mr. Gates on a rocket.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Nah - every other man and his dog has already been there and done that, so where is the big thrill for Bill ?
My guess is that he is lining up for the first solo manned landing on the Sun. Ill spare $100 to fund that.
Except he won't need a rocket to put him into orbit. He just needs to sit down on the only chair in Ballmer's office and tell him he's going to Google.
if he is seen spending his earnings from the windos tax on frivolities like this one.
Oh come on, be creative and you can make it into a religious transformation. They can pump out copy about how Mr. Gates, the god, looked down on a "fragile earth" and came away a new man ready to do good for the whole world. He can combine it with some blather about the joys of parenting and might actually fool people into thinking he's changed. M$'s propaganda machine is all about convincing people Mr. Gates is full of good will. The props required to pull off that illusion are getting expensive.
He won't really change anything he's doing and his organizations will continue to push their "IP" empire into medicine and other places you don't want immoral people. He thinks he owns computing and is close to owning your culture. Next on the list is your health and life.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Cancel or allow?
Does this mean he is not the richest man in the world anymore?
All I have to do is post some code on Slashdot and I'll get hundreds of critiques on my formatting within the hour. Thanks! Cool tip!
It is funny that Paul appears to the be the true visionary. Paul jumped into doing internet over cable in 1991. In addition, he jumped into the space race (backing burt rutan) back in 2003.
But the good news on this, is that it could create a true space race amongst the wealthy who will fund this. Combine this with Bigelows annoncement of going to the moon and it looks like we will be on the moon by 2015 with BASES.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Charles said that "lpszBill_Gates is going to..."
Gates could easily afford to build his own spacecraft and his own space station but instead he's going to use some cheap Russian company to make the trip. That's certainly not what I'd do if I had the money.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
Boy, some moderator apparently decided to spray his mod points all over this thread, modding everyone Off Topic. What exactly is the "topic?" Jokes about BSODs in the ISS and 640K being enough to run the Soyuz?
..." That's usually enough to warrant an Insightful mod.
Maybe you should have begun with "I'll probably get modded Off Topic for this but
I don't care why you're posting AC
Wow. Anger management issues?
Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
Seriously, these are clearly ego trips, wasting tons of energy, money.
Just, because someone is on the top of the wealth distribution chain, should they be entitled and allowed to waste non-renewable resources way beyond reasonable personal needs?
Should not at least people, who are supposed to care about the world avoid such waste?
WTF? What the heck is wrong with you??
In Soviet Russia, capitalist oppressors pronounce "space" "gulag".
Have gnu, will travel.
This is not my sandwich.
Eventually when Gates is off the planet (One small step for man), how do we manage to keep him off out there (Gaint leap for human kind)? Quick someone come up with a clever plan.
Anyone heard whether Steve Ballmer is thinking of taking the trip too ?
How far can you throw a chair on the moon?
has a BSOD while Bill is on board!
Please oh please have a BSOD!!!
why do i have to think of Albert II?
The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
India has a "home grown" polar satellite launch vehicle now so if Gates wants people to take his stand in favor of unlimited H-1b engineers imported to the US seriously, he should launch himself to space on that vehicle.
Seastead this.
In modern Russia, they often mix first and third orbital velocities after setting up windows terminals. And I doubt if there's a reset button... =))
....Bill will indeed fly into space and following in the tradition of John Denver and Sonny Bono, die stupidly in an accident.
Sure there are no pine trees in space, but he'll be going a bit faster than the 40-50 mph Sonny Bono was when he snacked on instant pine nuts.
And everyone knows that the quality of Russian spacecraft is nothing like John Denver's ultralight plane that pinwheeled into the Pacific...it's probably worse.
I am my own gestalt.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
Imagine the dialog with Bill on board. "Why aren't you running Windows?" "Let's upgrade to .net 2008." "Why are we crashing?"
See my small cartoon:4 /gates_in_space.html
http://geekandpoke.typepad.com/geekandpoke/2007/0
Bye,
Oliver
open the pod bay doors HAL
I'm sorry Bill, but I can't do that
The gun is good - Zardoz
..."PIIGS IN ...SPACE!!!"
:-)
In another context...will he sleep in a regeneration chamber?
Fools, we have the option to stop the Borg NOW !!!
You never catch me alive
... escape velocity
Bitter and proud of it.
Cripes they got the Word guy up there and now Gates. all they need now is Balmer and a chair and we'll really be in for some laughs.
boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
>Is he looking for software pirates on the moon? No, he's looking for software patents on slackbuilds, surfing the space of Patrick Volkerding =)