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Bill Gates Plays Secret Santa To Reddit User
An anonymous reader writes "Gates fulfilled a Reddit users wish-list by buying several items and donating to a listed charity organization, although he did pass on getting the iPad on the list. From the article: 'The true identity of Rachel's Secret Santa was finally revealed when she found a photo of Gates holding the stuffed animal and the signed donation sent to Heifer International. An inscription in the book with a "really nice message" and note from Gates wishing Rachel a Merry Christmas and a Happy Birthday was the topper.'"
She opened the gift before Christmas. What's up with that?
could he not have tossed in a surface instead (I guess then they could count it as a sell, lord knows he probably has a pile of them in some closet)
and link to something.. ANYTHING slashdot has done in the last few years.
what does slashdot do?
Scratch that. We pontificate. We're very good at that.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds -- Albert Einstein
Come on! It was a nice gesture. The man didn't _have_ to do this, but did anyway. This brought some joy to the world that wouldn't have been there otherwise and in my book that qualifies as a good thing.
(So M$ and BG has done some (very) objectionable things. I agree, but this wasn't one of them.)
I'm sure I'll get modded down for this, but I can't resist:
iPad: So expensive, even Bill Gates takes a pass!
Of course, his saving grace is he didn't see fit to punish her with a Surface, at least.
Yes, indeed there is blood on that man's hands. I too remember the Great Internet Explorer Wars. Saw many good people lose their lives in that dark chapter of human history. What brutal, senseless suffering, and all because machines came pre-packaged with this one certain browser. Damn it Bill, why did you have to go and include a browser with every operating system, you heartless, greedy bastard! Were those ill gotten gains worth it?! And now you think you can just undo the sins of your past by eradicating malaria, hunger, and illiteracy? Well, it won't work! None of that can compare to the horrors of browser/operating system bundling. Truly, Micro$oft money is blood money.
Saying this is probably some form of sacrilege, considering my tendency to avoid MS products when possible -- my everyday desktop is Debian, for example -- but I have no problem separating the company from the man.
I don't like Microsoft's business practices, and generally don't care for their software, but Gates himself always seemed like an overall decent* guy with a passion for software and technology, unlike Jobs, who always sounded like a jackass to me. There's an irony in that, given the fanatical following of Jobs and general distaste people display toward BillG, presumably due to the business practices of Microsoft and ubiquity of its products.
Even if it's a PR stunt, it was a nice one, and handled in a classy way. He could have given away a bunch of XB1s and other branded products, for example, but didn't. What he did was thoughtful and nicely done, and he didn't even do it in a way that bragged about how many zeroes were on the donation made.
* Which doesn't mean he's a flawless person or always a nice guy. I'm sure he has plenty of flaws; if nothing else, he condoned or ignored Microsoft's various shady tactics over the years
Scratch that. We pontificate. We're very good at that.
Nah, we just hurl profanities and insults at each other in a misguided attempt to feel important. You numpty :P
No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
Reddit: "Cool! Well-done Bill. Sounds like a good charity that helps people.. Cute cow. Funny you didn't send her a Surface, ha ha ha. Merry Christmas, everybody!"
Slashdot: "FUCKING RAPIST! Yeah, RAPIST."
Jesus Christ.