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Driveway Encounter With Microsoft's President Led To $25 Million For Code.org
Long time reader theodp writes: At Monday's kickoff event with Melinda Gates for Computer Science Education Week 2018, Microsoft President Brad Smith revealed how a 2013 driveway encounter led to Microsoft's decision to commit $25 million to Code.org, whose CEO Hadi Partovi happens to live next door to Smith. "At the top of the hill, we share a common driveway," Smith said. "I can't even drive into the garage at night if he is standing in the way. Well, actually I can, but running him over is not the right path." Five years ago, Smith recalled, Partovi was in his driveway (King of the Hill-inspired artist's impression), "and he said, 'I have an idea [for then-nascent Code.org]. There is an important problem that we can help solve, because for too many people they look at these opportunities in computer science, and they don't appreciate that in truth anybody can aspire to be the next Melinda Gates or the next Bill Gates or the next Jeff Bezos or the next Sheryl Sandberg or Mark Zuckerberg. What they need, what they deserve, is the opportunity to learn this fundamental field.'"
Earlier this year, Code.org celebrated its 5th anniversary and thanked Microsoft and other tech donors for making it possible for the nonprofit to change U.S. K-12 public education. Smith also announced Monday that Microsoft would invest an additional $10 million in Code.org to help expand the tech-bankrolled nonprofit's work. "The renewed partnership," Microsoft explained, "will focus on ensuring that by 2020 every state will have passed policies to expand access to computer science and every school in the U.S. will have access to Code.org professional development."
Earlier this year, Code.org celebrated its 5th anniversary and thanked Microsoft and other tech donors for making it possible for the nonprofit to change U.S. K-12 public education. Smith also announced Monday that Microsoft would invest an additional $10 million in Code.org to help expand the tech-bankrolled nonprofit's work. "The renewed partnership," Microsoft explained, "will focus on ensuring that by 2020 every state will have passed policies to expand access to computer science and every school in the U.S. will have access to Code.org professional development."
here is an important problem that we can help solve, because for too many people they look at these opportunities in computer science, and they don't appreciate that in truth anybody can aspire to be the next Melinda Gates ... or the next Sheryl Sandberg
I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with Melinda or Sheryl's contributions to computer science, or their qualifications as software engineers? Can someone please explain those to me, before I continue reading this puff piece about two multi-millionaires and their happy little top-of-the-driveway accidental run in.
Let's flood the market with programmers and then add insult to injury by fixing their wages.
Aspiring to work in a field doesn't mean that anyone can be the next Bill Gates. it takes a special kind of personality and intellect to be able to make it to the top. Implying that anyone can do so, is disingenuous and misleading. The best will do well. Many won't make the cut. Others will work on a help desk. We're not all the same and never will be. A high IQ level is a fair indicator of one's ability to work in computer science.
What they need, what they deserve, is the opportunity to learn this fundamental field.
And ... some aptitude for it.
How much of M$ money did SEXIST code.org spend on classes where teachers were PAID TO EXCLUDE BOYS ?
Code.org are disgusting, horrible, SEXISTS
Support equality, stop the manhate, stop the feminazis.
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Your children's education is being determined by the highest corporate bidder. Remember how will common core worked out? Now they're going to do that while forcing your kid to learn computer science. Good help you if you have a girl. They're practically going to force her into a STEM field to fill gender quotas no matter what she wants to do with her life. Those homeschool weirdos don't sound too bad at the moment.
living next to the other extremely wealthy person talked to each other. this resulted in one of them donating a pittance, as a gesture, to the other extremely wealthy persons endeavour.
TLDR; for anyone too lazy to read the story.
"in truth anybody can aspire to be the next Melinda Gates"
Well, it's not technically a lie. Anybody can indeed aspire to be anything. There's no way everybody can marry Bill Gates, though. That's the thing: It's still a rock star economy, where most get by and a few strike it rich. Shoveling more people into programming will not make more people rich. It will make a few richer, but many more will just get by, especially if they think they can learn programming in a crash course.
So he had trouble cleaning the driveway and that led to an idea, that someone must be able to code away this hardware error?
This asshole was already filthy rich when they met Brad. The article insinuates as if some homless tech bro approached him in public.
More horse shit "Journalism"
And that is just about it.
http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
It's depressing, but the reality is that successful people generally come from successful families with enough connections to get them what they need. It is still possible (but highly improbable) to make it into top positions based solely on skill, but the path is well worn for those lucky enough to have connections.
This is why people of normal means who want a good future for their kids push them so hard to get into the Ivy League or similar private schools. The price of the degree buys them access to the wealthy and well-connected. If they can somehow blend in with this crowd, the return on investment is incredible. There is no such thing as an unemployed Ivy League graduate at the low end of the ROI scale. And at the top, investment banking and management consulting are guaranteed paths to riches, as well as getting into top professional (law, medical, business) schools giving you access to the best jobs in those fields.
As far as code.org goes, I'm not sure why people are so concerned about exposing kids to this field. Offshore outsourcing and visa programs are the main drivers of salary depression...working on those should be the primary concern of developers because then compensation might have a chance of increasing for everyone.
... deals with the person I share my driveway with, while standing in the driveway. I mean, we're neighbors, it's not that we don't see each other....
How can you say that without any trace of irony when they just got their mediocre idea funded just by living along the rich. A chance some kid in a mid or low income area will never have.
Code.org trains peons to work in the sweatshop, not business leaders who exploit peons.
for all of the CS graduates that can't understand what SQL injection is or the demarcation between clientside and serverside.
Code.org is a wonderful step for women. By giving our underrepresented young women access to education, they are leveling the playing field which has, and to a great degree remains, a patriarchy dominated by the undercurrents of sexism. Code.org strives to undo the social wrongs of centuries of exploitation of women, aspiring to the goal of achieving equal pay, equal rights, and equal treatment and respect of women in the workplace.
Was this the female who has never coded before in her life????? Most peculiar . . .
In the good old days, a new DOS or Windows computer came with BASIC pre-installed. There were a bunch of books available on programming in BASIC. Many people started programming this way.
In the good old days, all Apple Macintosh computers came with HyperCard pre-installed. There were a bunch of books availaable on programming in HyperCard. Many people started programming this way.
If you buy a new tablet/ laptop/ desktop with Microsoft software, there is no learning to program software.
If you buy a new phone/ tablet/ laptop/ desktop with Apple software, there is no learning to program software.
If you buy a new tablet with Amazon software, there is no learning to program software.
If you buy a new phone/ tablet/ laptop with Google software, there is no learning to program software.
The confusion over which of the many choices for learning to program environments is a show stopper for most people.
"Well, actually I can, but running him over is not the right path."
Whoever said this is a common asshole in a power position.
Nowadays, a drive-by encounter is more common, with a different sort of outcome. The sudden appearance of more wealth could be a pleasant side effect; it happens rarely, but it is still within the realm of possibility