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I was one of the guys writing M$ and annoyed by the shady business practices of Gates. Today he has my utter respect on how he tranformed and how he spent his

I was one of the guys writing M$ and annoyed by the shady business practices of Gates. Today he has my utter respect on how he tranformed and how he spent his money.

andreygrehov 9y ago
Interesting. Anything you could share with us?
- donatj 9y ago
  I'm personally more than a little impressed on his anti malaria work.
  - enraged_camel 9y ago
    And his anti polio work. Humanity is very close to eradicating polio forever, thanks to Bill Gates and Rotary.
- iicc 9y ago
  https://www.gatesnotes.com/2017-Annual-Letter https://www.gatesnotes.com/2017-Annual-Letter
the_common_man 9y ago
Huh? Have you thought about all the dreams he destroyed? This is not even Robinhood style where he made money off evil people.
- ajross 9y ago
  Seems like "dreams" in the broad tech community have done pretty well on the whole. This whole site is kinda dedicated to them. Conversely, have you thought about all the third world disease deaths the guy's money has prevented? To be clear: I was in the anti-MS camp from way back when that means "OS/2" instead of Linux. I was no fan, and still don't use their software for anything meaningful. But "dreams destroyed" is a bit much.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - the_common_man 9y ago
    Well, maybe your dream didn't get destroyed. But bill gates and Microsoft's business practices killed real businesses. This is not my imagination, please read up the history. Those entepreuners dreams were destroyed by an unethical company. Maybe you don't think it's a big deal because winners take it all and can define what is good for the world?
    - untog 9y ago
      I look at it this way: the entire industry was utterly cutthroat (still is, in many ways). If Bill Gates/MS didn't do what they did, I believe another company would have. That doesn't mean they are utterly innocent, but in terms of effect on my life, I'm not convinced an MS-less life would be that different. On the other hand, if Bill Gates doesn't spend money curing diseases in the third world I'm not at all convinced that someone else would come along and fill in that space. After all, they could very easily match him today with all the work there is to do.
      - trophycase 9y ago
        >If Bill Gates/MS didn't do what they did, I believe another company would have You may be right, but this is a pretty toxic belief and seems to be constantly used to justify ethically questionable things.
    - TeMPOraL 9y ago
      > But bill gates and Microsoft's business practices killed real businesses. This is not my imagination, please read up the history. Those entepreuners dreams were destroyed by an unethical company. That's, frankly, a pretty small price to pay. Entrepreneurial dreams are a dime a dozen, and many (most?) of them don't even have a good social impact. Some individuals whose dreams were "crushed" may feel sad, but unless we're talking about people losing their livelihood and ending up in poverty because of Microsoft, it's not even on the map compared to what Gates is doing now to help the world.
quadrangle 9y ago
I think a shift from apparently grotesque capitalist of the worst sort (embrace-extend-extinguish, FUD, anti-competitive practices, abuse of monopoly and on and on) to a philanthropist of a decent middle-ground sort who still extends his power through philanthropy (such as working to be in the position to dictate education policy and education-related technology through Foundation funding — despite not deserving any say in that field) merits at best a form of respect that remains less than "utter".
- pm90 9y ago
  Correct. Don't get me wrong, I 100% respect and appreciate what he is doing, not just by giving but also actively engaging in educating the American public about important issues they wouldn't be aware of otherwise. But in being charitable later in life, he is kinda following in the footsteps of people like Carnegie (gave a ton to CMU) and Rockefeller (gave to many places but UChicago is probably the most famous).
  - quadrangle 9y ago
    Yes, the Carnegie and Rockefeller comparisons apply well. The point is that you should have less than 100% respect and appreciation if you recognize that some of what the Gates Foundation is doing may very well be the promotion of BAD directions in public education… (among other things). I'm not sure enough to conclude, but I think the direction in education that the Gates Foundation promotes may be negative. At any rate, there's no basis besides wealth that Gates should have any influence in our educational system.
    - computerex 9y ago
      Whoa. What "bad directions" are you referring to? If you are going to make accusatory claims, do be specific. Bill Gates is a luminary who created the largest software development company known to man. I will give him the respect to hear him out about any subject he feels he can contribute in.
      - 9y ago
antaviana 9y ago
He happened to be some kind a Robin Hood, taking it from the rich (who could afford buying his software as opposed to pirating it) and giving it to the poor.
- ttoinou 9y ago
  Robin Hood stole from the government people to give it back to taxpayer, depending on the story you read :)
eip 9y ago
You should probably do a little more research.

I was one of the guys writing M$ and annoyed by the shady business practices of Gates. Today he has my utter respect on how he tranformed and how he spent his money.

andreygrehov 9y ago

Interesting. Anything you could share with us?

donatj 9y ago
I'm personally more than a little impressed on his anti malaria work.
- enraged_camel 9y ago
  And his anti polio work. Humanity is very close to eradicating polio forever, thanks to Bill Gates and Rotary.
iicc 9y ago
https://www.gatesnotes.com/2017-Annual-Letter https://www.gatesnotes.com/2017-Annual-Letter

the_common_man 9y ago

Huh? Have you thought about all the dreams he destroyed? This is not even Robinhood style where he made money off evil people.

ajross 9y ago
Seems like "dreams" in the broad tech community have done pretty well on the whole. This whole site is kinda dedicated to them. Conversely, have you thought about all the third world disease deaths the guy's money has prevented? To be clear: I was in the anti-MS camp from way back when that means "OS/2" instead of Linux. I was no fan, and still don't use their software for anything meaningful. But "dreams destroyed" is a bit much.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- the_common_man 9y ago
  Well, maybe your dream didn't get destroyed. But bill gates and Microsoft's business practices killed real businesses. This is not my imagination, please read up the history. Those entepreuners dreams were destroyed by an unethical company. Maybe you don't think it's a big deal because winners take it all and can define what is good for the world?
  - untog 9y ago
    I look at it this way: the entire industry was utterly cutthroat (still is, in many ways). If Bill Gates/MS didn't do what they did, I believe another company would have. That doesn't mean they are utterly innocent, but in terms of effect on my life, I'm not convinced an MS-less life would be that different. On the other hand, if Bill Gates doesn't spend money curing diseases in the third world I'm not at all convinced that someone else would come along and fill in that space. After all, they could very easily match him today with all the work there is to do.
    - trophycase 9y ago
      >If Bill Gates/MS didn't do what they did, I believe another company would have You may be right, but this is a pretty toxic belief and seems to be constantly used to justify ethically questionable things.
  - TeMPOraL 9y ago
    > But bill gates and Microsoft's business practices killed real businesses. This is not my imagination, please read up the history. Those entepreuners dreams were destroyed by an unethical company. That's, frankly, a pretty small price to pay. Entrepreneurial dreams are a dime a dozen, and many (most?) of them don't even have a good social impact. Some individuals whose dreams were "crushed" may feel sad, but unless we're talking about people losing their livelihood and ending up in poverty because of Microsoft, it's not even on the map compared to what Gates is doing now to help the world.

quadrangle 9y ago

I think a shift from apparently grotesque capitalist of the worst sort (embrace-extend-extinguish, FUD, anti-competitive practices, abuse of monopoly and on and on) to a philanthropist of a decent middle-ground sort who still extends his power through philanthropy (such as working to be in the position to dictate education policy and education-related technology through Foundation funding — despite not deserving any say in that field) merits at best a form of respect that remains less than "utter".

pm90 9y ago
Correct. Don't get me wrong, I 100% respect and appreciate what he is doing, not just by giving but also actively engaging in educating the American public about important issues they wouldn't be aware of otherwise. But in being charitable later in life, he is kinda following in the footsteps of people like Carnegie (gave a ton to CMU) and Rockefeller (gave to many places but UChicago is probably the most famous).
- quadrangle 9y ago
  Yes, the Carnegie and Rockefeller comparisons apply well. The point is that you should have less than 100% respect and appreciation if you recognize that some of what the Gates Foundation is doing may very well be the promotion of BAD directions in public education… (among other things). I'm not sure enough to conclude, but I think the direction in education that the Gates Foundation promotes may be negative. At any rate, there's no basis besides wealth that Gates should have any influence in our educational system.
  - computerex 9y ago
    Whoa. What "bad directions" are you referring to? If you are going to make accusatory claims, do be specific. Bill Gates is a luminary who created the largest software development company known to man. I will give him the respect to hear him out about any subject he feels he can contribute in.
    - 9y ago

antaviana 9y ago

He happened to be some kind a Robin Hood, taking it from the rich (who could afford buying his software as opposed to pirating it) and giving it to the poor.

ttoinou 9y ago
Robin Hood stole from the government people to give it back to taxpayer, depending on the story you read :)

eip 9y ago

You should probably do a little more research.