This isn't necessarily true, as noted in the Joel's tale: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=228298 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=228298 Bill gates was

This isn't necessarily true, as noted in the Joel's tale: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=228298 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=228298 Bill gates was very involved with the code and structure of Microsoft's early software and this article basing its judgement of the two people on one email from Gates isn't exactly solid evidence that Gates was necessarily like that in person.