4 ms·

Would you rather Gates just takes his billions and spend it on private planes and yachts, retreated away from the world? I’m glad he’s taking his acumen and tr

Would you rather Gates just takes his billions and spend it on private planes and yachts, retreated away from the world? I’m glad he’s taking his acumen and treasure to things that are intended to positively benefit the entire world, personally. There’s a lot of great things he can still achieve in this lifetime regardless of his past. Computing has largely moved on from his Microsoft days and it’s control of the world and business.

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
Oh, he's a great guy now (mostly). I fully applaud 99% of everything he's tried do with the Gates Foundation. But what he did to the future of computing lingers on, and will do so for another decade or threee.
- cinntaile 5y ago
  What did he do to the future of computing?
  - PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
    He created the public understanding that "software" means ready-to-run executables. He created the public understanding that "software" is non-repairable, non-modifiable and created (only) by wizards in corporations. He created the public understanding that software had to cost money, and specifically per-copy, per-platform, per-user licensing terms. None of these things were accepted before Gates et al. create Microsoft. Sure, there were versions of them floating around, but they were still competing with alternative visions of how computing was going to work, and there was at least an equal chance that the more anarchic vision of things that ultimately gave rise to GNU and libre software would have won out. Gates' letter to "hobbyists" stands out as a turning point in the history of software, and because its author ended up with an enormously powerful corporation behind him, his views of how this stuff should work became the dominant one.
    - 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
      It's amazing to see first world nerds cry about software freedom and rail against Gates when he is trying to save millions of lives. Software freedom is a pet cause. Fighting malaria and infant mortality in impoverished parts of the world is noble.
      - PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
        Just a few comments above I said: Oh, he's a great guy now (mostly). I fully applaud 99% of everything he's tried do with the Gates Foundation. That doesn't absolve him of his past. Also, I have a few good friends who do work in developing countries on health care and get funded by the GF. Guess what they rely on for software? (Hint: Bill didn't write it)
- hellbannedguy 5y ago
  You realized his 501c3 gives back less than 1% back to the country that birthed, and coddled him. As to his contribution to computing--I have no idea other than an added cost (practically a tax) on every PC I bought.
- etc-hosts 5y ago
  Instead of paying more taxes, he has spent billions on privatizing schools. He has worked harder and accomplished more than anyone reading this, all of us work in a world shaped by his will. I was still very disappointed to learn that at some level he's just another out of touch billionaire. His excuse for hanging out with Epstein is he was seeking more access to philanthropic organizations. That's hilarious.
greedo 5y ago
Wait, MS no longer controls computing in the business world? Show me a Fortune 1000 company that doesn't use MS extensively.
- davemp 5y ago
  Google?
  - hyperbovine 5y ago
    I'd hazard a guess there are thousands of machines running Windows to be found somewhere within Google--they write plenty of software for that platform after all, and most on the sales/biz side are going to be trained on it too. Plus a lot of engineers using VSCode. MSFT also own GitHub, and, well, https://github.com/google https://github.com/google. Same goes for pretty much all companies listed in the sibling comments as well.
    - davemp 5y ago
      That’s hardly using MS exclusively.
      - greedo 5y ago
        Never said "exclusively." I said extensively. Excel alone is used almost everywhere.
      - hyperbovine 5y ago
        No one is claiming that...
- onedognight 5y ago
  Apple? :)
- itisit 5y ago
  AWS?
nnoitra 5y ago
Right as if "helping the world" is not self-serving

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago

Oh, he's a great guy now (mostly). I fully applaud 99% of everything he's tried do with the Gates Foundation. But what he did to the future of computing lingers on, and will do so for another decade or threee.

cinntaile 5y ago
What did he do to the future of computing?
- PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
  He created the public understanding that "software" means ready-to-run executables. He created the public understanding that "software" is non-repairable, non-modifiable and created (only) by wizards in corporations. He created the public understanding that software had to cost money, and specifically per-copy, per-platform, per-user licensing terms. None of these things were accepted before Gates et al. create Microsoft. Sure, there were versions of them floating around, but they were still competing with alternative visions of how computing was going to work, and there was at least an equal chance that the more anarchic vision of things that ultimately gave rise to GNU and libre software would have won out. Gates' letter to "hobbyists" stands out as a turning point in the history of software, and because its author ended up with an enormously powerful corporation behind him, his views of how this stuff should work became the dominant one.
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
    It's amazing to see first world nerds cry about software freedom and rail against Gates when he is trying to save millions of lives. Software freedom is a pet cause. Fighting malaria and infant mortality in impoverished parts of the world is noble.
    - PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
      Just a few comments above I said: Oh, he's a great guy now (mostly). I fully applaud 99% of everything he's tried do with the Gates Foundation. That doesn't absolve him of his past. Also, I have a few good friends who do work in developing countries on health care and get funded by the GF. Guess what they rely on for software? (Hint: Bill didn't write it)
hellbannedguy 5y ago
You realized his 501c3 gives back less than 1% back to the country that birthed, and coddled him. As to his contribution to computing--I have no idea other than an added cost (practically a tax) on every PC I bought.
etc-hosts 5y ago
Instead of paying more taxes, he has spent billions on privatizing schools. He has worked harder and accomplished more than anyone reading this, all of us work in a world shaped by his will. I was still very disappointed to learn that at some level he's just another out of touch billionaire. His excuse for hanging out with Epstein is he was seeking more access to philanthropic organizations. That's hilarious.

greedo 5y ago

Wait, MS no longer controls computing in the business world? Show me a Fortune 1000 company that doesn't use MS extensively.

davemp 5y ago
Google?
- hyperbovine 5y ago
  I'd hazard a guess there are thousands of machines running Windows to be found somewhere within Google--they write plenty of software for that platform after all, and most on the sales/biz side are going to be trained on it too. Plus a lot of engineers using VSCode. MSFT also own GitHub, and, well, https://github.com/google https://github.com/google. Same goes for pretty much all companies listed in the sibling comments as well.
  - davemp 5y ago
    That’s hardly using MS exclusively.
    - greedo 5y ago
      Never said "exclusively." I said extensively. Excel alone is used almost everywhere.
    - hyperbovine 5y ago
      No one is claiming that...
onedognight 5y ago
Apple? :)
itisit 5y ago
AWS?

nnoitra 5y ago

Right as if "helping the world" is not self-serving