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Is Bill Gates a real outlier? Seems to have massively exploited the people around him. Didn't even build DOS, got the contract because of parents connections. I
by soperj 3y ago
Is Bill Gates a real outlier? Seems to have massively exploited the people around him. Didn't even build DOS, got the contract because of parents connections. If he's lucky, his lasting legacy will be donkey.bas.
- m00x 3y agoI think you are massively underestimating the amount of work he put in, and his abilities outside of just this deal. He didn't just buy DOS, he made sure it kept up with the best OS on the market, including Apple's. He also recognized the initial quality of DOS outside of several other OS on the market, which he learned because he was an expert in the field and made BASIC. He also Microsoft ahead of the curve at almost every point during the computer revolution.
- soperj 3y agolol. Basic was made by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College in 1963. How were they ahead of the curve? By implementing a GUI well after Apple had stolen the designs from Xerox? Microsoft didn't even write the port of qDos for the IBM PC, they had to get Tim Paterson from SCP to write it for them.
- m00x 3y agoI meant a BASIC interpreter for the Altair, but HN won't let me edit post. There's no doubt that Gates is a capable programmer. Microsoft was successful for a reason. They were much faster, and better than other computers. They demolished the personal computer market for decades.
- gejose 3y agoWouldn't you say someone who became a billionaire in their lifetime is by definition, an outlier, whether or not you agree with how they got there?
- Ma8ee 3y agoThe persons might not posses any outlier capabilities. A big part of success is being born in the right circumstances at the right time and being lucky with a few things.
- rexpop 3y agoNo. Outlier from what? We're talking about the distribution of grift among executives, not wealth among the general public.