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Unbelievable! Gates has his RDF set on Warp 9.

As far as choice goes, "Apple gives you prime filet, but we offer 5 kinds of hamburgers. Isn't Microsoft great?"

I hope Bill's just saying most of those things to put a good face on Microsoft and not because he really believes it is the truth. But you can only stretch the truth so far before you lose all credibility. The idea of the PC and software industry are definitely not MS innovations, as many companies built PCs and wrote software for those PCs before MS entered the field.

The only innovation MS contributed was to have one OS licensed to run on hardware from multiple vendors; and that only happened because Compaq was able to reverse engineer the BIOS from the IBM PC. Before that, each OS only ran on its creator's hardware.

So now the monopolist is rewriting history ...

Spin, Spin, Spin.

What's Gates gonna say? We rooked Apple into getting the Mac GUI?
That the first personal computers were made by Apple?

M'soft made some VERY shrewd moves. Like making a deal with IBM that M'soft could sell MS/DOS to any computer maker.

And to his credit, Jennings threw some real hardballs.

M'soft. Shrewd, yes. Lucky, yes. Innovative, no.

The history of Apple is the history of personal computing.

dv

OMG! That movie of Gates is absolutely PRICELESS! If you haven't clicked it above and viewed it, you must do so now. Totally blows Gate's bullshit out of the water - and it's Gates that does it!

Brilliant job, MDN. As usual.

If anything drove Micro$ofts success, it was Compaq successfully defending their cloning of the BIOS. You are right there Strategy. Had clones not been legal, IBM would have driven the market to their MicroChannel architecture and OS/2 or some other operating system.

As far as the general growth of the industry, during the founding days there was of course Apple, Atari, Commodore, TI and a whole lot others. The standard happened because anybody could clone IBMs, not that M$ created something wonderful.

Unfortunately, most of the general public is gonna eat this sort of 'truth'. You can't exactly blame them, though. They don't know any better. Wouldn't it be grand if a reporter actually published a whole story on the facts (just like the link that MDN gave), instead of this PR filth that the wealthiest man in the world spreads? I guarantee you, many people would look at Microsoft with a different set of eyes.

I try to explain to misinformed people what really happened, but who listens to a 16 year old Mac user? (unheard of in a gritty oil town essentially; because that would make, ummm... 'sense') But I'm sure if a trusted news source printed the true story, perhaps people would 'Think Different'?

(Note: pop-unders occur not only at MDN... so does How Stuff Works.)

Heh. Yeah, right.

really priceless, the world's richest man had nothing to do but lie through his teeth and talk about something he cloaned!

Wow, he really believes his own BS.
And we thought it was the windows users that were brainwashed...

Guys, this is just stunning and shows how far removed from the rest of the world a man can get. I'd love to do a feisty article about that interview but I honestly can't figure out where to begin.

• Microsoft's an innovator
• Microsoft created the industry
• SPAM is going down (for him, maybe)

It's a big list. Where do I begin?



Tera Patricks
Mac360.com

GREAT QUICKTIME MOVIE!!

I believe it was taped in the mid-80's JUST after the emergence of the Mac, when Jobs and Gates were still scratching each others backs to leverage themselves in the industry.

Jobs wanted M'soft to make as much software as possible for the Mac, and Gates wanted his software everywhere it could possibly be, to make him stronger.

It's nice to show it occasionally, just after Gates will dismiss Apple as 'really neat' or something. 'But not terribly important in the long run'.

Spin Spin Spin.

dv

Mr. B. Gates has bought himselfs in to a mighty sofware concern.
But for sympathy towards M$ you need M$ Office4Mac, nothing else..

The other big computer maker in the early 80s was Atari. IBM/Microsoft were nowhere.

Microsoft invented the PC industry. Riiiiiiiiiight. Well, Al Gore invented the Internet.

Ya know, I want in on this.

I INVENTED THE NUMBER ZERO!

THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S MINE. ALL OF YOU USING THE NUMBER ZERO ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, YOU MUST PAY ME A LICENSE FEE. IF YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING AND ASK YOURSELF "What do I have to do today?" and the answer is "Nothing," YOU MUST PAY ME A ROYALTY!!!!

"THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S MINE. ALL OF YOU USING THE NUMBER ZERO ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, YOU MUST PAY ME A LICENSE FEE. IF YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING AND ASK YOURSELF "What do I have to do today?" and the answer is "Nothing," YOU MUST PAY ME A ROYALTY!!!!"

Um...I hate to burst your bubble, but I invented "nothing." Also I have pending "Diddly" and "Zilch." So, please refrain their use. Thank you.

Inventor of Nothing.
Bob "Diddly Squat" Nowon

In all seriousness, I think this shows a man, and a business under quite severe pressure.

It's not just the money, its the company's reputation. At this moment it is on a negative spiral and they are working hard to restore it. Probably the first time ever that Gates will have been tested when on the defensive.

I hope Apple has some good new things in store for us as they can capitalise on this weakness.

"You found a very unusual data point there."

What a propeller-head. I can't believe the man is so out of touch with humanity. Delusions of grandeur for sure.

Then again, every time I look at a Windoze machine, and there's the proof without a Word.

This post brought to you by the word 'ground': Almost everything Gates said was ground-less.

Ooops... typo... had to come back to the submission and got a different word-- lost. Gates has really lost his grip on reality.

In case the video clip is not enough "proof" for PC users (Gates may be beyond hope), have them Google the words PC history. First up,

http://pc-history.org

shows 11 computers, and not a single one of them is a Windoze box.

Quote:
"The Apple II was the first true"personal computer" it was factory built, in-expensive and easy to learn and use. Provided with the most extensive set of software and low cost floppy disks, the  Apple II was also the first personal computer capable of color graphics and easy modem operation..  Development of  the Visicalc spreadsheet program created a business tool that made adoption of Apple II a regular part of business."

Lots said in very few sentences.

Ever notice how Steve Ballmer is no longer the front face for Microsoft? I thought Steve was running the Microsoft show, but it seems like in the last 6 months Bill has inserted himself more actively into the lead role, with Steve B being the assistant to Bill.

Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect, and Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer.

Will Steve be leaving soon?

I believe Bill Gates was one of the first people to use the 'pay-for' software model that we have today. I remember reading something about him going to user groups (where people used software in a free-for-all way) and being more or less disgusted by that model.

Was he the first to use this model commercially? I don't know. But if there's anything that he could say he innovated, it might be that.


Other than that, I think he needs to stop drinking the company Kool-Aid.

What a load of crap!

On one hand, I'm sick of hearing Billy Goat use words like "innovator," "breakthrough," and "risk-taking" to describe what micro$hit does. They don't deserve any credit for being leaders of technology. More than anything, they've made people's lives more miserable and complicated with their cracked windoze program.

On the other hand, it's fun to see the slow demise of this monopolist and the pathetic desperation in their voice! I don't want them to end it in one big explosion. Rather, I wanna savor each and every moment of their slow demise!

For all the tea in China.

As time moves on and the PC industry begins to look back upon itself and retell its own (unfinished) history; as the crucial moments of that history are whittled down, sequenced and etched into the basic storyline, which becomes the mythology we pass on to each new generation (in way we have done with the the early automobile industry), there is ONE THING Bill Gates - for all his billions, for all his power and for all the dominance of his software - CAN'T HAVE. And that is the place in that history desperately HE WANTS and believes he deserves.

It's a critical time for the product known as 'Bill Gates' and - for all his efforts and energy to make it otherwise - the man's place in this grand new history is crystallising daily as the 'Great Copier'.

Eric

How can you say Atari was the other biggie 20 years ago? Have you forgotten the original giant of home computing?

I'll give you a clue. It begins with a "C=".

and ends with "-lingus"?

Actually MS already exist when Apple II came out. By then I believe MS was selling BASIC interpreter for Altair i8008 or i8080. Apple II came with an excellent Woz's BASIC on ROM (I believe both Apple II's monitor program and Woz's BASIC fit on 4K ROM, or was it 2K), but Jobs wanted Apple II to have MS BASIC, which was considered "Standard", so he asked Gates to develop AppleSoft 16K BASIC (they were already known for their bloatware).

Visicalc and others came much later.

Gates' Reality Distortion Field is about the size of a pea ... sweet pea ... cooked, or I should say, "overcooked" ... micro ... and soft.

His circle jerk buddy Michael Dell is as much an innovator as Gates created the industry.

bill gates reminds me of geeks

remember in high school those clones that look exactly like gates?

well, every1 could ask him how to do stuff and hell anwswer u but u wouldn't understand a word he said

i think thats what happened with microsoft
they created programs that was intended to be use by geeks like gates

thats y Microsoft and the various ventures blows

Jobs on the other hand is a nerd
and nerds could be cool but geeks can't

nerds, if u ask him questions, you'll understand his answers becuz their techy without being geeky<=(makes
sense?)lol

and that is reflected in his company

i not clear and vague but i work night shift and just got off work

I hope SJ has an interview soon, so they can ask him to respond. After his open email slam of Napster, and constant dissing of Glaser, and also the "MS start your photocopiers" banners, I think he is ready to blow the doors off Gates-Ballmer lying spree. I think the 2 of them play recording while they sleep that say "MS is always firest, always innovative" just so they can say it with a straight face

You know, it really is true what they say about history.

'History is writen by the winners.'

Only the power of a 95% market share would allow Gates to get away with this BS.

Apple needs to run a commercial showing a combination of those 2 videos, first the latest one with Jennings and followed by gates himself in the old vid


classic

Meanwhile, back at the Seattle Academy for the Terminally Delusional, UberGeek William H. Gates has finally managed to outdo himself.

MS didn't create the PC business - it was a lucky passenger behind Digital Research and (allegedly) Data General, legend having it that IBM executives originally approached Ed De Castro (the founder of DG) to license the RDOS operating system from DG's NOVA platform. Sadly, De Castro was a better engineer than a businessman and sent the Men In Blue away with a flea in their ear.

With the exception of Excel and possibly Exchange, MS has never shown that it's capable of innovating its way out of a paper bag, having succesively been a late-comer to most of the major trends in computing over the last twenty years.

Want examples? How about the Internet? Or multi-media? (Check out QuickTime's launch date compared with Windows Media Player) Plug And Play? (NuBus in around 1988, I seem to recall, finally available in Windows 95 in 1995).

I'm waiting for Bill's son to enter therapy in about twenty years…

[I]"Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Some times he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy, the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical, summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds, pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian woman named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum, it's breathtaking, I suggest you try it."

That was pathetic. Both Balmer and Gates are into trying to rewrite history and they can't even get the facts straight.

Granted Job's reality distortion is pretty strong but Gates and Co. are off the map.

Everything stated above...recorded on film:

http://www.pbs.org/nerds/timeline/

And lest we forget the great verbage from Sun's McNeily on the subject of "M$ and innovation":

"...Look at the numbers. M$ spends exponentially more on M&A;than they ever will on R&D;."


I just wish ABC conducted the interview with a technophile present.

Go APPLE.

The Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) was a home version of its all-in-one business version. The PET came as a 4k, 8k, or 16k version. It was the ORIGINATOR of the all-in-one, iMac-like, style and was the reason for it's popularity. During the late 70's, Apple ][ and Commodore PET were the most popular and shared equal popularity. People liked the futuristic, Star Trek, lookin' PET and the simplicity of just plugging in the power cord. The b&w;monitor and cassette tape drive were built in. The Radio Shack TRS-80 started to become popular in 1979, but the Apple ][ was already showing up in schools by then and was a major reason for Apple's eventual success over the PET and TRS-80.

How do I know? I bought an 8k PET. I choose 8k because I had no idea how I would ever fill up 16k worth of data. All of the programs were about 4k in size and I never thought I would ever have a business-level amount of data to fill it up. The OS was actually 6500 machine code and it resided in ROM and did not intrude upon the user's RAM. As such, it booted up within a few seconds with no drives at all. Also in ROM was the system's default language, a BASIC interpreter which intruded minimally upon the user's RAM.

Even at a meager 8k, it had innovative aps like "Hunt the Wumpus" one of the first adventure games (image walking blindly though a cave and being told what you hear, see and smell), and "Eliza" an artificial intelligence program. Programming it was very easy, as was improving or customizing existing programs. Because the Apple ][, PET and TRS-80 all utilized BASIC, it wasn't unusual to find nearly identical programs on each platform.

Later, in an effort to make it more household friendly, allowed the consumer to use their TV as a monitor, so they took the PET architecture and placed it into a keyboard, and added a color video chip. It's small size, light weight (had external power brick), vivid color, and low price made it a big consumer hit.

TRS-80's popularity stemmed from their distribution and availability. Radio Shack was much more widely known and very popular with the blossoming world of electronics, so their computer's software and accessories were usually just a short drive away.

For a long time, the Commodore 64, Apple][ and TRS-80 all shared equal popularity. There wasn't much animosity between their users as all of the home computer users felt like a minority, and held comfort with their fellow "geeks" regardless of the platform they used.

But, note that nowhere in this early group did anyone know of Microsoft. They were a late comer, and there is no doubt that the personal computer industry would have been just fine, and probably even more advanced, if Microsoft never introduced its cheap-ware into the world.

It wasn't until the iMac with OS X did I get that same feeling back of a simple to use, dependable, and consumer-friendly computer as I had felt with the Commodore PET.

Let Gates have his delusions. He copied enough ideas to fool alot of people. PCs are everywhere. They are in hospitals, businesses, airports, and homes. I can't figure out why. I wouldn't trust my files, passwords, credit cards or business to those virus ridden, spyware infested, boat anchors for the all the (proverbial) tea.......

And furthermore, he is still raking in the bucks. I was in the only computer store in the cities that retails mac, other than the Apple Store, and there were lemmings lined up behind the pc's. At least 20 people were there looking at wintel machings, while only 2 people were stationed behind macs. Does this give him the right to revise history? No, but I guess we can't expect him to admit to copying everything.

Mirosoft isn't going awaym but that is good for Mac. We still have the corner on coolness.

I think Bill Gates could do stand up comedy in downtown Seattle when he's not doing his 9-to-5 thingy.

He's quite the jokster huh

The long slow slide into madness is coming to an end for Mr. Gates.

Question: If Microsoft were no more, what would Apple be?

---

Answer: Apple would be Microsoft.

MCCFR

Surely those are more Bill's lines than Gates Jr. Mini Bill will probably be not quite evil enough.

"Mr. Gates has his timeline, at the very least, FUBAR'ed beyond belief. What's next, Bill, holing up in Vegas and growing your fingernails to obscene lengths? You'd be copying someone again there, too, oh King of the Delusional Geeks. Of course, that wouldn't stop you from claiming you "innovated" the whole Vegas-Fingernail-Billionaire-Madness thing all by yourself, right?"

Okay, I'll take the daily pop-under in exchange for sentences like those above! Ruined another keyboard spraying it with Diet Coke, er, Pepsi (trying to win some tunes). Thanks, MDN!

Ouch, busted my left one upon reading this:

MacDailyNews Take: "You found a very unusual data point there." Bill, you really needed to get laid before you turned 40. The man is, without a doubt, SuperNerd™.

"I'd love to do a feisty article about that interview but I honestly can't figure out where to begin.

• Microsoft's an innovator
• Microsoft created the industry
• SPAM is going down (for him, maybe)

It's a big list. Where do I begin?"

Tera, put out a three-part (maybe more) story. Start at the top of your list and go down as they're all worth the time.

Can you say HUGE EGO. He needs to brush up on his computer history big time. Innovative, who Microsoft?
Not a chance.

Bill has been promoting choice quiet a bit lately. What he doesn't get is that offering a great deal of choice adds complexity, which leads to instability, which leads to the sucky MS eXPerience.

Perfect example: .NET...It works pretty good in the commercial but industry execs have been resistant because they know that if there is one kink in the chain, when Joe consumer places and order, it may never get to the warehouse worker's PDA. Misplaced order...Joe gets pissed...

Dave H - I was just instantly reminded of the "question mark" bit of the monologue.

But you've got to admit that if Bill was Belgian, everything would make a lot more sense

I know there are compensations, but it must be tough on Bill Gates' kids to read this stuff about their Dad!

What if IBM chose the other OS instead DOS ? M$ created the PC industry my butt!!!!

I'm curious why so many people here believe that Bill BELIEVES what he is saying?

That he's gone kookoo or something.

He is lying and spinning to support his corporate company line and to keep the world at large ignorant of the real history of the PC. For goodness sakes, he can't ADMIT that M'soft has co-opted almost everything from everyone else, filed off the serial numbers, painted it and said it was invented at Microsoft.

He's lying, just like any shrewd politician or CEO who chooses certain facts selectively to support their position. If you notice he praises a lot of other people and companies because he doesn't want to look too "out there".

Gates is smart, not crazy. Nor does he believe one word that he says.
He knows what he did, he just wants to keep it from the public.
His ego, and PR for his company demands these actions on his part.

david vesey

Bill reminds me of the mad Dreyfuss from the Pink Panther movies... it's sad really, he was a brilliant guy in the early days of computing. I think the ties have gone to his brain. Note, you never see Steve in a tie...