Bill Gates

Bill Gates retires from day-to-day role at Microsoft

Paul Mah — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:11:47 -0400

Today marks Bill Gate's last day at Microsoft; he has vowed to take a step back from his position as the icon of the most successful software company in history. Though Gates will remain the chairman of the board, he will only spend a day a week on company matters. Instead, he will shift the bulk of his time and energies over to philanthropy at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. One of the chief tenets of the foundation has been the eradication of diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. Reflecting the couple's passion, Gates was quoted as saying, "Once you improve health in a country, it really changes everything."

For more on Bill Gates:
- check out this article from Telegraph

The last goodbye from Bill Gates

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:59:59 -0400

Bill Gates gave a farewell speech to developers at Microsoft's company's annual TechEd conference on Tuesday, talking about how modeling will transform the way the software development lifecycle is managed.

"Over time, code gets complicated, and you want to be agile and change it," he said. "This is definitely an area that's open for improvement." Gates also discussed how Microsoft is looking to mainstream robotics development techniques, noting that robotics is at a stage similar to where the PC industry was when Microsoft first started.

For more of Bill Gates' insights:
- see this InformationWeek.com article

Gates down to last month at Microsoft

Paul Mah — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:12:04 -0400

Bill Gates will officially step down from the day-to-day job running of software behemoth Microsoft Corp. at the end of this month. Beyond that, he will spend a mere 20 percent of his time at Redmond working on "technologies such as office and search tools". Article

How to manage brilliant people

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Every CIO wants a bright, top-flight IT staff. But the smarter the employees, the greater the risk that they will be demanding, ignore the opinions of others, become easily bored and think they are always right.

So how does a CIO manage a brilliant technical staff, creating a positive and productive work environment? CIO Magazine offers six basic tips. They include managing results, not processes; being inclusive and open to new ideas; being willing to engage in a dialog and learning; and finding ways to challenge yourself and stretch your creativity.

All the while, say the experts, IT executives must guide the process and cannot abdicate their managerial responsibilities.

For more tips on managing the best and the brightest:
- see this CIO magazine article

Gates: Windows 7 will 'take less memory, be more efficient'

Paul Mah — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:48:28 -0400

Bill Gates has inadvertently confirmed that Microsoft is hard at work tweaking the next iteration of Windows--or Windows 7--to be more efficient where power and memory utilization are concerned. The company also is working to improve two-way replication of files between machines and to create better connectivity with mobile phones, as well as to make it into the premiere gaming platform. Article

Spam turns 30

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

Spam, the bane of every office and personal email system, celebrated its 30th birthday on May 3 and as every CIO knows, age hasn't stopped the scourge from remaining ubiquitous. Microsoft founder Bill Gates predicted in 2004 that the spam problem would be solved in two years. But Sophos, an email security company, says that 95 percent of all email today is spam, while Symantec says that figure is more like 80 percent to 85 percent. Due to sophisticated solutions, email service providers and the hard work of IT managers, end users only see a fraction of what's out there. But the spammers are an industrious lot, constantly presenting new security risks to company systems and offering an unrelenting array of solicitations for unwary victims. Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten says "there is more spam than ever and no end is in sight."

For more on spam's significant birthday:
- See this InformationWeek article

Windows 7 coming soon...or not

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:16:31 -0400

Ah, Windows 7. As much as the folks at Microsoft like to dangle the forthcoming OS in front of our faces, they know well enough that unless they make it seem somewhat distant, they'll never sell any copies of Vista. And as much as we might want it now, we realize that the sooner it arrives, the more likely it is to be half-baked--which is how many critics have described Vista. A real double-edged sword, that Windows 7.

The latest news is that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates recently hinted at a release for Windows 7 within the next year, stating, quite plainly, that we could expect a release "sometime in the next year or so." While that's about a year sooner than even the most optimistic estimates had it pegged, it was unclear exactly what Billy meant by "release." Alpha? Beta? Release candidate? Retail?!

Well, luckily, a Microsoft rep has stepped in to clean up the mess. "We are currently in the planning stages for Windows 7 and development is scoped to three years from Windows Vista consumer [general availability]," the rep told InformationWeek. "As is standard with the release of a new product, we will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain tester feedback." So it looks like business as usual, as Windows 7 will arrive sometime in 2010 or 2011 as expected. As for Bill? Well, we can only assume that he'll keep filling us with false hope as he continues his victory lap of the public speaking circuit. Shine on, you crazy diamond.

For more on Windows 7:
- see this InformationWeek article

Gates warns of U.S. tech folly

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:59:59 -0400

Microsoft founder Bill Gates made a trip to Washington, D.C., last week, his last visit to the nation's capital representing the company. He testified on Capitol Hill and made a speech to Virginia's technology leaders, warning that other countries are beginning to copy the policies that have made the United States the world's top innovator. He said members of Congress are making tradeoffs to keep constituencies happy for the short term at the expense of U.S. competition in the future. "Compared to a taxpayer rebate, putting money into research and development has a multiplier benefit, but it happens over a 10-year time frame," Gates said.

For more on Gates and his point of view:
- see this eWeek.com article

Related Articles:
Gates testimony to Congress. Article
More on Gates. Article
Gates to tech council. Article

Gates: Huge software advances coming next decade

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:59:56 -0400

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is convinced that the next 10 years will see an acceleration of advancements in software and computing, relaying that message during a Northern Virginia Technology Council breakfast in Washington to a crowd of about 1,100. He made some predictions on the shape of things to come, saying that television will soon be synonymous with the Internet, giving rise to personalized news and commercials. He noted that, "Television will be an utterly different thing." Also, software delivered as a service over the Internet, or Software as a Service (SaaS) will proliferate, according to Gates. In schools, software will be used increasingly to stimulate actual experiments. In all, Gates believes that the rapid advancements in the tech arena will continue. Despite the current concerns on the state of the U.S. economy, he is "very optimistic" on the future of the industry.

For more on what Bill Gates talked about:
- check out this PC World article

Gates comes to D.C. for a final visit

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Microsoft founder Bill Gates takes his final lap around Washington, D.C., next week as company chairman when he testifies on March 12 at a hearing on the future of innovation and U.S. competitiveness. It will be interesting to see if lawmakers listen to what he has to say about the path of IT in a global economy.

Don't expect Gates to disappear completely from the political landscape. He's still very much "hands-on" in his foundation that is trying to deliver better health care around the world. And he remains a significant player in the efforts of industrialized nations to conquer the worldwide AIDS epidemic.

For more on Bill Gates:
- see this ComputerWorld article