Bill Gates to Receive Honorary UK Knighthood

[SJ Zero]

You seem to be missing the point that this isn't capitalism, really. It's just some neoptism.

Congratulations, your rich mom got you a deal with IBM. We're all impressed by your ability to be born into a rich, well connected family who can pull all the strings nessesary to get you an opportunity and lend you the money to lie your way into getting a contract with a company which actually worked for it's position.

Einstein, Columbus, Magellan, Gallelio, these people weren't handed the reigns to of their discovery on a silver platter, they had to work for it and make their discoveries themselves. Einstein didn't buy "E=MC^2" from a dentist. Columbus didn't hire some guy to find a route to asia because he said he had one but didn't. Magellan's mother certainly didn't just hook him up with some rich guy who had a plan to sail around the world, and Gallelio's father wanted him to be a medial doctor, not a mathematician!

Comparing these people, who fought for their "stumble" onto something great, to a man who won a lottery by birthright and never even had to write a line of original code to make his fortune, is offensive. This cult of personality around Bill Gates, treating somone whose life work is *someone elses* on par with people who actually created something, who actually discovered something, who did more than sit idly by and use their parents influence and money to get into a position of wealth, is ridiculous and dangerous.

But it's good to know that if I am pushed down a well, someone will respect me if I find something expensive down there.

[Punk Krash]

Its sad to say nepotism is synonymous with business these days.

The almighty dollar
The symbol of modern capitalism.

or should i say greed?

Microsoft does nothing any other large corporation does'nt do

They are just larger and more "important" because of the money they make. Shrewd business practices are nothing exclusive to MS. Hell a local family owned contracting firm was strongarmed out of the local market by a larger corporate conglomorate, recently in my neck of the woods. Did you see it in the news? Read about it in the papers? You would have if thier wallet was over a few billion.

I think he would have made it if he was "well off" or not. It takes a desire to go somewhere in life money helps but isnt everything, give a stupid man money and he is broke in a week.... give a smart man money and he will turn it into millions.

If his family was poor He would have gotten rich slower and probibly have more respect for what he earned, people would still hate MS because its "cool" to "hate m$"

Every large entity in this world is hated if its too large or important. Name one thing that someone doesnt have a huge drawn out explanation why they are horrid and evil.

Hard work just doesnt carry as much weight as the Dollar.

I do see your point Zero. Yet arguing a moral issue when morals have no place in modern business. is futile. It is sad but reality is more often than not... depressing.

These are just my opinions, i do not mean to stir anger, and the well thing well...you would definatly be on the news for a while if you found something shiny. PEOPLE LIKE SHINY'S!!

[Blitz]

Bill Gates is a genious, a buissness genious. That's why it's the largest coorporation in the world. Not just becuase of their product. He also understand what people need. Seen other oses? They all work, some evne better. But you have to read a 1000 page manual to use them.

[SJ Zero]

Wow. I'm going to leave this thread alone now.

1. Screw microsoft and screw business, that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about Billy Gates' mother meeting the VP of IBM and getting him the deal that made microsoft. I don't think you understand the significance of that event, how MS-DOS made the original Microsoft monopoly, and without that single event, Microsoft would be in the same dismal state Borland is today -- a washed up compiler company whose product is far past it's prime. You're so busy writing about theories about rich people that you're ignoring the facts, and that's frustrating the HELL out of me. Furthermore, we're not talking about business here, we're talking about people. I say that people shouldn't respect Bill Gates just because he has money since it's not his actions or resources which got him the contract which made his company a household name, but his MOTHERS. You obviously disagree. You can't say that Bill made his fortune on his own, however, because that is contrary to historical fact.

2. Blitz, stop being retarded. Maybe you weren't there when the first XT landed on someones desk, but I recall quite vividly the three inch thick MS-DOS 2.1 manual. Seeing as MS-DOS was the product which made Microsoft its first billions, claiming the user freindliness card is simply wrong, and contrary to historical fact. Furthermore, among modern OSes, Linux isn't the only competitor to Windows ever. IBM OS/2 Warp came with a small manual but didn't require a user to read anything to use it. BeOS came with a manual of fewer than one-hundred pages and was so intuitive that even a jaded windows user could pick it up with no extra effort. MacOS in it's various incarnations is well known for it's ease of use.

Seriously. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who had a computer in the 80s.

[Mech1031]

You're so busy writing about theories about rich people that you're ignoring the facts, and that's frustrating the HELL out of me. Furthermore, we're not talking about business here, we're talking about people. I say that people shouldn't respect Bill Gates just because he has money since it's not his actions or resources which got him the contract which made his company a household name, but his MOTHERS. You obviously disagree. You can't say that Bill made his fortune on his own, however, because that is contrary to historical fact.

yes, because you say it, it's automatically a historical fact. now if you had proof to back it up, you might have an argument. otherwiese, your just writing theories about one rich person

and i had a computer in the 80's. i used to play reader rabbit on it

[Josiah Tobin]

i had a computer in the 80's. i used to play reader rabbit on it

:o I remember that! I haven't heard that name in years! Ah man, that game was the ultimate in amazing graphics, stunning sound, and top-notch craftsmanship...


...oh wait :lol:

But yeah, not to get off topic...
(mainly directed at SJ)
I'm SICK of all the obligatory Bill Gates bashing, whether it's based on fact or not. Put yourself in his shoes for one moment and see how you'd feel about everyone bashing you without even knowing you... just your 'infamous' backstory. SJ, I'm sure if you told us about your life up to this point we could subtly twist it to make it seem like you're a greedy bastard without really changing anything.
Of course, I know you're going to come up with some kind of retort and/or follow-up gates bash, so...
(not that I'm mindlessly defending him for no reason; I just don't believe in judging someone without knowing them and, like I said, I am SICK of seeing people going on about him and microsoft like they're the most extreme evil of the world)

[GordonSweet]

I think few would disagree MS have evolved into a Monopoly of PC software with their widespread use of Windows. The question we have to ask is whether they deserve their position that seems to break the golden rule for system analysts. The analyst is supposed to create software according to the client’s wishes, as far as possible. In the case or Windows we and the software designers are obliged to create software to be compatible with the latest version of Windows. An example of this problem I understand is the row in the EU as to why MS insists on us paying for their Media Player with Windows, when there are plenty of other similar software available, often free such as Winamp. Also have users of the early Win 3.2/95/98 noticed how ideas generated by others such as removing unwanted file clobber have now been incorporated in the latest Windows.

In spite of being strictly an Amateur, many years ago in the age or predominately DOS, I wrote a QB menu program in keyboard and mouse versions, capable of running ANY DOS software, even Win. 3.1., and I still use it for such today. Anyone is welcome to a copy. So why cannot others be allowed to produce menu software capable of running most if not all the latest software. Windows does have many advantages such an interactive Clipboard, and the ability to allow several programs to run in the background at once, but is this all really essential?

Gordon

[na_th_an]

Multitasking is a must.

[xduffy]

Stability is a must!
Go Fedora, go Fedora! *dances*

[na_th_an]

Yup, Fedora rocks. But Debian, or Ubuntu are sexy