“Microsoft Corp. has for decades been on the cutting-edge of technological innovation. Company co-founder and chairman Bill Gates spoke to Peter Jennings [Wednesday] at the corporation’s headquarters,” ABC News writes.
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft Corp. has for decades been on the cutting-edge of technological innovation? Who wrote that, Microsoft for ABC News?
Following are selected selections of the interview:
PETER JENNINGS: How much of a challenge is security these days?
GATES: We’re responsible for the creation of the PC industry. The whole idea of compatible machines and lots of software — that’s something we brought to computing. And so it’s a responsibility for us to make sure that things like security don’t get in the way of that dream. You know, its individual empowerment, information at your fingertips — we need to drive that forward.
MacDailyNews Take: Does Gates really believe that Microsoft is responsible for the creation of the PC industry?
GATES (on competition): Well, competition is always a fantastic thing, and the computer industry …is intensely competitive. Whether it’s Google or Apple or free software, we’ve got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes.
JENNINGS: On the subject of music, I read somewhere that about 80 percent of Microsoft employees who have a music playing instrument or a music playing device use an iPod.
GATES: Well, I doubt that’s the case. Certainly, the iPod’s a great success.
JENNINGS: Do you have one?
GATES: No, I’m not an iPod user. I use the Creative Zen which is a fantastic product. That’s another space where, even what we have today, whether it’s iPod or the other things are only the start of what we’re gonna have in a few years. People are gonna want choices. These things are going to be smaller or better, cheaper. So, music has changed. The age of the CD is really coming to an end.
JENNINGS: The public likes this tension between you and the others as I’m sure you know. So people want to know do you have an iPod. You say you don’t have. Did iPod beat you in this issue?
GATES: Oh the iPod did a great job, but what Apple’s done there is typically what they do. It’s their, only their one music store, only their device. What we’re doing is providing choices. So it’s like the Apple computer versus the PC. With the PC you can buy from many companies so you get cheaper prices, you get more variety and here with music devices we’re coming in with the same. But they’re a strong leader in the space and I think as we gain share, people will be surprised.
JENNINGS: But, it isn’t hard for you is it to stand back and compliment somebody else?
GATES: No, particularly Steve Jobs who’s done a lot of amazing things in our business.
JENNINGS: I’ve heard some people say that if they were graduating from science or technology today, they’d rather work for Jobs than Microsoft. Why do you think that might be true?
GATES: Well it’s certainly not the case. You found a very unusual data point there. In terms of software that’s going to change lives and the most interesting software work in the world we’re able to attract the smartest people and believe me, that’s something that we track very, very carefully. When it comes to having the best software people, that’s been the key to our success.
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™.
JENNINGS: When I said to somebody the other day that you at Microsoft had always said we will continue to be the innovators of technology this person who was young and a techie said “Oh they’ve never innovators they buy other people’s material, they expropriate other people’s knowledge and adapt it into their business.” I don’t understand that completely, but is there some truth in that?
GATES: Well the biggest thing we did was we invented the field. That is there were no other companies doing what we were doing. The idea of the PC, the idea of the software industry — that was something very, very unique. There are companies like Xerox had a research lab that did a lot of forward looking work. In fact, the whole interface you see with windows and with the Apple McIntosh [sic] a lot of the early ideas came from Xerox. A lot of the good people who did the work there are now here at Microsoft taking those ideas a lot further. And so, it is important to acknowledge that we build on the work of others. But if any one company has done a lot of unique work, breakthrough work, risk-taking work, that’s gotta be Microsoft.
Full transcript with much, much more here.
MacDailyNews Take: 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?
Does Gates even remember that by 1980 Apple (with the Apple II) held 50% of the personal computer market? Or that it was well after the Mac’s 1984 debut that Microsoft released the awful Windows 1.0 (late 1985)? Or that it was eleven years before Microsoft even approached the same ballpark as the Mac OS with Windows 95? As for Xerox PARC and Apple’s Mac, read the real story here. Gates wants to make people think that Apple and Microsoft got their ideas from Xerox to create the Mac and Windows. We suggest you read the very informative and concise article “The History of the Graphical User Interface” here.
Or why not just listen to a younger, pre-delusional Mr. Gates himself by clicking below. If Gates was off “inventing” Windows at the same time as Apple was creating the Macintosh, this video simply could not exist (thanks for your patience, it takes a moment to start via a cable modem – 6.2MB):
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Steve Jobs: Microsoft copied original Apple Mac with Windows 95, now they’re copying us again – February 08, 2005
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer: ‘We love to be first’ – January 25, 2005
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.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”LOL” style=”border:0;” />
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!
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”vampire” style=”border:0;” />
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.