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onepaul posted 06-14-99 12:54 PM ET

Picker posted 06-14-99 12:55 PM ET
I will kill bill gates, and eat his bones.
DanS posted 06-14-99 12:58 PM ET
Hey, you stole that one!
onepaul posted 06-14-99 01:01 PM ET
DanS, what are you talking about? It's "all over" the web...
DanS posted 06-14-99 01:04 PM ET
Let's see what Spoe has to say about that...
JohnIII posted 06-14-99 01:24 PM ET
Eh? Spoe put it in his profile from some place I forget the name of.
John III
Spoe posted 06-14-99 04:39 PM ET
Yep. Got mine from www.register.co.uk
They got it from, I forget...
Though I suppose I was the first to bring it to the forums...
JohnIII posted 06-14-99 04:42 PM ET
Something like www.jokewallpaper.com I think.
John III
Krushala posted 06-14-99 06:06 PM ET
Oh come on. Bill Gates represents what america is all about. One man (or 2) with an ingenious idea can go from making nothing to making billions. It's called capitalism, deal with it. I suppose you could move to china where the goverment prevents one man with an ingenious idea from making any money. Yes I do hate most microsoft products, but he made his money fair and square.
Stasis Archon posted 06-14-99 06:23 PM ET
I think it originally came from www.jokewallpaper.com
Valtyr posted 06-14-99 06:31 PM ET
Krushala: Boring clich�s. ZZZZZZZ. Feed me something new .
Spoe posted 06-14-99 06:40 PM ET
"One man (or 2) with an ingenious idea can go from making nothing to making billions."
And a fair amount of luck, in Gate's case. IIRC, Digital Research was first on IBM's list, but their contact was on vacation so this upstart Microsoft got called on first because they happened to be there to answer the phone...
I also kinda doubt the fairness of requiring companies to pay for your OS based on how many computers they sell in total, not how many they sell with your OS installed(as was the standard contract w/ MS back in the 80s).
Shining1 posted 06-14-99 10:01 PM ET
Umm, yeah. Bill Gates and capitalism don't go together very well at all, these days. Working capitalism requires a lack of monopolies and sufficent punishment for anyone trying to use those kinds of tactics. Microsoft is a challenge to all of that.
Koshko posted 06-14-99 10:29 PM ET
Krushala,
I'd hardly call some of his techniques fair and square. Like combining with another company and then backing out at the last second after finding out what they're going to do and then rushing there idea out before they can. How about the way he screwed his co-partner out of 1/2 of his shares. Hell, his original ideas were just imitiations of UNIX and other things already out when his came of age.
Plus, he doesn't know squt anymore. He just was able to surround himself with the right people at the right time.
Picker posted 06-15-99 08:29 AM ET
OH, and it wasn't that their contact was on vacation, they refused to hand over rights to their OS to IBM. Bill Gates said sure, and now he's worth millions.
JohnIII posted 06-15-99 01:37 PM ET
"Something like www.jokewallpaper.com I think."
"I think it originally came from www.jokewallpaper.com"
Methinks a case of repetition, perhaps?
John III
Q Cubed posted 06-15-99 01:59 PM ET
whew!
what a relief! for a second, i thought this was going to be something bad about Firaxis and Civ3!
DanS posted 06-15-99 02:27 PM ET
No, the other company wouldn't sign a non-disclosure agreement on the day IBM's men showed up at their town-house. BG is lucky, but much of his success is built on a solid foundation.
It seems to me, however, that the 90s have seen a different M$. M$ is feeling its oats and is doing some very troubling monopolistic things.
Re the people with whom he surrounds himself. Who cares? I don't envy him his success, only his monopolistic OS position.
Stasis Archon posted 06-15-99 02:35 PM ET
JohnIII: Aye, methinks so.
Krushala posted 06-15-99 07:25 PM ET
Well I guess we have different opinions. Maybe he didn't get rich fairly. But who in the business world plays by the rules. I'm sure he did do some dishonest things to get rich, but he's not the first one. He's just the richest so people got to bring him down. Someday someone will create a better product and hopefully gates will be sleeping in gutter in seattle. Not that I would wish evil upon someone else I don't know.
Philip McCauley posted 06-16-99 08:59 PM ET
Krushala, you silly idealist. A better product HAS come out. Have you ever seen a linux server side by side with a Microsoft server (with any of their OSes)? Linux is a far better OS, particularly for servers, but hardly a popular one. Why? Because the companies selling various brands of linux can't force the computer manufacturers to include it on their new PCs, and because they can't afford constant ads on TV. Microsoft is a monopoly.
Mark my words, that whack of stock the big M purchased from Apple is just the start. There WILL be a merger or buy out in the future.
Saras posted 06-17-99 03:06 AM ET
Has anyone seen the balance sheet of MS? I hear they have insane amounts of cash and money market securities. What a waste of resources.
Saras posted 06-17-99 03:14 AM ET
13 trillion??? I'd have his CFO decapitated!!!
Roland posted 06-17-99 03:30 AM ET
Almost 14 billion. Why is it a waste of resources ? MS has raised that cash by its monopolistic pricing power (just look at the margins), and it needs a huge pile of cash in reserve to kill any emerging competition and to extend the monopoly into other areas (browsers, handheld etc).
I hope they will get hit in the anti-trust-trial, hard enough to break the monopoly.
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Author	Topic: this will not make you happy...
onepaul	posted 06-14-99 12:54 PM ET
Picker	posted 06-14-99 12:55 PM ET I will kill bill gates, and eat his bones.
DanS	posted 06-14-99 12:58 PM ET Hey, you stole that one!
onepaul	posted 06-14-99 01:01 PM ET DanS, what are you talking about? It's "all over" the web...
DanS	posted 06-14-99 01:04 PM ET Let's see what Spoe has to say about that...
JohnIII	posted 06-14-99 01:24 PM ET Eh? Spoe put it in his profile from some place I forget the name of. John III
Spoe	posted 06-14-99 04:39 PM ET Yep. Got mine from www.register.co.uk They got it from, I forget... Though I suppose I was the first to bring it to the forums...
JohnIII	posted 06-14-99 04:42 PM ET Something like www.jokewallpaper.com I think. John III
Krushala	posted 06-14-99 06:06 PM ET Oh come on. Bill Gates represents what america is all about. One man (or 2) with an ingenious idea can go from making nothing to making billions. It's called capitalism, deal with it. I suppose you could move to china where the goverment prevents one man with an ingenious idea from making any money. Yes I do hate most microsoft products, but he made his money fair and square.
Stasis Archon	posted 06-14-99 06:23 PM ET I think it originally came from www.jokewallpaper.com
Valtyr	posted 06-14-99 06:31 PM ET Krushala: Boring clich�s. ZZZZZZZ. Feed me something new .
Spoe	posted 06-14-99 06:40 PM ET "One man (or 2) with an ingenious idea can go from making nothing to making billions." And a fair amount of luck, in Gate's case. IIRC, Digital Research was first on IBM's list, but their contact was on vacation so this upstart Microsoft got called on first because they happened to be there to answer the phone... I also kinda doubt the fairness of requiring companies to pay for your OS based on how many computers they sell in total, not how many they sell with your OS installed(as was the standard contract w/ MS back in the 80s).
Shining1	posted 06-14-99 10:01 PM ET Umm, yeah. Bill Gates and capitalism don't go together very well at all, these days. Working capitalism requires a lack of monopolies and sufficent punishment for anyone trying to use those kinds of tactics. Microsoft is a challenge to all of that.
Koshko	posted 06-14-99 10:29 PM ET Krushala, I'd hardly call some of his techniques fair and square. Like combining with another company and then backing out at the last second after finding out what they're going to do and then rushing there idea out before they can. How about the way he screwed his co-partner out of 1/2 of his shares. Hell, his original ideas were just imitiations of UNIX and other things already out when his came of age. Plus, he doesn't know squt anymore. He just was able to surround himself with the right people at the right time.
Picker	posted 06-15-99 08:29 AM ET OH, and it wasn't that their contact was on vacation, they refused to hand over rights to their OS to IBM. Bill Gates said sure, and now he's worth millions.
JohnIII	posted 06-15-99 01:37 PM ET "Something like www.jokewallpaper.com I think." "I think it originally came from www.jokewallpaper.com" Methinks a case of repetition, perhaps? John III
Q Cubed	posted 06-15-99 01:59 PM ET whew! what a relief! for a second, i thought this was going to be something bad about Firaxis and Civ3!
DanS	posted 06-15-99 02:27 PM ET No, the other company wouldn't sign a non-disclosure agreement on the day IBM's men showed up at their town-house. BG is lucky, but much of his success is built on a solid foundation. It seems to me, however, that the 90s have seen a different M$. M$ is feeling its oats and is doing some very troubling monopolistic things. Re the people with whom he surrounds himself. Who cares? I don't envy him his success, only his monopolistic OS position.
Stasis Archon	posted 06-15-99 02:35 PM ET JohnIII: Aye, methinks so.
Krushala	posted 06-15-99 07:25 PM ET Well I guess we have different opinions. Maybe he didn't get rich fairly. But who in the business world plays by the rules. I'm sure he did do some dishonest things to get rich, but he's not the first one. He's just the richest so people got to bring him down. Someday someone will create a better product and hopefully gates will be sleeping in gutter in seattle. Not that I would wish evil upon someone else I don't know.
Philip McCauley	posted 06-16-99 08:59 PM ET Krushala, you silly idealist. A better product HAS come out. Have you ever seen a linux server side by side with a Microsoft server (with any of their OSes)? Linux is a far better OS, particularly for servers, but hardly a popular one. Why? Because the companies selling various brands of linux can't force the computer manufacturers to include it on their new PCs, and because they can't afford constant ads on TV. Microsoft is a monopoly. Mark my words, that whack of stock the big M purchased from Apple is just the start. There WILL be a merger or buy out in the future.
Saras	posted 06-17-99 03:06 AM ET Has anyone seen the balance sheet of MS? I hear they have insane amounts of cash and money market securities. What a waste of resources.
Saras	posted 06-17-99 03:14 AM ET 13 trillion??? I'd have his CFO decapitated!!!
Roland	posted 06-17-99 03:30 AM ET Almost 14 billion. Why is it a waste of resources ? MS has raised that cash by its monopolistic pricing power (just look at the margins), and it needs a huge pile of cash in reserve to kill any emerging competition and to extend the monopoly into other areas (browsers, handheld etc). I hope they will get hit in the anti-trust-trial, hard enough to break the monopoly.