“Open” this, “open” that: It seems like everything is “open” these days. Well hello, people, Bill Gates’ gravy boat has run aground. It’s time to get out the Starship and fly in those open clouds. → Read More
Microsoft co-founder and current chairman Bill Gates recently sat down with the editor of Microsoft’s own Next blog Steve Clayton to talk about Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and the Surface tablet. Unsurprisingly, Gates was pretty upbeat about all of the company’s upcoming product and argued that “Windows 8 is key to where personal computing is going.” → Read More
Dismissing rumors that he might be making a comeback at Microsoft, founder Bill Gates went down under to rule out the possibility of ever returning to the software behemoth full-time.
Instead, he says, he’ll be working full-time at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation until the day he dies. Gates stepped down from his day-to-day role at Microsoft in June 2008. → Read More
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $250,000 to the Startup Weekend EDU series of events, the dedicated education-focused vertical within the non-profit.
The Startup Weekend organization, which is supported by the Kauffman Foundation and the social learning startup Grockit, offers intense 54-hour events where entrepreneurs come together to share ideas, form teams, build… → Read More
Five years ago, I was working for a Belgian company that published the only weekly IT magazine in the country, Data News. I was not a reporter, but in charge of its online media products. When it was announced that Microsoft founder Bill Gates would be coming to Brussels to, for the first time, pitch Windows Vista to enterprise customers and partners at the MS Business Innovation Event, I jumped… → Read More
After the nuclear disaster in Japan at the Fukushima reactors, the general public is understandably skittish about nuclear energy once again. But not Bill Gates. Speaking today at a Wired business conference in New York City, he is talking up the benefits of nuclear energy, particularly next-generation designs. The backlash, he thinks, is overblown. “If you compare it to the amount that coal… → Read More
When students asked what subjects they should major in to become a tech entrepreneur, I used to say engineering, mathematics, and science—because an education in these fields is the prerequisite for innovation, and because engineers make the best entrepreneurs.
That was several years ago.
I realized how much my views have changed when the The New York Times asked me to write a piece for its… → Read More
You can debate if there is still that much of an epic battle between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs – or Microsoft and Apple in other words – at all these days. As much as pundits like to keep drawing comparisons to their financials, the tech world is far more interesting that the competition between those industry giants, who are destined to remain giants for a long time.
Before I start rambling… → Read More
This weekend, a ratified nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States went into effect, reducing and limiting each nation’s allowable arsenal of nuclear weapons. The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 2) also allows U.S. inspectors access to monitor Russian nuclear weapons technology, facilities and forces, which they were prevented from doing since the original START… → Read More
Well, Steve Ballmer certainly had a productive week.
Over the past three days, the Microsoft CEO has sold 49.3 million shares of his company stock, Reuters reports. With the share price hovering around $27, the sale has made him about $1.3 billion. Not bad for three days.
And he’s not done yet. Ballmer apparently intends to sell as much as 75 million of his shares in total by the end of the… → Read More
The “Waiting for Superman” movement continues to sweep through the Valley with news that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has donated $100 million to Newark Schools– no doubt encouraged by his COO Sheryl Sandberg who has been a big supporter of the movie and the movement to reform public education.
Some people have insinuated the move was a calculated ploy to whitewash Zuckerberg’s image with the… → Read More
Bill Gates thinks something is going to die too.
No, it’s not physical books like Nicholas Negroponte — instead, Gates thinks the idea of young adults having to go to universities in order to get an education is going to go away relatively soon. Well, provided they’re self-motivated learners.
“Five years from now on the web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world,” Gates… → Read More
To wrap up the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA, Bill Gates took the stage to talk with host Brent Schiender. A big idea of the conference was the future of technology, especially as it related to the economy. Gates talked a lot about that, but perhaps in a way you wouldn’t imagine. His mind was in the gutter. Literally.
“Latrines are fascinating,” Gates said. The way he said it was in a… → Read More
EcoMotors announced today a $23.5 million series B funding round from Khosla Ventures and Bill Gates that the company will use to build and test its eco-friendly engine, known as an Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder (OPOC) engine.
EcoMotors makes engines that run on diesel or gasoline but have greater power density, weigh less and produce lower carbon emissions than conventional engines. OPOC… → Read More
Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, was on Larry King Live on CNN last night. (Larry King’s still on the air? Gotcha.) He was there with his father, William Henry Gates, Sr., and they talked about a number of fun and exciting things. And wouldn’t you know it, the iPad was one of those things. His take on Apple’s “magical and revolutionary” thingamajig? It’s “not quite there yet.” That’s fair to… → Read More
The movie Pirates of Silicon Valley (based on the book Fire In The Valley) came out in 1999. The final scene takes place in 1997 when recently-reinstated (interim) CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage at Macworld to announce an alliance with Microsoft to ensure Apple’s future — with Bill Gates’ head on a giant screen behind him. Times have changed. Jobs has now been the official CEO for the past 10… → Read More
How does Bill Gates inspire students to change the world? Tune in here to find out. Gates is kicking off a college tour today with a speech to students at UC Berkeley. He will talk about the big challenges facing the world today (poverty, health, energy, climate change) and what can be done to tackle them. The key is innovation in both the public and private sectors, using technology in smart… → Read More
Bill Gates is spending most of his time these days with the Gates Foundation, which he started with his wife Melinda to take a new approach to philanthropy after leaving his day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft. Gates has been blogging occasionally and taking to Twitter.
Today, he is going back to college on a speaking tour to encourage students to take on big challenges like fighting… → Read More
If it turns out that Gates really is an evil genius, we’re all screwed. I mean, first he’ll unleash a plague of hurricanes on the coasts of the world, then he’ll release clouds of mosquitoes all over the newly marshy world, and then he’ll tell all the Windows-running reactors to shut down and he’ll be only power source, running for 100 years off depleted uranium. → Read More
My last post triggered some interesting debates in the blogosphere about whether entrepreneurs were a product of nature or could be nurtured. It’s not black or white. People are a product of their upbringing and education. Average humans can achieve extraordinary feats when they really try. I’ll concede that, like some great athletes, some great entrepreneurs may have something different about… → Read More
Sometimes tips come in that seem too good to be true. Take today, for example. I got a tip that Bill Gates’ new site, The Gates Notes, was running on a Linux-powered server. This would be ironic since Gates is of course the founder of Microsoft, which is Linux’s biggest competitor in the server market. It would be the equivalent of catching Gates or CEO Steve Ballmer being caught using (and not… → Read More
Even the Daily Show is fair and balanced! Jon Stewart interview Bill Gates last night and it was pretty interesting. When Gates isn’t trying to sell his company anymore he’s very mild-mannered and delightfully polite. Plus he dances like Pauly-D. → Read More
Microsoft (and particularly Bill Gates) is well known for it’s philanthropic work, including a charity auction conducted each fall. One of the most popular items donated is a tour of the Bill’s famous Lake Washington home. Last year, the highest bid was $8,600. This year, the bidding skyrocketed up to $35,000! → Read More
Remember those Microsoft ads from a little over a year ago, the ones with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates trying on shoes? Of course you do; it’s all the Internet talked about for days. I present to you this shocking photo: Seinfeld using a Mac! → Read More
I didn’t put it in quotes because he more endorsed it than straight up said it was happening, but I think we all know that if the big guy sees it happening, it’s probably happening sometime soon. Gates was talking about Natal in an broad and interesting interview over at CNET, and mentioned that Microsoft Research is deep into working on home and office implementations of the flashy stereo-camera… → Read More
Apparently an article in this month’s Vogue (I can’t believe I let my subscription run out!!!) found Melinda Gates saying that iPods and iPhones are a no-no in the Gates household. → Read More
It’s only been a few months since Bill’s last day at Microsoft. Everybody asked themselves (and him, obviously) “what’s next?” Clearly his greatest responsibility is to the Foundation, but to leave tech entirely? Not likely. Although it may be an ignominious comparison, consider Michael Corleone: “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in.”… → Read More
Check it out! The latest commercial has Bill, but no Jerry. It actually drives home that a lot of people use a PC and not everyone looks like Apple’s PC character. Well done. → Read More
Yesterday, we told you that the Seinfeld ads were being axed and we were 80 percent right. Microsoft will roll out the next phase of their marketing campaign sans Seinfeld. However, this doesn’t mean that Seinfeld is out for good. In fact, there are multiple spots remaining, but it’s unknown at the moment when they will roll. There’s obvious confusion going around with some… → Read More
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Boston, MA
Disrupt Europe: Berlin Hackathon
Berlin, Germany
