Bill Gates Stepping Down at Microsoft

Rob Updegrove 15 Jun, 2006 at 5:01pm ET Article published in Tech

Bill Gates has announced his intention to step down from involvement day-to-day operations at Microsoft.

The company announced a two-year transition to ensure that there is a smooth transfer of Gates’ daily responsibilities, and said that after July 2008 Gates would continue to serve as the company’s chairman and an adviser on key development projects.

“This was a hard decision for me,” Gates said in a statement. “I’m very lucky to have two passions that I feel are so important and so challenging. As I prepare for this change, I firmly believe the road ahead for Microsoft is as bright as ever.”

Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie will immediately assume the title of chief software architect and begin working with Gates on all technical and product oversight responsibilities, Microsoft said.

I hope he’s saved enough for retirement!

Source: CNN

Comments

15 Jun 2006 ~ 5:32pm airbornflght Thank god, finally.
15 Jun 2006 ~ 6:05pm Cyclonite

airbornflght wrote:

Thank god, finally.

What difference does it make? We can't make as many Bill Gates jokes anymore? He created a spectacular company, and has helped in allowing the typical consumer to freely use a computer.
15 Jun 2006 ~ 6:56pm madmat :celebrate :celebrate :celebrate It's about time.
15 Jun 2006 ~ 8:50pm Sledgehammer70 I think he has been trying for like 6 years now!~
15 Jun 2006 ~ 9:12pm Thrax

Cyclonite wrote:

What difference does it make? We can't make as many Bill Gates jokes anymore? He created a spectacular company, and has helped in allowing the typical consumer to freely use a computer.

Bingo.
15 Jun 2006 ~ 11:08pm madmat A spectacular monopoly is more like it...
15 Jun 2006 ~ 11:22pm airbornflght No, its more of the fact that he has been doing this for a very long time. It is time for someone with fresh ideas and a new mindset (hopefully) to come in. And yes, it is a monopoly, no denying that.
15 Jun 2006 ~ 11:31pm primesuspect Fresh ideas and a new mindset? Steve Ballmer has been there since day 1, and the company has been "his" for years now. Nothing is going to change, Bill is going to spend more time on the Foundation than MS. No big deal really, but the media is hopping all over it.
16 Jun 2006 ~ 12:07am Camman I agree, nothing will change at Microsoft, this isn't as big a deal as the media is making it out to be. Btw the people posting "finally...wow this is great" or whatever, that's just lame and makes you look ignorant. Discarding the fact that this doesn't mean any change at all for the company, why does it matter? Like why "it's about time"? Oh, nevermind, I don't need to add fire to another Microsoft vs. Anti-Microsoft but yeah Bill Gates, what an evil dude, reducing his time at his company to dedicate more of his time to his $26 Billion+ charity foundation.

I'd be more into giving a hurrah if somebody like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_W._Tillerson">this dude</a> announced he was stepping down, but I digress because Microsoft is doing this world such a huge dis-service by having you buy their products.
16 Jun 2006 ~ 2:31am Shorty Actually.. I think it's shame. For all the faults and situations Microsoft have been in over the years.. the scandal and drama... I have always found Bill Gates to be articulate (unlike Ballmer).

The man took a dream and an idea and turned it into one of THE most successful companies in history. Like it or not, we would be in a hell of alot more problems if they hadn't presented a workable, cross platform operating system that pretty much just works with any hardware you buy can buy from your local computer store.

It may not always be favourable and we love to poke fun at Bill.. and Microsoft. But his companies stamp on modern computing has paved the way.
16 Jun 2006 ~ 2:34am Thrax Well said, Dan.
16 Jun 2006 ~ 2:40am Leonardo I heard Steve Jobs is slated to take over.
16 Jun 2006 ~ 8:24am GHoosdum I don't think it's a shame, so much. Gates has stated that he's going to be devoting his time to the Foundation, which I think is certainly a more worthy cause than Microsoft.

Leonardo wrote:

I heard Steve Jobs is slated to take over.

The world? Or do you mean that Apple will buy Microsoft on the strength of their iPod sales? :bigggrin:
16 Jun 2006 ~ 5:09pm RWB finally...wow this is great

sorry Camman, I just had to. :P

I must say that had I the chance, I'd be more evil than anyone who could imagine Microsoft as being evil. I would give evil a new name! Create an empire from dirt... then bring it back down to dust! MUAHAHA

Imagine if MS just totally failed all of a sudden, how many jobs would be lost... it'd be pretty nasty.
16 Jun 2006 ~ 6:22pm airbornflght

RWB wrote:

I'd be more evil than anyone who could imagine Microsoft as being evil. I would give evil a new name! Create an empire from dirt... then bring it back down to dust! MUAHAHA

Imagine if MS just totally failed all of a sudden, how many jobs would be lost... it'd be pretty nasty.

I would license the source code.
17 Jun 2006 ~ 10:33am GrayFox I hope Balmer doesn't end up in total control.
17 Jun 2006 ~ 10:48am bothered Almost everything microsoft I've ever had has worked very well. I have no problem with Mr Gates or microsoft. I've had far more trouble with far more companies.
Enjoy your 'retirement' Bill.
17 Jun 2006 ~ 11:26am profdlp What bothered said goes for me, too.
18 Jun 2006 ~ 12:01am airbornflght M$ has potential, and it works for the targeted market. The ones that want an easy system, but it also has a lot of power behind it. I just wish they would open it up more for more customization, and allow you to choose what and what not to install as far as windows componets.
19 Jun 2006 ~ 2:15am pseudonym

Shorty wrote:

Actually.. I think it's shame. For all the faults and situations Microsoft have been in over the years.. the scandal and drama... I have always found Bill Gates to be articulate (unlike Ballmer).

The man took a dream and an idea and turned it into one of THE most successful companies in history. Like it or not, we would be in a hell of alot more problems if they hadn't presented a workable, cross platform operating system that pretty much just works with any hardware you buy can buy from your local computer store.

It may not always be favourable and we love to poke fun at Bill.. and Microsoft. But his companies stamp on modern computing has paved the way.

Agreed. Hear hear. And Leaving the company to work with his foundation is more than a worthy cause. He has done so much good for the world and he DOES NOT deserve the critiscisim that he get day in and day out. He did a kickass job and his company dominates the market, why is it so hard for people to respect that??
19 Jun 2006 ~ 10:04am CB I respect that the company dominates, and I understand that if it weren't for MS's 'monopolistic' practices, we would be in a very different computer situation, and it likely wouldn't be 'better'.

The practices I don't aproove of are bundling and extorting... The so-called 'anti-trust' practices.

I understand that I have to have Windows to use a computer, if I want any kind of ease and reliability. Fine. I don't howver think that it's fine that I should have to also purchase IE, MS Money, varios MS games, and etc., driving the price up above $100. It's not fair to the consumer, and the GB and NZ courts agree with me, even if the US ones don't...
19 Jun 2006 ~ 1:43pm airbornflght yeh, like I said, they should allow you to choose which componets you want. If I dont want IE, then it shouldnt be installed, but M$ ties it in to the os so much, you can really remove it.
19 Jun 2006 ~ 2:53pm Thrax Maybe some of you guys should look at nLite again. All of the stuff being discussed can be uninstalled from the CD.
19 Jun 2006 ~ 3:08pm CB I don't actually care that it's there... I don't like paying extra for it, when I'm not gonna use it..
19 Jun 2006 ~ 3:18pm profdlp

CB Droege wrote:

I don't actually care that it's there... I don't like paying extra for it, when I'm not gonna use it..

If you ordered a Big Mac and asked them to leave the pickles off, would you expect a discount?
19 Jun 2006 ~ 3:41pm gtghm

profdlp wrote:

If you ordered a Big Mac and asked them to leave the pickles off, would you expect a discount?

Excellent post
19 Jun 2006 ~ 4:53pm CB No, because pickles are part of the Big Mac, that'd be like trying to order the OS without a File manager... But A Web Browser is more like fries... If McD's raised the price of the Big Mac by $1, and included fries, and that was the only way to buy a Big Mac, I would be pissed.

Just because most people have fries with their Big Mac anyway, is not a reason to include it and charge extra. They should offer a non-fries Big Mac package...
19 Jun 2006 ~ 5:38pm profdlp I'll acknowledge your point, CB.

My next question is, should MS decide (or be forced) to cut all the extraneous items from their Windows Happy Meal™, do you think that there would be a commensurate price drop?
19 Jun 2006 ~ 6:03pm airbornflght There should be, but that is one thing that the govt or some other entity can not force M$ to do. The pricing is just simple economics. I would just be glad if the bloat was cut off of the os so that I was just left with what I wanted.

Cause with the pricing, if they go to low, they will not make a profit/loose money. When they start increasing the price, they make more money, but after so much increase, people will say that is too much and they can not afford it. And after so many people start to not buy it, M$ will again start to not make a profit/loose money, so as a business they want to find a sweet spot, that being where they have the most profit made, but still have enough people to buy it and make a big proffit.

hypothetical:
If they sold 100 copies at $4, then they would make $400.
If they sold 48 copies at $18, then they would make $864.
If they sold 14 copies at $40, then they would make $560.

As the price increases, the volume will decrease, according to economics. but demand comes into play also. I'm sure that M$ has a business model that has figured all this out to their advantage. case on point, M$ can not lower the price too much, or they would suffer monetary losses.
19 Jun 2006 ~ 6:14pm profdlp

airbornflght wrote:

...I would just be glad if the bloat was cut off of the os so that I was just left with what I wanted...

I agree with you in principle, but the trouble is that the "what I wanted" part is going to be different for every user. I could do without IE, WMP, OE, and a bunch of other stuff, but how many angry phone calls do you think MS would get from people complaining that they couldn't get their email, couldn't surf the Internet, and couldn't listen to all of their pirated mp3's?

If they eliminated all that stuff and dropped the price by $25, then rolled those programs into their Plus! package and raised the price for it by the same amount I would call it a good deal, at least for myself.
19 Jun 2006 ~ 6:18pm Sledgehammer70

CB Droege wrote:

No, because pickles are part of the Big Mac, that'd be like trying to order the OS without a File manager... But A Web Browser is more like fries... If McD's raised the price of the Big Mac by $1, and included fries, and that was the only way to buy a Big Mac, I would be pissed.

Just because most people have fries with their Big Mac anyway, is not a reason to include it and charge extra. They should offer a non-fries Big Mac package...

TBH IE is a huge part of MS. and without it you would not be able to do a ton of things. In all IE is a major part of Windows. Now MS money is dumb but the Game in Vista are pretty damn cool.

For the main part of your post I think you kind of contradict yourself as IE isn't like pickles as it is needed to run updates and other applications. MS money and the Games are like Pickles as they are not needed... IE is like the bottom bun, things would be a mess without it... but we do have free options like FF, so there is nothing to complain about.
19 Jun 2006 ~ 7:08pm GHoosdum It is true that IE is integrated into the OS at this point, but I much preferred the pre-IE File Manager to the current file management system. If MS could find a way to divorce the two again, we would not need to apply IE security patches if we were users of Firefox. As it is, those IE patches are still necessary to Ff users because Microsoft decided to make IE an integral part of XP's kernel. I think that was a good business decision, but a bad decision for the customer.
19 Jun 2006 ~ 10:01pm airbornflght yeh, ie was superglued into the os. too much if you ask me. I think it was really a bad idea to roll an internet browser and a file manager into one program. Just look at all the problems it has caused security wise. and lets not get started on active x. hah.

I would just like to see two button when the install first starts going. "Easy" and "Advanced" if I click advanced, then I can decide what I want installed along with the os. If I click easy, then it just installs normally.

profs Idea is good too. but then people would [strike]bitch[/strike] complain that they have to buy another program to get their mail, and go on the internet, but if they asked me, I would tell them: "No you dont!"
20 Jun 2006 ~ 9:10am GHoosdum

airbornflght wrote:

I would just like to see two button when the install first starts going. "Easy" and "Advanced" if I click advanced, then I can decide what I want installed along with the os. If I click easy, then it just installs normally.

I agree with this - you should be able to select which Windows components to install during the OS install, rather than having to remove them afterward. Items like MSIE should be completely optional. Right now, unchecking it in Windows Components merely removes the icon from your desktop. :rolleyes2

If I had a choice, I would install the OS without IE, Messenger, Outlook Express, or any accessibility options (particularly sticky keys!). That way, I wouldn't have to remove them later (those that MS allows us to remove, at least).
20 Jun 2006 ~ 10:46am deicist Personally I like IE being included, makes it much easier to download & install firefox....How exactly would you download firefox or anything else on a windows box if IE wasn't there?
20 Jun 2006 ~ 10:58am CB You'd just download the file directly from an open ftp server (which you can access via File Manager), or directly from the command line.

Without IE, the OS would still manage an internet connection, you just wouldn't be able to see html documents until you downloaded something else...
20 Jun 2006 ~ 11:13am GHoosdum What I usually do is fill up a USB drive with critical apps that I want to install before ever connecting a PC with a fresh OS install to the network: programs like the latest Catalyst driver, AV software, and Firefox.
20 Jun 2006 ~ 11:37am CB Yes, but that option is for people who already have a computer, and some experience...

Then again, in our hypothetical situation, people who have no computer experience, should proly just get the IE included version of the OS.
20 Jun 2006 ~ 1:16pm airbornflght yeh, like I said, for the people that dont know how to get FF, or dont want to deal with it, they could just click the easy install.