Holographic Bill Gates terrorizes Kuala Lumpur tech conference

See that 15-foot beam of glowing manhood? That's Bill Gates. While cohort Steve Ballmer was being pelted with eggs by angry Hungarians, Microsoft Chairman Gates was making a virtual appearance at the World Congress on Information Technology 2008 in Kuala Lumpur. The crowd cheered -- or screamed in terror -- as the giant 4.6-meter holographic specter assured them that technology is, in fact, the future. Said the chairman, "There are one billion people who have a personal computer each but there are five billion others who don't. Microsoft also wants to reach these people." We're hoping that Bill has recorded several hundred holographic speeches and will continue to grace conventions' presences for years, and years, and years to come.

[Thanks, alma]

[Jake E. @ May 20th 2008 9:52AM]

He looks creepy as hell in that picture.

[ishism @ May 21st 2008 3:53AM]

There are one billion people who have a personal computer each but there are five billion others who don't. We will eliminate those 5 billion, through food starvation.

[Kamokazi @ May 20th 2008 9:53AM]

Has Gates gained weight, or does the holo-phone add 30 pounds?

[NHAnimator @ May 20th 2008 9:57AM]

That's what happens when you display a SD holographic Bill on an HD holographic display.

[Dr. Evil @ May 20th 2008 11:49AM]

It's not entirely clear whether his body gained weight or his head has been shrinking.

[Mike @ May 20th 2008 11:54AM]

It's the encryption.

[Dualboot @ May 20th 2008 12:39PM]

The company that help with this was called Fat Boys...
"Rendering work was done by local entertainment company Fat Boys Records Sdn Bhd and involved about a dozen specialists."

[Ayman @ May 20th 2008 6:11PM]

Cant you tell that it is WIDESCREEN 16:9 in a 4:3 Ratio
Thats why he looks like Fat Albert

I know Lame but it had to be said

[Idlemind @ May 20th 2008 9:54AM]

"HA! Throw things at me NOW...."

[Randy @ May 20th 2008 9:54AM]

and then the crowd was treated to a HSOD.....

[Das @ May 20th 2008 3:44PM]

Holographic Screen of Death?
That sounds absolutely terrifying.

[NHAnimator @ May 20th 2008 9:55AM]

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

[Raphael Salgado @ May 20th 2008 9:58AM]

Who is she? She is beautiful! Where'd she go? Bring her back! Play back
the entire message.

[Smart People Play Tuba @ May 20th 2008 10:27AM]

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate . . . leads to kicking an astromech droid and discussing his "rusty innards."

[John Z @ May 20th 2008 10:34AM]

All it needs is Ballmer, clad fully in black, kneeling before him, rasping "What is thy bidding, my master?"

[Dan @ May 20th 2008 9:59AM]

Bill-Zilla!! Bill-Zilla!!

[Zeus.:God @ May 20th 2008 10:02AM]

Bill-gerra! Bill-gerra!!!

[scleond @ May 20th 2008 10:03AM]

It's true, he has become the world leader in psychohistory.

[danny @ May 21st 2008 12:02AM]

At what critical point in the future will he appear next?

[tcc3 @ May 20th 2008 10:05AM]

What is thy bidding, my master?

[CubeGuy @ May 20th 2008 10:15AM]

It's a disaster Steve Jobs we're after.

[Jake E. @ May 20th 2008 1:02PM]

"What if he could be turned to the Dark side?"

"Yes, he'd be a powerful ally, another Dark Jedi."

"He will join us or die!"

[paul p @ May 20th 2008 1:05PM]

"Help us Obi-Bill-Kenobi, you're our only hope for low-cost computing for billions of people!"

[Mark L. @ May 20th 2008 1:36PM]

We got BSOD!
We got BSOD!

[Josh @ May 20th 2008 10:31PM]

It's a trap!

[Richard Lai @ May 20th 2008 10:08AM]

That's Bill's way of avoiding cream pies.

[IT-Accountant @ May 20th 2008 10:08AM]

Read the first sentence of this post.

Then recite: "That's what she said."

[Luigi193 @ May 20th 2008 10:12AM]

That almost works...

[Smart People Play Tuba @ May 20th 2008 10:32AM]

It's the "beam" part that doesn't work.

Oh yeah, and the "15-foot" part. Ouch.

[Tony @ May 20th 2008 2:01PM]

I thought it was the glowing part that didn't work...




...am I the only one without a glowing penis?

[bj @ May 20th 2008 10:08AM]

Hari Seldon he ain't!

[ericdano @ May 20th 2008 11:04AM]

Except that Hari Seldon actually was fairly accurate in his predictions, while Bill Gates has been wrong 95% of the time.

I would love to see what sort of Foundation could last 1000 years if Bill was their Hari Seldon........

[Artie's Dresser @ May 20th 2008 10:10AM]

Windows 7 RTM you're my only hope...

[Saci @ May 20th 2008 10:21AM]

Why am I remembering Jabba the Hut right now?

[Smart People Play Tuba @ May 20th 2008 10:28AM]

You will take me to Jabba now.

[kyle allen @ May 21st 2008 12:53AM]

mowana wanga?

[Cybergypsy @ May 20th 2008 10:30AM]

Lord, he looks bad in that pic...

[David @ May 20th 2008 10:35AM]

How was this in any way a hologram? It was a 2D projection onto a transparent screen. Holograms are recreations of the actual wavefronts from original objects, allowing you to move your head and "look around" the objects in 3D. They are typically created by interfering light from a laser bounced off the object with a reference laser beam from the same source and then recording the interference pattern.

[Josh @ May 20th 2008 4:22PM]

you're confusing it with a volumetric display:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hologram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volumetric_display

[David @ May 20th 2008 4:52PM]

No confusion. A hologram is an interference pattern from which a wavefront identical to that emerging from the original object may be recreated. I used to make them. As a waveront, it takes on a 3D appearance just as with the original. I didn't say you could move all the way around the hologram and see it in its 3D entirety, which is what you likely thought when you suggested volumetric display (which has nothing to do with either the Gates projection or a true hologram).

[Atanas Boev @ May 20th 2008 10:36AM]

Reminds me the recorded messages of Hari Seldon (Isaac Asimov, Fondation series)

[Katie @ May 20th 2008 10:42AM]

Bill has really big hips.

[ugg.tryptophan @ May 20th 2008 10:47AM]

must be related to hillary

[Sporkinum @ May 20th 2008 11:31AM]

That's not his hips.. It's his wallet.

[JRM @ May 20th 2008 10:46AM]

R2, you're playing the wrong message!

[TareX @ May 20th 2008 10:50AM]

This isn't a hologram.

[Dash @ May 20th 2008 11:15AM]

Why does everyone get amped-up over nothing? If I was in the audience i would be upset. This kat basically posted a video of himself for the audience to watch instead of being there. Now how does that sound? A lot worse right than we got to see a Bill gates hologram right? Exactly, cause it is. . . Do things for real or don't do them, I can't stand fakes

[fistpittingnork @ May 20th 2008 3:22PM]

Exactly.

There's time and money to invest in this crap, yet he can't show the audience any respect and spend a couple of hours to stand in front of them.

Way to shove these people off, Billy.

[Eric @ May 20th 2008 11:21AM]

Emperor Londo was doing that in the 90s.

[Xultar @ May 20th 2008 11:25AM]

WTF happened to Bill. MAN is he FAT.

Bill, DOODE, back away from the cheese and wine pal.