Bill Gates wipes away tears at Microsoft farewell
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jun 27th 2008 4:16PM
posted Jun 27th 2008 4:16PM
It looks like there more than a few misty eyes around Microsoft's Redmond campus today, where even the man of the day himself wiped away tears as he bid his official farewell to the company. According to Reuters, Gates was joined on stage at the employee-only event by CEO Steve Ballmer, who reportedly got choked up himself as he heaped praise on Gates, saying that "there's no way to say thanks to Bill. Bill's the founder. Bill's the leader," adding that, "this is Bill's baby." Ballmer also talked about how he had contemplated leaving Microsoft just a month after joining the company, only to have Gates persuade him to stay by saying "You don't get it. You don't get it. We are going to put a computer on every desk and in every home." Say what you will about some of his predictions, but he was sure on the mark with that one.
rock on bill.
Bill Gates -- good man.
Bill. Go make the world a better place. Best of luck.
Good man?
Well, maybe not circa 1995, masterminding all sorts of dastardly deals to squeeze industry leaders and infiltrate and destroy competitors. I think it's safe to say Bill Gates had a lust for control of the industry.
But in the 2000s, it really does look like he finally realized his massive amount of economic muscle could be used for better things than industry control. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a testament to what is possible when the super-wealthy really dedicate themselves to the community instead of just themselves.
Bill made the computer industry his bitch. But now he's trying to make crippling diseases in the developing world his bitch. And that's one hostile takeover I can support 100%
@ StreetStealth
I completely agree. Who low-ranked this?
Answer: Apple polesmokers
As an Apple polesmoker I bid a fond "see you around."
Bill, you've done so much for computing, and I think we all admire your philanthropic work.
I'm sure we'll be hearing more from the "retired" Mr. Gates.
As I said it earlier today, my eyes are filled with tears. :'(
Bill. I know you read Engadget regularly... so, please... go make the world a better place. Best of luck to you and your charity.
Of course he got choked up! I mean, honest, I'm just one of the people whose lives he's affected, and *I'm* getting choked up thinking about the significance of the day.
It's been said on every post about him for the day, but it'll never be too much: Thanks Bill, for everything.
Except maybe persuading Ballmer to stay. ;)
Bill Gates -- good man.
You know you have said something very true when you double post, and it is still highly ranked.
Steve Jobs > Bill Gates
Bill Gates cried because he realized how Microsoft became a trainwreck. He was happy that the 360 was and is great but the crappiness of Vista overpowered that and caused him to cry tears of misery.
I dislike Microsoft as well...
But please leave grull27 alone. He know not what he speaketh.
I'm tired of reading back and forth fanboy comments. So just.. you know.. Ignore it.
Just so you guys know, I'm joking.
Someone give this man his own tv show.
Don't tkae the post above seriously. It is a joke.
Hear that Sudo? He don't take you seriously. You gonna take that?!
I doubt you have ever used Vista... much less on a decent computer. Clean the applesauce off your nose and have a little respect for someone who, overall, had a tremendous impact on modern day computing.
I'm Apple's biggest fan - yet even I'm sad to see Bill go. I'm worried that MS will take a new direction (maybe not a good one, given Ballmer's Google obsession) now it has lost it's founder....
Anyway - good luck Bill!! :D
off topic but know bill has gone....
the two biggest computer companies (Apple + MS) are owned by people called Steve!!
Coincidence?
The rise of the Steves has begun
One way or another he'll be missed.
grull27, why are you such an ass?
We will all miss you Bill.
Should i make the joke about never needing more than 12 mb of memory?
lol i remember that
farewell bill
He actually said no application would ever need more than 640KB...lol, even the silly vista calculator uses more than a MB.
You're a good guy, Bill.
Thanks, Bill. The world is a better place thanks to your vision.
Regardless of how people feel towards Microsoft, no one can deny the great things Bill Gates does outside of the company with his foundation.
I would consider myself an Apple fanboy, but all my respect goes towards Bill. He's a great person and one of the most influential people of our generation..if any. We'll miss you Bill.
I'm just thankful that Bill Gates Sr. had enough of an influence on his son that he decided to go heavily into philanthropy. I don't like Microsoft, but I think the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is fantastic and I wish him all the best!
Great guy...sob sob
engadget...you guys rock
you have given Bill Gates a "farewell" he much deserves with all these posts on him...great work guys.
Say what you want about Bill Gates but he'll always be richer than you are. :)
he earns 250$ a second :) lol'd at your avatar
I am not a huge fan of some of his work, but you cannot deny he was a pioneer and a visionary.
I heard a quote I really like and I think it fits.... Real genius ships.
Maybe everything wasn't perfect, maybe there were bugs, maybe there were some epic misses, but while the critics complained and bemoaned, Bill laughed all the way to the bank. Real Genius ships.
Best of luck, Bill. You're the man!!
Bill's Rocinante is sailing by night, on her final flight.
I'm an Apple user (twitch... twitch), but I've really grown to like and respect Bill Gates over the past few years.
Happy Trails, Bill.
Bill thanks reties today - I've used your DOS, Windows, and even tried MS Bob, Thanks for everything.
Farewell.
Regardless of whether you love or hate Microsoft and/or its products, Bill Gates had the vision to create an OS, and has unified most of the world under a Microsoft OS as a result. I thank you, Mr. Gates for putting a laptop on my table, and I wish you the best of luck with your foundation.
Thanks, Bill. I can't imagine the world without you.
so long bill... you be missed :
Wait...by "persuade him to stay", do you mean, "threw chairs around the office"? That's where Ballmer got it from!!
Joking aside, thanks for everything. I've wasted over half of my life in front of a computer, and even have made the majority of my money by working with/supporting your operating systems. On top of that, how many people can say they've created a full-on consumer ecosystem?
Superhero of the computer world
A great man, always admired him....
Saw the BBC documentary a few days ago, worth watching
thanks for it all, you changed the lives of everyone in the modern world...now your out to change the lives of all those who didnt have such luxury's
Thanks and Good Luck
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/videos/
He is undoubtadly the most influential person of his era. He made an impact with MSFT; changed computing forever. Now, he is on his way to change the world with the foundation.
Bill G FTW...!
I'm not a fan of Microsoft products, but even I who sit in the Mac and Linux camps can acknowledge the intelligence and contributions of Bill to the industry. 100,000s of people have careers because of this man's vision, and that is no small thing.
IMO Bill ever only made one substantial mistake, (other than approving Windows Me, that is) and that was the allowing Steve Ballmer to become the CEO of Microsoft.
However, I suspect we haven't seen the last of Bill Gates involvement in software.
Thanks a lot for everything man!
I'm a Windows user by day and a Mac user by night and I fully acknowledge the contributions that Bill Gates has made to computing. The guy was a pioneer and while not all of his ideas were originally his he had the vision and the balls to put them into action and make all of our lives better. (Even if you're a Mac guy he pissed Jobs off enough to push forward.) Then the guy (who is loathed for his fortune) starts giving it all away! The guy is a stud in my book. Plus, who doesn't get misty at the thought of that old picture of him sprawled out on a desk. (or is that nausea?) Anyway, Thanks Bill, seriously.
I like Linus Torvalds better
In the time it took Bill to wipe away a tear, he earned another $10,000.
Cue the tiny, tiny violins.
I'm a self-admitted Apple Fanboy, but regardless of what side of the fence you stand on, you have to tip your cap to a man like Bill Gates. There are a million reasons to thank him for the impact and innovation he's brought to the industry, where even if you didn't like the products Microsoft put out, it inspired others to build something they felt was better. Without Bill, our tech would only be about as advanced as it was in 1997 right now.
Thanks for everything Bill. Best of luck in all your future endeavors!
Thanks Mr. Gates for helping me find porn for the last 15 years!
Whether you love or loathe Windows and Microsoft, there's no denying just how much Bill Gates has done for the tech industry. He was a pioneer with ideas and an eye for business opportunities, which is a rare combination. Add in his philanthropy and it's probably fair to call him unique.
That said, it's not like he's dead, so no point us all eulogising him and saying farewell. Good luck, maybe, though I think if he's proved anything over the last three decades it's that luck has nothing to do with it.
(Also, weird coincidence - I left school on the same day Bill Gates left Microsoft)
wouldn't it be funny if Bill G. entered this contest also, after all he did have to buy his own copy of movie maker plus.
Bill,
If you read this, take like a 6 year vacation and just totally disconnect from everything. Thats what I'm going to do when I retire.
~retro77
Long live BILL GATES he has done so much for the industry its hard to see him go......good luck BILL.....
Bill Gates did nothing for the tech industry. He only did things TO the tech industry, and as a result held back computer innovation for the last two decades. Let's make it very clear, Microsoft is NOT a technology company, they are a sales company. They market badly-designed copies of other peoples products and ideas at inflated prices, leveraged by their illegal monoply (that's the U.S. and E.U. Justice Department opinions, not mine). Bill's only creative moment was when he decided that Microsoft software was rented, not owned, by the buyer. How is that even legal?
History will most likely judge Bill Gates as the 21st century's first robber baron, cheating the public in the same way that they have been cheated in the past by the telecom, automobile, oil and railroad monopolies.
and if it wasn't for Bill "market(ing) badly-designed copies of other peoples products and ideas at inflated prices, leveraged by their illegal monoply" you wouldn't have had any drive for people to make other competing products. Come what may you do have to give him credit, necessity is the mother of invention and you can't say Steve Jobs would be where he is if it wasn't for Bill Gates and Microsoft. Enjoy you time off Bill, you deserve it and kudos for all you did, you changed the industry and helped make the world what it is today!
Your comment tells us more about your stupidity and bias than about Bill Gates. As an Apple fanboy, Bill Gates you are a most influential person, you changed the way people think. Even if I don't really like your products, millions of others do, you provided them with jobs and a livelihood. No matter how much of a monopoly you created it doesn't matter because providing people with a home and food on the table is probably the one greatest a person can do.
Thank you Bill.
screw you and your one-button mouse.
All of you Kermit the frog haters out there, just watch. Ballmer is the true source of the evil in Redmond. Ballmer is Sadaam to Bill Gate's Satan in South Park.
FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, FOR HES A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLLLLOOOOOOOOOW! And he will be sorely missed.
As much as I want to hate on some MS products, most of them were quite nice. I'm going to miss Bill, and really fear for Microsoft's future.
maybe, if it warent for bill, id still be typing this comments in university, in a big room, with a big computer. seriously, bill will be remembered forever, as one of those revolutionize the way people live their lives.
+1 for the Gates Millennium Scholarship
Hope he does more philanthropist programs...
test
Anyone else find image #5 in that slideshow really, really creepy?
http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20080627&t=2&i=4942663&w=&r=2008-06-27T194111Z_01_N26301301_RTRUKOP_0_PICTURE3
Kind of disappointed in Bill's final day at Microsoft. The guy and his Microsoftie wife are worth billions, the company is sitting on billions in cash. Wouldn't it have been an awesome gesture to commemorate his 30 year tenure with a huge multi-million dollar give away of Microsoft technology ?! Vista Ultimate software, Office 2007 software, scads of Zunes, Windows Mobile devices, etc. That would've been outstandingly awesome. Instead, we're left with a high school quality self-deprecating celebrity-studded video accompanied by a traditional, though scaled up farewell event.
Lack of imagination. Something Steve Jobs has in spades but Bill can't even buy it. And the company reflects its leader, too bad. As great an influence that Microsoft is, it could've been so much more. Whatever.
if he didn't do it, someone else would have
I still say that you are looking at the captain leaving a sinking ship!
Bill Gates for President in 2012!!!
Bill,
Thanks for all you've done over the years. Computing simply wouldn't be the same without you. Hopefully, you can say that about the rest of the world in a few years. Highest regards,
Michael Bushnell
I'm a recent apple convert but I have to say that windows was how I came to know computers, and in turn linux. Running windows on top of linux in 1999 was a totally bitchin achievement and in turn impressed my geeky friends and made me a geek forever. Although I have never supported his control freakness and the way he manipulated the industry, I do have to say that he dominated the industry at a time when it was an all or none situation. If IBM or Apple or Xerox had made the same moves THEY would've been the top dog. But they couldn't see the vision. So as much as we hate him for it, we like him for it also, because without that domination, the computer world wouldn't be where it is, for better or worse. His moves pissed off enough people to try their own thing, creating more products, better products, giving competition to Bill which kept him pushing forward. Whether it be Open Source movements, free office software, or just clone boxes that I could buy for the price of a game system, it was good for everyone, like it or not. If I had to pony up for an Apple to learn computers, I would be working at Micky D´s right now. PCs not only has helped the geek world, there is not one single industry that it hasn't helped improve the quality of the final product. Cars pre and post 1995 show that totally.
Thanks Bill, for getting us closer to Star Trek gadgets and the Jetsons way to commute to work.
It's been a good run Bill. You've revolutionized not only the computer world, but the world of thousands of people at the other end of the financial spectrum. I commend you on everything you've done (except of course Vista =P). Thank you and best of luck in your retirement, even though I'm sure we'll still be hearing from you.
If anything we all should be saying "Good luck", not "Good buy." Yes Bill will be gone from the day to day work at Microsoft but as long as he sticks with his guns and to his words he'll have an even bigger challenge of trying to save society. Thats no small task my friends.
I'm an Apple user, but that doesn't stop me from admiring and being thankful for all the contributions Bill has made to make this market what it is. I'm sure that for a lot of people, "Bill Gates" is the first thing that comes into their head when asked about computers. And I think that's how it should be. For now, and for a very long time into the future.
Thanks a lot, Bill.
always wonder why he never embraced mobile phones.
"We are going to put a computer on every desk and in every home."
How can Bill Gates say a quote like that when Microsoft NEVER manufactured a computer?
I recall this phrase coming from Steve Jobs on the Apple I days when they were trying to raise some capital.
they made the most popular OS there is, most people would rather buy a PC with windows, not linux or OS X. They didn't actually create the PC to put on everyone's desk but if it wasn't for microsoft, a lot of people wouldn't have PC's, they contributed a lot to it. Microsoft owns 80% of the market....