Bill Gates wipes away tears at Microsoft farewell

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.

[DP @ Jun 27th 2008 4:19PM]

Bill Gates -- good man.

[Chad @ Jun 27th 2008 6:15PM]

Bill. Go make the world a better place. Best of luck.

[StreetStealth @ Jun 27th 2008 6:53PM]

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%

[vileta2 @ Jun 27th 2008 7:41PM]

@ StreetStealth

I completely agree. Who low-ranked this?

[Jon Doe. @ Jun 27th 2008 8:07PM]

Answer: Apple polesmokers

[gt2378b @ Jun 27th 2008 8:59PM]

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.

[Saad Rabia @ Jun 27th 2008 4:20PM]

As I said it earlier today, my eyes are filled with tears. :'(

[Chad @ Jun 27th 2008 6:18PM]

Bill. I know you read Engadget regularly... so, please... go make the world a better place. Best of luck to you and your charity.

[Rohit Kapur @ Jun 27th 2008 4:20PM]

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. ;)

[DP @ Jun 27th 2008 4:20PM]

Bill Gates -- good man.

[Derek @ Jun 27th 2008 7:34PM]

You know you have said something very true when you double post, and it is still highly ranked.

[grull27 @ Jun 27th 2008 4:21PM]

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.

[JJ @ Jun 27th 2008 4:24PM]

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.

[grull27 @ Jun 27th 2008 4:24PM]

Just so you guys know, I'm joking.

[Sudo @ Jun 27th 2008 4:24PM]

Someone give this man his own tv show.

[grull27 @ Jun 27th 2008 4:26PM]

Don't tkae the post above seriously. It is a joke.

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Jun 27th 2008 4:31PM]

Hear that Sudo? He don't take you seriously. You gonna take that?!

[1 @ Jun 27th 2008 11:39PM]

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.

[MacMan @ Jun 28th 2008 4:22AM]

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

[MacMan @ Jun 28th 2008 4:27AM]

off topic but know bill has gone....

the two biggest computer companies (Apple + MS) are owned by people called Steve!!

Coincidence?

[Jherez @ Jun 28th 2008 1:21PM]

The rise of the Steves has begun

[lizaoreo @ Jun 27th 2008 4:23PM]

One way or another he'll be missed.

[Sudo @ Jun 27th 2008 4:28PM]

We will all miss you Bill.

[SITEiNK @ Jun 27th 2008 4:28PM]

rock on bill.

[Scott Lanning @ Jun 27th 2008 4:29PM]

Should i make the joke about never needing more than 12 mb of memory?

[grull27 @ Jun 27th 2008 4:31PM]

lol i remember that

farewell bill

[Chuckles McGee @ Jun 27th 2008 10:49PM]

He actually said no application would ever need more than 640KB...lol, even the silly vista calculator uses more than a MB.

[giantenemycrab @ Jun 27th 2008 4:29PM]

You're a good guy, Bill.

[guitarboy @ Jun 27th 2008 4:31PM]

Thanks, Bill. The world is a better place thanks to your vision.

[thatguy @ Jun 27th 2008 4:33PM]

Regardless of how people feel towards Microsoft, no one can deny the great things Bill Gates does outside of the company with his foundation.

[Alex @ Jun 27th 2008 4:37PM]

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.

[Sporkinum @ Jun 27th 2008 4:37PM]

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!

[Vidit Bhargava @ Jun 27th 2008 4:49PM]

Great guy...sob sob

[Vidit Bhargava @ Jun 27th 2008 5:04PM]

engadget...you guys rock
you have given Bill Gates a "farewell" he much deserves with all these posts on him...great work guys.

[Ray-- @ Jun 27th 2008 4:50PM]

Say what you want about Bill Gates but he'll always be richer than you are. :)

[john @ Jun 27th 2008 4:55PM]

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.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Jun 27th 2008 5:05PM]

Best of luck, Bill. You're the man!!

[F @ Jun 28th 2008 8:08AM]

Bill's Rocinante is sailing by night, on her final flight.

[farfisa @ Jun 27th 2008 5:11PM]

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.

[GusP @ Jun 27th 2008 5:15PM]

Bill thanks reties today - I've used your DOS, Windows, and even tried MS Bob, Thanks for everything.

Farewell.

[GadgetTamer @ Jun 27th 2008 5:17PM]

Thanks, Bill. I can't imagine the world without you.

[bob e @ Jun 27th 2008 5:18PM]

so long bill... you be missed :

[Sen @ Jun 27th 2008 5:25PM]

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.

[notsuh @ Jun 27th 2008 5:27PM]

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?

[shriek @ Jun 27th 2008 5:32PM]

Superhero of the computer world

[superted @ Jun 27th 2008 5:35PM]

A great man, always admired him....

Saw the BBC documentary a few days ago, worth watching

[From My Cube @ Jun 27th 2008 5:40PM]

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

[doobster @ Jun 27th 2008 5:42PM]

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...!

[Neal @ Jun 27th 2008 5:42PM]

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/videos/

[CraigJ @ Jun 27th 2008 5:47PM]

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.