Celebrate Bill Gates Day with us here at Engadget

The end of an era; a fresh beginning; good riddance -- whatever you think of Bill's final day at Microsoft, it's impossible to deny that his tenure there helped forever re-shape not just technology, but the world as we know it. So we're declaring June 27th Bill Gates Day here at Engadget and hopefully you'll forgive us for, like, totally tearing up now that he's finally stepping out of his role as nerd-baron and into the shoes of full-blown immortal philanthropist. Hey, it's Sir William Henry Gates III's world, we just live in it -- that means you, too, Steve.

We'll miss you big guy.

P.S. -Keep this on the DL, but we heard this rumor he's thinking of returning to uni for his post-post-post-doc, and it won't even be honorary. We'll keep you posted. In the mean time today, expect plenty more Bill.

All Day Coverage
Bill Gates: top ten greatest hits (and misses) -- the Microsoft years
Bill Gates wipes away tears at Microsoft farewell
The Bill Gates Engadgethology

Giveaways
The Bill Day giveaway (part 3) -- Zune 80GB (black)
The Bill Day giveaway (part 2) -- Office Ultimate 2007
The Bill Day giveaway (part 1) -- Toshiba Gigabeat T400

[ef15e @ Jun 27th 2008 12:06AM]

As long as there's gonna be a Steve Jobs day (hopefully not too soon)
Im OK with this.

[DefPo3t @ Jun 27th 2008 12:11AM]

when ol Steve give billions upon billions to help the world then we can talk about a jobs day but I do support a johnathan ive desgin day :^)

[darkstar @ Jun 27th 2008 12:19AM]

now u got me curious.. what does Jobs do with his billions??? i havent seen him give any away.

[ef15e @ Jun 27th 2008 12:22AM]

Who said steve jobs does not give charity? Just because he doesnt publicly state that he does doesnt mean hes not WIRED on Jobs;
For a person as private as Jobs, who shuns any publicity about his family life, this seems credible. If so, however, this would make Jobs virtually unique among moguls. Richard Jolly, chairman of Giving USA Foundation, said not all billionaires give their money away, but a lot do, and most do not do it quietly.
Giving quietly is more credible then taking the publicity, with one its pure hear with the other its some heart and some ego

[gad get @ Jun 27th 2008 12:22AM]

He sits on it like a dragon. He doesn't use it, it just gives him pleasure to know it's his.

Just kidding.


It doesn't.



:D

[DefPo3t @ Jun 27th 2008 12:27AM]

Steve keeps his money and he might be giving some to charities but he does it anomnolsy ( gawd I can't spell) so we truly done know how much he gives. But u think we can agree that the amount that ok bill give is > anyone else.

[DefPo3t @ Jun 27th 2008 12:31AM]

@ef15e.
Even if Steve gave to charity it is miniscule to the amount that bill has given. In fact the amount that any current mega rich person has given is minute compared to tv gate's contributations.

[ef15e @ Jun 27th 2008 12:37AM]

@DefPo3t Well thats not saying much as he has the most to give.

[imacmatt09 @ Jun 27th 2008 12:38AM]

All these comments make it sound like he died or something. But he is still one hell of a guy. I'll miss you Billy G.

[jason @ Jun 27th 2008 12:41AM]

Steve Jobs is pretty arrogant.

I could see him donating to charities but not that much.

he regularly parks in the handicapped spot at Apple, Inc.

I dont think that anyone can deny that he is arrogant and has high demands for perfection. He regularly makes his workers work tirelessly through his night, makes them redo things over and over. While the end result is a good product, it shows that he isnt very merciful.

and with his $1 salary, how can he give much :p


EDIT: before i made this post i did some research and found:
Giving USA Foundation, a philanthropy research group which publishes an annual charity survey, said Jobs does not appear on lists of gifts of $5 million or more over the last four years. Nor is his name on a list of gifts of $1 million or more compiled by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/01/70072

so yeah... Jobs does not give to charities near as much as he should. This makes my respect for him drop a little though.

many less wealthy people give considerably more than Jobs.

[ef15e @ Jun 27th 2008 12:54AM]

@ Jason read the comments before, we're talking about PRIVATELY giving charity thats more like steve hence not showing up on that list.
Also yes he works his team hard but they admit to end up doing the best work they have ever done working with him also he has a 91% approval rating by apple employees, the highest of any CEO.

[James Cameron @ Jun 27th 2008 1:09AM]

Bill Gates is such an awesome person. Him and his Wife are a great human being.

May the force be with you Mr Gates.

[Arnob @ Jun 27th 2008 1:15AM]

@ef15e, you're sort of making a lot of assumptions on steve job's character/actions on some flaky evidence...

what i do know for sure is that the Bill and Melinda gates foundation is worth 30 billion or so...which is just going to get even crazier larger with warren buffets coming contributions

[CaptSaltyJack @ Jun 27th 2008 1:57AM]

jason: Don't fool yourself. Gates is also a slave-driver, just like Jobs. It's well known that when shit goes wrong at MS or he doesn't like how certain software works, he starts berating people and telling them it sucks, and how the heck do they get a paycheck, etc.

[Tom @ Jun 27th 2008 3:25AM]

We’ll miss you Billy G. Here’s a dedication, just for you:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBkxRM9AWJk

Tom

[Gabriel @ Jun 27th 2008 4:41AM]

you guys say that Steve gives donations wihtout giving his name, how the hell do you know that he even donates then? He might just aswell just keep it all to himself :D
IF he gives donations I think he dosent make any major ones as bill, not even close. Im sure Steve wouldent dream of even giving away 25% of his money to poor kids and a like.

[CBrowne @ Jun 27th 2008 7:16AM]

What about a Linus Torvalds day?

I think if we're going to celebrate the life of someone who created a very poor operating system and marketed it to the extent that it is now a monopoly that is damaging the global economy, we should at least celebrate the life of someone who created a much better operating system which has barely any impact on the global economy.

Don't get me wrong, I respect Bill Gates for all his philanthropic work, but let's not forget all the anti-competitive behaviour, lawsuits against linux (ok, threatened lawsuits) and the whole OS/2 thing! For all the good he's done in other areas - he's held back technological development and endangered the free market philosophy and there's little denying that. Of course, the majority of readers here will disagree and think I'm a commie / hippy / cheapskate, but I'm none of those - I just support choice and if there's a 90% market-share monopoly then the consumer has little choice. That is bad for everyone.

[From My Cube @ Jun 27th 2008 7:42AM]

doesnt it suck to be the first one to post on an article like this? getting all the emails someone replied....it happend to me on a give-a-way I was the first to post and my inbox got crapped up....and I still didnt win :-(

[ShadowKain @ Jun 27th 2008 8:50AM]

@ef15e

OK your kiddin yourself if you don't believe Steve Jooobies is a crackpot. Read biographies on him, watch all the Triumph of the Nerds series, Watch the Bill Gates Story movie, and read the countless articles on how crazy steve jobs is. Shall I pull up a few articles from former employees who stated how self centered he was? Hes a great man who did alot of things dont get me wrong, but he is NO PHILANTROPIST (spelling on that may be wrong :P )

[ShadowKain @ Jun 27th 2008 8:53AM]

ef15e.... you need a wakeup call its STEVE JOBS here ... STEVE JOBS...do you know what kind of guy he is? A perfectionist and arrogrant, and stubborn to boot. Please wake up

[AJ in the East Bay @ Jun 27th 2008 12:08AM]

My hero.

[Austin @ Jun 27th 2008 12:09AM]

I'm a giant Apple Fanboy. But I will dearly miss Bill Gates from Microsoft. I despise Ballmer (Monkey Boy) with a fiery passion. Bill Gates you were amazing and I wish you could of been Head Of Microsoft forever.

[Syntax Error @ Jun 27th 2008 12:10AM]

Bill, you will be missed. ;_;

[TheAxMan @ Jun 27th 2008 6:06AM]

And hey -- engadget.. it's William Henry Gates III KBE, (not Sir William Henry Gates III) 'cos he's not British. He is still a knight, of course -- just a really nerdy one..

[Aguiluz @ Jun 27th 2008 12:11AM]

Whoa.... BILL GATES IS LEAVING!?

Did I miss this on Engadget because I'm not paying attention?

[gad get @ Jun 27th 2008 12:17AM]

I thought all us techno-nerds knew about this!

[Aguiluz @ Jun 27th 2008 12:30AM]

I was paying attention to my final exams a week ago.

Anyways, goodbye Bill Gates.

Who's next in the line?

[John @ Jun 27th 2008 1:09AM]

steve ballmer...you could live in a tree in the jungle and know about him. Hell, if you lived in a tree in the jungle you probably knew him growing up judging by some of his antics.

[Michael LaFramboise @ Jun 27th 2008 12:12AM]

"fresh beginning" - I'm sorry but I call bullshit on that one. Until Ballmer is gone (along a dozen more senile old farts) there won't be anything "fresh".

Gates was the only guy I actually half-liked at Microsoft... Ballmer... not so much...

[Darth Abe @ Jun 27th 2008 12:19AM]

The xbox was fresh. Actually, pretty much the whole Entertainment and Devices division is fresh.

[ujn @ Jun 27th 2008 5:14AM]

What do you mean under "fresh"? MS releases ~50 new projects each year. Just because it's not that widespread doesn't mean it's not fresh and good. Only one look into MS Research Labs gives a bunch of ideas on what they are working on(but it's a fraction). just FYI.

[Carl Vitullo @ Jun 27th 2008 12:12AM]

Tagged "Depressed Editors"?

really?
c'mon

[Darth Abe @ Jun 27th 2008 12:16AM]

You're not a little sad Billy G isn't gonna do the geek thing anymore?
I mean come on.
The guys is like the patron saint of geeks.

[BobTurbo @ Jun 27th 2008 12:12AM]

As much as I hate Windows in so many ways, Bill Gates is a geek legend.

[gad get @ Jun 27th 2008 12:19AM]

Hey, even Gates knows that Windows is falling behind in user-friendliness.

[Captain Drew @ Jun 27th 2008 12:13AM]

I'll doff me kerchief to Willy G. as you suggest Mr. Engadget, as we space pirates have great respect for the nerdy little feller. He's a huggable little buzzard ain't he? Almost makes me feel bad about the time we shorts him after he tried pledging our space pirate fraternity at Titus Oberon VII. Almost.

All our best, Billy!!

[Darth Abe @ Jun 27th 2008 12:14AM]

Its hard to imagine a Microsoft without Bill Gates. I know a lot of people are saying that its going down the tubes with Ballmer in charge but I wouldn't count the company out yet. Ballmer is nuts and (I think) kind of a douchebag but he's not stupid and he would have to be pretty dumb to bring down a company as large as Microsoft.

[Big Al @ Jun 27th 2008 12:14AM]

So what do we do on Bill Gates Day? And more importantly, is there cake?

Congratz to Bill for the his amazing contributions to the industry!

[Tony @ Jun 27th 2008 12:23AM]

There will be cake, but the real question is if it is compatible with an MBA.

[Prokanda @ Jun 27th 2008 4:14AM]

the cake is a lie.

[Imran @ Jun 27th 2008 6:59AM]

The cake is a pie.

[womble101 @ Jun 27th 2008 8:02AM]

There's cake in my eye.

[Will @ Jun 27th 2008 12:15AM]

Why is he doing the hula?

[sbenson09 @ Jun 27th 2008 1:06AM]

That's the Soulja Boy!

[vdogg89 @ Jun 27th 2008 12:15AM]

Im gonna miss Bill. He changed all of our lives

[superted @ Jun 27th 2008 7:35PM]

^^ this

[ed @ Jun 27th 2008 12:17AM]

I believe that many of us, myself included owe a debt to Mr. Gates and the all of those who had the foresight, and the guts, to turn what was once nothing more than a bread board, and switches. Into the amazing tools the now take for granted.

[gad get @ Jun 27th 2008 12:21AM]

Edit button...

[grigsby1 @ Jun 27th 2008 12:19AM]

Thank for the ride... Mr. G

[substance90 @ Jun 27th 2008 12:20AM]

I hope Engedget authors are not really serious, because I already think that people are overacting on the Gates thing. So what if he`s stepping down? It`s not like the world ends, plus on the "reshaped the world as we know it" it is rather debatable if it is for good or for bad.
C`mon people, get a hold of yourselves!