Celebrate Bill Gates Day with us here at Engadget
By Ryan Block 
posted June 27th 2008 12:00AM
posted June 27th 2008 12:00AM
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
im wondering, what would the technology be like if gates didnt put up microsoft? will we still be walking around with those punch card as a portable storage? XD
Bill you certainly are a great chap. Will miss you !!!!!
YAY!!! Now who do I blame for all the shitty software I have to use at work?
Lets be honest, he's not really leaving is he. Bill is still going to be doing two days a week for MS and he still has a seat on The Board. I'm guessing he will still be doing more hours per week for MS than alot of people here work total!
i'll miss bill
he is a hero, a genius, very good person, giving billions of $ to help people is a thing that everybody can't do easily.
!! Bill Gates !! !! Bill Gates !!
WOW, what a happy birthday for me. I respect Bill, that being said from an Apple fanboy. I wonder if Microsoft will benefit or fail because of this. My money is on fail, because when Gates left his position of CEO in 2000, they haven't had great success with Windows. I mean Windows 2000 was the last, and still considered greatest release of Windows ever, and it was released a month after Ballmer took CEO. After that, nothing has been as great, Bill, you were most likely what Microsoft had to stick together, but now, its going down.
WOW! It's 2am here on the west coast and I'm so glad I decided to check out engadget one last time before going to sleep. Lots of great comments here.
Bill Gates is the probably one of the best persons alive in the world today to model your own life after.
Here's what I think is the ultimate entrepreneurial formula (and it applies whether you're an entrepreneur or are working for someone else):
Step 1: Find ways to change the world, while making LOTS AND LOTS of money in the process.
Step 2: Find ways to change the world even more so, by giving it all away.
Step 3: Dirt Nap!
MS definitely isn't perfect. I used to work there, and I realize that Bill and MS didn't always "play nice" or "play fair". That is, if "fair" can ever be objectively defined. ("nice" or "fair" to whom? Consumers? Competitors? MS Stockholders? IT Workers?)
However, at the end of the day, it's all monopoly money anyway, right? What matters is whether you are making the world a better place for people or just making it worse. (And yes, "better" is hard to objectively define too.)
Some people may not agree with this, but in my opinion, Bill Gates played the whole capitalism game well, if not the best. Like in a grand strategy game, he invaded new territory and expanded when he needed to, and he fortified his position and held the line when he needed to.
Thank you Bill for being such a positive influence in my own life and in the lives of so many millions of other people. I hope that, before my own dirt nap arrives, to make a fraction of the impact you have made.
It is a shame he let his company turn into the gigantic, evil, greedy monster it is today.
I'll miss him. BTW I'm using a MS T-shirt today
I Wonder if he will come to Harvard, or do some online correspondence course? :-D
We will miss ya Bill! I'm sure no sane person could possibly ever deny the great work you have done for us and others! If it wasn't for you very few us would have a computer today, thanks for everything and making the computer industry mainstream!
I'm tearing up as well.
That video was painful.
Some funny bits (on the part of others) but Bill's role = ouch.
Can we already see Ballmer-influenced Microsoft policies/products or credit given to Bill on previous endeavors?
yes, let us celebrate my birthday as well!
yes, let us celebrate my birthday as well!!
yes, let us celebrate my birthday as well!
(sorry if this is the 3rd post)
non your not u meant it.
It is, and you failed pretty hard there.
Totally agree with having a BG day. He is the man.
Kudos for Gates, I hope he does alot of good in this world with his cash...I kno Balmer and Jobbbbbies wont...
Shhh don't say that, leave the Apple fanboys in their little bubble of hope that Jobs does more then overcharge his customers for rubbish ;)
Is Bill Gates day like St Patricks day where we can dye the rivers a color and drink beer out in the streets?! Or is it like Hanukkah where we sit inside, quiet and not get all rowdy and crazy?
What? No. F*ck Bill Gates. His predatory business practices early on effectively neutered the rest of the software industry, and the coding practices his company adheres to are the reason people have to put up with B/S like Vista in 2008. 2008! Geez.
Billy the force is strong with you, I see no problems in you becoming one with the force.
We will miss you.
you should offer him a job at engadget as a writer maybe then all the articles won't be pro apple.
I like Bill Gates. I kinda feel the last ten years of Microsoft has been the result of his influence being diluted by the sheer size of the company, not the result of him becoming more tyrannical and misguided.
Ballmer is a knob end, so I do see Bill moving on as a loss for the company.
Windows ME was my favorite - because I really loved to watch the pretty blue screens so many times in a day.
Actually - Windows XP, it lived up to expectations.
Go away Bill and take your "Intelligent Design" foundation with you.
I love windows...!
there better not be a steve jobs day or im gonna shoot myself and screw engadget over =)
Long live King Bill! Some (M) stuff sux, some are EVER LASTING! Apple has a Gimic! and that's all.
It really is too bad that this had to turn into a Mac vs. PC thing. Bill Gates has done a lot to change how the world works. Most of us (meaning people with computers... and there are a LOT of us) use Windows, Office, Explorer, and I believe that in most of the world MSN is still the IM client of choice. I'm a Mac user at home, but I work happily on Windows machine every day. Now Mr. Gates is retiring and giving an enormous wealth away and working to see it gets to the right places. To somehow bring up the Mac, Google, and Linux as counter-arguments of Bill Gates being a great man who changed (and continues to change) the world seems very small minded.
THis is very sad :<
I will miss Bill