Engadget's farewell card to Bill G
By Engadget staff 
posted Jun 27th 2008 7:54PM
posted Jun 27th 2008 7:54PM
Bill,
I can't believe you're already taking off! They even going to let your pension fully vest? Just kidding, I think heard somewhere that you're worth a lot of money or something. Thanks for the Xbox 360 and for always being so damn friendly -- promise I'll try my best to think only of Allchin whenever I bluescreen. Come visit soon and KIT, okay?
Yours Truly, Ryan
Dear Bill,
We didn't know each other too well, you were a bit older than me, and we ran in different circles anyways, but I just wanted to take this one last opportunity to inform you how incredibly foolhardy that whole Harvard business was. Seriously, what were you thinking? A college degree is an absolute minimum in the modern world, and with your intelligence you really could've been somebody... those mainframes aren't going to program themselves! What the world needs is stick-to-it-ive-ness and Computer Science majors, not a bunch of wannabe entrepreneurs. Sure, you ended up doing alright for yourself, but I can't help but think that with only half a college education you only reached half your potential.
-Regretfully yours, Paul
Bill,
Can't say I've ever had the luxury of swinging by your office, but I have to admit, I really enjoyed all those press calls. And look, we both know you should have left at the top of Microsoft's game and all, but don't pull a Michael Jordan and show back up wearing a Zune uniform next year, okay? Live a little. And don't spend it all in one place.
-Darren
Bill,
Can't believe it's that time already. Is this really goodbye, or are you going to follow your good friend Hov and come back wearing the 4-5, maybe after dropping a Lil' Wayne "A Trilli" remix? Just a thought, something to drop on your Zune one of these days. Anyway, good luck, and thanks for not holding that one time I let someone borrow disk 7 of my Windows 3.1 installer against me.
-Richard
So long, Bill, and thanks for all the sweaters.
-Don
Bill,
My scratched-up SPOT watch has seen better days, and without you around to promote these sorts of fun, unprofitable, over-the-top geeky projects in the boardroom, I don't know who's going to carry the torch. It's a loss for me personally and a greater loss for large-wristed technophiles the world over -- I think I speak for a lot of folks when I say I wish it was Vista packing up and leaving instead of you!
-Chris
Bill,
You've had a good run. Through the great times (DOS) and those not so great times (ME), I won't be forgetting you any time soon. Oh, and that whole not being the #1 richest guy in the world anymore thing? You're still number one to me, Bill. And frankly, that's all that should matter.
-Dante
Hey Bill,
I know we didn't always get along, what with me getting an Apple //e back in the day instead of an AT box with MS-DOS. But let's face it: you always had the better games. And for that, I owe you one. If you'll forgive me, I've got a watch here to send you away. A nice one, from 1972, made by this company called Commodore Business Machines (remember them?). Digital, too! Figured you'd dig that.
-Joshua Fruhlinger
G'luck Bill, I hope you crack the problems of world poverty and suffering as quickly as I cracked Vista.
Love, Thomas
Bill:
I know we haven't really talked since, well, ever, but you were always like the older, geekier brother who didn't know I existed, and it's your passion for natural interfaces like speech and touch that's inspired me to constantly scream at and physically destroy my various computers over the years. That, and several of your products. I'll miss you, man -- hit me up on Live sometime.
-Yours, Nilay
PS. I know you and 50 have had some tough times lately, but I just want you to know that I'll always think of you as original G-Unit. That tape is a lie, man.
Dear Bill,
I'll remember you fondly as one of the driving forces behind my decision to switch to a Mac when I was 13 years old. The divide your business practices helped to build between "creatives" and "suits" will be forever etched in my mind, and your choices as the head of Microsoft will always represent a high-water mark of polarizing nerd ideology. Still, I'll never forget building my first PC, or booting up The Bard's Tale on my XT in glorious CGA -- and for that, I'm eternally grateful.
Your close friend, Joshua Topolsky
[Readers, feel free to leave your own in comments.]
Adios, Bill. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Hey, my Vista Ultimate box didn't come with any fish in it! I want what he got!
Mine did...they were a bunch of Windows Live Betas...
hehe . . . get it? BETAS? Nobody?
Actually, I chuckled. Both at the betas (albeit a groaner), and at the HHGG reference. :)
Later, Bill, the thing I'll miss most are the spoof videos which I'm sure were your idea.
Nerds...
The fish are actually called bettas, btw. But yes, very nerdy. Never heard that one before...
Bill,
Thanks for windows, but this is a closed chapter now, and I am really excited about the new chapter.
I like your charter, and how you still humble and friendly after your $$$.
PS: I would really like to see you spare some change for R&D laps, I think the word really need to make thinks more efficient. Just me!
PS PS: plz don’t play the “political” game.
THANKS and regards,
Ahmed Alzayani
I can feel the pain that you guys are going through to say anything nice about Microsoft.
Oh please.
lol jimbo. That made me laugh.
Wow, jackass, Microsoft and Bill Gates are a better company and person than Apple and Steve Jobs will ever be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosy_retrospection
Ryan, you guys rock. You are doing much better posts than Giz too. They are not really saying good of Bill Gates,just talking about microsoft. I luv engadget.
Even if you do like Apple you have to thank Microsoft for keeping the industry moving. Without Microsoft there would be nothing to fight over. Apple would be on top in everything and OS advancement would stop right there. It's because of Microsoft that OS X is even here.
And by the way, Microsoft will always be better than Apple.
I have to say, even though Mocrosoft is a decent company, Apple is far better.
However, Bill Gates does totally rock and was the only good part of Microsoft. I can't believe Steve Ballmer will be taking over :(
can we please leave the mac-pc debate alone for one day? we all know (ok, i all know) macs are cool and hip and my personal preference but so are zunes... maybe not...
but definitely xbox's
and the majority of personal computers
so yay for Bill Gates, have a happy life
Windows or OS X?
It's mostly a personal opinion, but this isn't about the OSs, this is about (as Engadget calls him) Bill G.
It's not the time to fight over which one is better. It is the time to celebrate a innovator - which undeniably Bill Gates is.
That made me laugh just the same, jimbo.
And... Windows or OS X? I'll take neither, for as long as I can, but I'll offer no alternative because that would take this comment trail down... another trail than it's intended to go down.
Nice :)
Dear Bill,
Thanks for the Intellimouse. Sure, a lot of folks have given Microsoft flack over the years for some unreliable products here and there, be it crash-happy Windows ME or the RROD-plagued XBox 360. But to me, Microsoft will always mean the most reliable and best-designed mouse I've ever owned, the faithful little five-button scroller with its ever-vigilant glowing red bottom. I've had mine since XP was the new hotness, and it still tracks and clicks like the day it came home from the store.
It's a seemingly simple thing, done near-flawlessly. That to me represents the true potential of the company you founded, a spirit I hope is carried on by those following in your footsteps.
Streetstealth
PS
I use it on my Mac sometimes. Don't tell Steve Jobs, but the Intellimouse is WAY better than the Mighty Mouse.
You guys better do a day of farewells to yahoo employees when they leave. Such Microsoft fanboys...
Actually nevermind, they have dozens of employees leaving daily :p.
That and they don't have the same impact Bill Gates did in almost everyone's everyday life. You can't escape Microsoft anywhere in the western world.
See ya' Bill; good luck with the charitable work and thanks for making technology accessible for all.
/Cue hug PC and Xbox.... *sniffle*
Fancy sharing a bit of that $58 billion? At least buy me a beer? I did buy your stuff 'n' all.
Bill:
Don't spend it all in one place.
Unless that place is the Gates foundation--you guys are doing some damn good work there.
--Fubar
Godspeed Billy. I'm sure you'll solve the world's problems with the same expediency your buddy Ballmer will run your old company into the ground.
Bye Bill. I'm an Apple Fanboy, but you were the best part of Microsoft. I really am sad to see you leaving the company to *gasp* Steve Ballmer... oh well.
i feel so old... I remember playing Kings Quest on MS DOS waaaaay back when I was so young... good times.
all the best Bill!
Thank you very much for everything, your legacy reaches us all.
Thanks for all your hard work Bill making the industry what it is today.
Funny thing your leaving the industry and I'm entering, enjoy retirement from Microsoft.
Jon
I like Windows Media Player
Has the going away party been out-sourced to India?
Dear Bill,
Thank you for doing so much for the world. If it weren't for you, computers would be about 50 years ahead of where they are now. Thanks for helping those old people who can't keep up with the world sane.
Regards, an Apple Fan
for the record when people thank Bill Gates for all the good things he has done for the world, I don't think Microsoft actually play a big part in that, however the over $30 billion he put into his Charity foundation, probably a bit more important.
I don't care if you love apple, and hate M$
Bill Gates is an American hero who is the true realization of the American dream, turn nothing into something and share that something with the whole world.
To set the record straight, Mr. Apple Fan(boy),
Bill Gates and Microsoft as a whole donated roughly 150 million dollars to a financially failing Apple. In a time where it would have been easy to step up and become the -only- OS available widespread to the populace, Bill and his team recognized that it goes a little bit deeper than financial numbers, as well as the advancements that can only be had with competition. Microsoft also agreed to create more software that was compatible with Macs, helping to stem the loss of numbers Apple was dealing with. The computer you, and I, are on now is in part because of Bill Gates. It's even been pointed out on Engadget. He is an enormous man when it comes to heart and brilliance. At least from this Apple user, I will miss Bill -greatly-, he's been a monumental drive in the technical world, and his charity work far surpasses anything we could ever hope to do.
In short, you've earned this R&R, Bill. By god, have you ever earned it. Cheers for so many years of awesome work for your fellow man.
Wolfey
So I guess I will take the overwhelming bitterness as sort of a tacit acknowlegment that the Engadget staff knows that Apple will never beat Microsoft.
Do you guys ever regret going into blogging as a career?
Bill Gates is my hero.
Dear Bill,
Thank You for all your hard work that has made our lives so much easier. Also I will never forget your speeches at the University of Waterloo (Canada), thank you for blessing us with your presence!
Yours Truly,
holycow
Bye bill I hate to see you go cause Microsoft will probaly go all to hell now that your gone
Dear bill:
Ive been using your OS for many years. Even though I am a mac user, I love both OSes. I really thought Windows XP is a really stable OS.
-Haikibutsu
PS: Don't let users like Clak on the internet!
All I read was the last sentence, and I agree :)
Speaking of zealots like clak and zak, where are they for these Bill Gates posts? I figured they would be laying their bullcrap on thick.
Though... it could also be that I have them "egnored" using the Egnore Firefox extension that will allow you to ignore users on the Engadget comment system Want to try it? http://www.electroburn.org/egnored/
Where is he by the way? I figured he would be all over these pages.
Thank you and your company for bringing us Microsoft Bob! I know this will never be forgotten.
Joking aside, we've had our ups and downs, but all in all, its been a good journey!
Have a fun retirement or whatever your doing.
Bill,
Your hands are so soft. I'll miss you more than QDOS. Just know that the most important thing you could ever do from this moment on is to open two smoothie stores and to buy a chocolate pony.
Affectionately Yours,
Snookums Poodle Bear
hey yer back. chocolate ponies and all
not really back. i can't access the comments page from work anymore so i haven't been commenting as much. but with BillGa retiring, i thought the only appropriate sendoff would be for me to post on an internet site where he will never read my loving comments.
For all the hates around the internet about MS, we will miss you Bill!
OMG, not a pie! Oh well, I guess if Bill didn't mind the first time he won't this time.
On a serious note, best of luck you nerdy genius!!
Congratz Kill
Growing up in Seattle I have always look towards Bill Gates as a role model I would like to be, not because he is insanely rich, but because he was extremely successful and yet never stopped trying to improve the world. I know that his switch to full time world-saving will be better for the world, but it is a sad day in Microsoft history... my favorite part of it is leaving
Thanks for Windows XP... best of luck with curing AIDS and all that.
Mr. Gates,
I am torn. I respect what you are going on to do and I believe you will succeed in your efforts. I can think of no better way to use your money and power. You have inspired me to do the same.
On the other hand I believe that Microsoft is at a hard place right now. At this point Microsoft can either regain their strength or fail. I believe Microsoft needs you more now than ever. I fear what the post Bill Gates world at Microsoft will look like.
Maybe we will see you in five years at a keynote announcing you will be returning to Microsoft, regaining your power and will bring to the world a new revolution in computing. Or maybe in 5 five years you will announce a cure or breakthrough in some place in the world.
Thank you Mr. Gates for everything.
-Thomas
Sorry for the long post.
If he came back after 5 years it will be too late, Apple will have taken over the industry
@Masterde
Sadly, I fear you could be right....
@Bill G
Think about it
Maybe he could quash the Newton project when he returns. :-)
The pie is a lie?
jk, Gates FTW, Ballmer FTL!
Inside the pie is a lot of Microsoft Office paperclips offering useful tips and tricks on how to make the title of his new CV bold.
Peace out Bill...you beat Henry VIII into the ground..you have some similarities...he had a lot of failed marriages..you had a lot of failed OSes..
You also had some belters.. ;) *stares at XP machine*
Laters!
Without Microsoft creating the Windows OS, I know for a fact that today's computing and internet wouldn't even be remotely what it is today.
All the best in your future endeavors Mr. Gates.
Randy
will i get a pie when i retire?
will u follow suit? trying to hide your fanboism isnt really working
Bickering aside, I congratulate Bill for being an outstanding role model and an overall decent guy. For those who have had a chance to meet him or see him in an interview, Bill has always been down to earth, humble and just plain nice. He has my full respect.
Here's to an awesome career and a pretty decent computer empire to boot.
LOL, that looks like the pie he got hit with in the 90's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHc8qIR_e9I&feature=related
Dear Ryan,
Learn to write. Maybe next time, compose your message in Microsoft Word and pay attention to the green squiggles.
Sincerely,
Bob
i wonder if someone asked bill 'can i have your gear?'...
I've made my own card at http://gamersedgepodcast.com/2008/06/27/gates-has-left-the-building/
Cool
Anybody remember this pie?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_TOeHJLDpI
thanks for vista, jerk. nice fart of a legacy you're leaving behind. its for the best that you get out of the game, and let the big boys play. next time the pie will be brick-flavored.
u prick, id lyk 2 c u do half the job gates has. The guy revolutionized the world as we know it. wat hav u done? thrown a brick at someone.
You shouldnt be allowed to comment, is there anyway to remove comments? admins, im looking at u
yeah, well, i'd lyk 2 c u stop crying to the teacher. someone give this guy a wedgie. admins, im looking at u.
Thanx Bill, when I look around and see the multitude of items like my Zune, 360, Windows Media Center, and even my phone. How boring my life would be...
Thank you very much!
Cy O. Nara. You have my utmost respect if you really do give away all your wealth before you depart from this earth.
Bill,
Thank you... for your courage in revolutionizing the computer world, and the world in general too.
All the best!
Ryan Block's IQ is negative I think. This post is so lame and full of grammatical errors. Is engadget seriously mocking Bill Gates? This is a new low.
And the problem with that would be.......?
That was meant to be in response to @It's Been Too Long.
Bill, time to start life 2.0. Congrats man.
So where do I go to get some of this delicious pie?
Dear Bill,
I am sorry that you lost control of your company. I noticed more and more in interviews that you were becoming more and more dissatisfied with windows, as was the rest of the public. I realize it was not your fault, and I feel for you that you got blamed so many times. I think that whoever is filling in for you (Steve Ballmer I believe) will do the best job they can, but it isn't easy to run a $60 billion company, so I hope the rest of the world can understand that.
-Sincerely,
El Taco
How strange! I have noticed that all the morons with the lowest ranking, have only negative things to say. Idiots...Get a life.. and may be a job!
THANKS, YOU ROCK AND VISTA IS ACTUALLY PRETTY AWESOME!!
I'm sure even God uses a PC now thanks to you, good luck in retirement!
Again, YOU ROCK- Chris
Yo bill you totally rock
This is such a shock
Without you there would be no pc
Thanks for starting this industry
You've made billions
Thanks to your hp pavillions
You donate to charity
Giving you all of this popularity
This makes me want to cry
I guess this is good bye
Bill,
Farewell, i hope you have a good time in retirement. It has been a pretty good run. I only hope that many people are inspired by you and that someday another person will start a company and end up just like this (preferably me).
- Ron Burgandy
I hope Ryan is kidding... Otherwise this is already getting too far. :-\
Thank You Mr. Gates for supplying me with the Windows ME OS that belonged to my first computer... with that winbox I learned so much after many BSOD'S and hard reboots, hardware and Trojans. you would be amazed just how much you can learn about computers and computer repair when you spend hours on the phone with friendly gateway tech support people every day fixing some bullshit on your p.c. Oh and thats was before it was outsourced to india. I discovered Red Hat Linux because I was tired of it. Im glad It helped me learn everything I know about computers even with all those problems and I even became a Linux user very early on in life. I belive if your OS wasnt there to drive people to Linux it wouldnt have the community it has now and perhaps its better off not being mainstream... I dont want my OS getting alot of hacker attention.
Bill,
Thanks for the last seven years of gainful employment. Sure the stock price never made me rich but the experience, fun, scale and excitement of the work sure has kept me interested.
Maybe I'll be looking back in another seven years and thanking Steve, maybe not. Whatever you might think about my employer you cannot deny the fact that Bill's vision came true under his tenure.
I wouldn't have stayed so long without you.
Tony
Thank God that's not an Apple pie ^_^
kekeke
But then, now that he doesn't have Microsoft anymore, at least he would have Apples! If you can't have the best, why not settle?
Mark, it's ok. We all menstruate too.
Bill, farewell. Your software products are great and I most certainly would not be where I am right now if it werent for you. Bill has done so much more than donate billions to charity. Think of all jobs that require Windows PCs. Your work has become such gigantic part in our everyday lives, I would not even know where to begin to explain. Enjoy your retirement, you sure as hell diserved it. As for anyone else (especially apple users), all I hear is complaining how bad Windows is. Hey, stop whining and do it better. Windows operated machines, much more powerful, without a 4 digit pricetag, for cheap technology made and shipped from China. I dont see Zunes appear with Random Sad Faces... Macs are just as bad... overrated at least for sure.
Bill has created something amazing. You probably would not be reading this post if it werent for him.
A legacy for sure.
Bill,
Thanks for windows, but this is a closed chapter now, and I am really excited about the new chapter.
I like your charter, and how you still humble and friendly after your $$$.
PS: I would really like to see you spare some change for R&D laps, I think the word really need to make thinks more efficient. Just me!
PS PS: plz don’t play the “political” game.
THANKS and regards,
Ahmed Alzayani
Good luck Mr. Gates. Thankyou for your dedication.
Bill,
First and foremost, thank you for all you've done for technology; your dream of a Microsoft PC in every home is moving right along, and without your work at Microsoft, computers would still be the boring command-line-only mainframes in beige boxes that were about as powerful (and creative) as today's scientific calculators. Since then, Windows has revolutionized the entire planet, and people are doing things that were confined to science fiction only two decades ago - thanks to your work.
Sincerely (and hoping for free stuff),
Geohevy
P.S.
What is it with all the free software/open source psychos? They act like just because their stuff is free, less prone to malfunction, evolves faster and has lower system requirements, they're just SO superior!
Bill
thanks for sending my xbox 360 back yestarday that whole rrod thing really sucks but your still my number #1 so thanks for everything, nothing but smooth sailing from now on. KIT
your pal
tom
Yeah, here's my farewell
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/3097/mooninite2wf8.jpg
dude, how is that possibly appropriate for someone who has changed the world. Even the biggest apple phanboi must recognise that. Without windows, jobs wouldnt hav a job.
Before u start saying anything about gates, try stepping into gates shoes, u wouldnt even b a grain of dust compared 2 him
Yeah, Hitler changed the world too. And how would Jobs be out of a Job anyway? He mad his own company... twice.
Sorry that I have little respect for a man who started a monopolistic company off the hard work of others.
Yeah, well someone should write the same to you. Oh wait, no one cares enough about you or knows who you are to even flip you off, you immature ignoramus. Not only did he *start* the company, but also, as many others have written, he saved Apple from failing when he could have *truly* made a monopoly. On other's backs? Where would those others have gotten the height they needed to reach the top without him pulling them up after he made it?
Hello Bill,
Good luck in your future endevours. Your software delevopment programs, and technet saved my butt many times throughout my IT support career. I still have my Windows 1.0 disks!!!
Thanks for all those cool COMDEX keynotes, especially the after keynote parties with the cool dancers and the beer, the friends I made at the keynote parties was a bonus.
Everything was so impressive it was a buzz just to see you make our life a little bit easier, and made our employer extend his service contracts with every new service pack release and patch. :-)
Reflecting on the keynote, I remember the very first one you gave, and how you attracted the crowds with nearly no technical support. I remember you noting in one of your interviews that it was your Dad that helped you. Very clever.
I know that Steve will do his best to keep the company in the right direction, and he must have lost some weight to be so agile and dodge those eggs recently. Well I wish him the best.
Oh and thanks for keeping my share value up. Who would know a kid with $3000 initial investment, would have such benefits today.
Come back like Steve Jobs did in 10 years. And make a difference once again.
Peace
B
Hey Bill,
Thanks for everthing. Microsoft won't be the same without you. A bit of advice: Throw some cash toward hydrogen fuel cells. They could help us all out and go a long way toward ending poverty. Well, God bless.