Melinda Gates secretly pines for iPhone, actually doesn't even like Africa
In a recent Vogue interview, Melinda Gates confided that she's battled some iPhone envy in her day: "Every now and then I look at my friends and say 'Ooh, I wouldn't mind having that iPhone'." It's just too bad for her that Apple is forbidden fruit in the Gates household. "There are very few things that are on the banned list in our household. But iPods and iPhones are two things we don't get for our kids," said Melinda. Stay strong, Mrs. Gates, we're hearing good things about Windows Mobile 7. Oh, and we made up that part about Africa.



















Bill Gates hates his wife. Dooming her to 2nd rate interfaces.
Does the woman not have a mind of her own?? I would tell Gates to stick his Zune and WinMo in his ear. Fascist!!
I rather get a HTC Diamond 2 over an iPhone anytime, any day.
seriously, by telling his wife not to get an iPhone, he's doing her a favor more than cursing her. it lets her open her mind to good things that dont have a fucking fruit stuck on it. HTC has been a better mobile device corporation than apple could ever be!
Ok, you HTC fanboys can get a room already...
Honestly, banning anything is ridiculous...if the product wasn't any good or you had a good alternative then you would not need to ban things. I guess the fact the iPod and iPhone are "banned" tells me Melinda and family would rather have those versus a Zune or WinMo device. Microsoft should step up their game if they want to compete...
when you can't even get your own wife to like your product better than the competition's, its type to get some better R&D done
From Wikipedia: "Jobs also has a daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs (born 1978), from his relationship with Bay Area painter Chrisann Brennan. She briefly raised their daughter on welfare when Jobs denied paternity, claiming that he was sterile; he later acknowledged paternity."
Hmmmm, so which would be worse? Telling your wife that she is not allowed to have an iPhone, or forcing your daughter to live on welfare and telling a complete lie to cover it up so the rich daddy doesn't need to pay child support. If there were iPods or iPhones at the time, little Lisa's daddy would have kept her from getting one, being, you know, she was too freaking poor to afford one.
I think this article goes to show how ignorant and disrespectful the person who wrote this article is. I am particularly responding to the comment that mentions Africa. Africa is not a tool for measuring peopl's morals as many would like to think. It is a people and a place which happens to have suffered at the receiving end of a very exploitative capitalism by the west. So do not be patting your back because you think you love Africa, it does not say what kind of person you are and it takes for granted the historical background of what it pretends to stand for.
C'mon Bill. Melinda wants an iPhone! Didn't Microsoft give $150 million to Apple to help avoid the monopoly charges? Doesn't Microsoft continue to make Macintosh software to this day?
Bwahahaha, Nohone wins.
i'll be damned if i'm the founder of a huge corporation and and wife is gonna use my competitors product! a good wife wouldn't even want one!
It's called "eating your own dog food". It'd be like a Ford exec driving a BMW. Shouldn't happen. Also, if the execs use their products ever day (like a phone would be used) they'd have more insight into how to improve them.
Melinda Gates should not have friends that possess Apple products.
@Nohone
Rationalizing bad behavior by pointing out worse behavior gets people going on a slippery slope. The whole Jobs paternity thing was pretty bad and probably much worse than banning gadgets. I think it's telling of the iPhone/iPods competitors that they have to be "banned" IMO.
@Alex: Where is BillG's "bad behavior"? Bill telling the wife that he does not want her to get an iPhone is not bad behavior. I tell the GF many things I would not like her to do, not spend all my money, not cheat, don't drive my cars (she is a very bad driver), don't kick the dog, don't burn down the house, etc. Is that "bad behavior" because I told her not to do these things?
Trying to equate BG and SJ "bad behavior" is absurd. How can you believe that Bill saying "don't buy an iPhone" is the same as Steve abandoning his child, possibly letting the child go hungry homeless, etc and then making us, the average person pay for it (welfare through our taxes - hey Steve Jobs, thanks for stealing more money from my pocket and not reimbursing us even though now you are a multi-billionaire).
So I guess when I was a child and wanted a Commodore 128 but my parents would not buy it for me, that was the same kind of "abuse" as if they let me starve, put me out in the cold Ohio winters without clothing, etc? Are you that much an apologist for the Great Leader?
There's nothing wrong with brand loyalty among employee/owner families. Like someone else said, you try to give back to that which gave to you. My dad worked for a particular paint company for most of his adult life, and I'll be damned if I'll buy a different brand of paint as long as I live within their market.
SLUT...
there "I" said it...
AHAHAH!
@NOHONE
That's pretty bad, but try to find a credible source. Wikipedia is nice, but it's not a valid source.
Nohone, your first comment was completely unnecessary. If you wanted to say, "what Bill is doing is not that bad" then you could have said so without dragging up an unrelated case of 'bad behaviour' to contrast it against. But your second comment was simply disgusting, and demonstrates what a misogynistic prick you are. "Oh no, you're a woman, you can't drive", "don't do this", "don't do that", "don't think, let me tell you exactly what to do" - your GF ought to run away from you as fast as she can before she gets locked into a relationship with a control freak who regards others as intellectually incapable of running their own lives. "Don't burn down the house" - simply disgraceful. Oh yes, ha ha, look at my GF, she is so stupid that if I don't remind her, then she will burn down the house.
The fact that you think there is nothing wrong with Bill Gates ordering his wife not to own an iPhone, simply reinforces and emphasises your misogynistic attitude, and your inability to understand that wives and girlfriends are HUMAN BEINGS who are just as capable and smart as you are, and ARE NOT an inferior partner in realtionships. They do not require a man to tell them how to live life.
Don't Microsoft have non-voting shares in Apple. Why the hell would Bill care? Apple does well. Microsoft does well. Bill does well.
One big happy coopetition.
@Vanilla
OK, little boy/girl. First off, you need to read what I said and laugh a little bit. Do you really think I need to tell somebody not to kick the dog? To not set fire to the house? I was doing it for dramatic effect. There is a rule about driving my cars, and that is because she drives a Smart, while I drive BMWs. The only time she did drive it, she was not used to the difference in power and size and put it in the ditch - not a reflection of her intelligence (she actually has a PHD in literature). She is one of the strongest women I have ever met, and if she were to read what I wrote, she would laugh about it. Finally, not everybody has a "Leave It To Beaver" type of relationship, some may be a little more "alternative", and what is right for you may not be right for everybody else.
As for dragging up issues of somebody's past, for somebody who has defended Apple quite a bit around here while trashing MS every chance you get, you should know all too well that many Apple fans (not specifically you) have no problem bringing up anything negative about the past of about BillG, SteveB, etc. But here we read attacks against the Gate's family and those are OK, your absence of criticism of your fellow Apple fan calling Melinda a "SLUT", that is OK. But somebody brings up something from Dear Leader's past, that is just horrible and an end must be put to it now.
@iLuver - That is just wrong and gross
-1
Yeah, the iPhones and iPods will be banned until their kids become teenagers, and get money of their own. Then they'll be buying whatever they want and Bill will lose his influence in terms of the little gadgets.
Talk about insecurities.
iPhone's are what the "help" use .. besides wouldn't the Gate's use something more security capable.. along the lines of the president's blackberry ..
Perhaps she could do with a husband with the right contacts who could develop a phone or an mp3 player which are suitable for her needs.
Oh boy the fukin terror and suffering some of us have to go through!
it's wrong attitude to run a windows firm, they should allow it at home thus they know what they could learn from it.
When elderly Bill wonders why his kids don't speak to him, send him a copy of this post.
Just dont expect to copy and paste that article from the iPhone. If it wasn't so damn gimped I would consider an iPhone, but for now my HTC Fuze with WinMo 6.1 is suffice. Besides I enjoy listening to Wu-Tang and Gang Starr on my bluetooth wireless stereo headphones. The office wouldn't appreciate the aforementioned blasting from my office.
HTC Fuze? Windows mobile 6.1? are you serious? the iphone might not be much but the HTC fuze sucks balls lol, no wonder you could grab one brand new out of ebay without a contract way cheaper than from AT&T. I could live just fine without copy and paste and no blue tooth headphone support but no way in hell i'll pay AT&T $30 a month to use mobile IE, Love Xbox 360 and a few microsoft products but windows mobile is not one of them, am hoping they do better with WM7.
The FUZE is $450ish new on eBay, double the subsidized price.
"Snitch please" (haha sounds like the edited sample to the Xzibit & Snoop track from way back, consider changing your name son) direct me to site on Ebay where I can get a cheaper HTC Fuze. C'mon man with all due respect HTC is doing an exceptional job with their hardware, software, and exterior design. My first HTC phone was the Wizard and I fell in love with all the versatility and the ability to modify the phone to your will. Currently on my phone I'm using TCPMP to play all kind of video files (even flv files I downloaded from Daily Motion), Skype, Palringo (multichat application), Pocket Nester, MSS Converter, FM Radio, Mobile Manager for Netflix (since I can't do that shit for some reason on the XBOX 360), and Skyfire. I can also and have used my phone in class paired with a bluetooth keyboard to take notes with Word. I got an 8gb card from here (dealextreme.com) for about 17 bucks which I use for all kinds of media. I'm curious to know what phone you use/like?
@DJManoloco, I just don't like paying $30 for a data plan if i can't even use the device for web browsing, and i can't believe you call yourself DJManoloco lol, let me guess you think you have the coolest name on the block lol, DJManoloco am spanish son and DJManoloco sounds gay as hell, where the f*ck you from? kentucky? how old are you 12? lol. DJManoloca that's not only wack and gay it's kind of funny too.
@Snitch
Jesus man, whats with the personally attacks? People could go around calling you something like "Snitch the Bitch" but they don't because they have a sense of respect. And yeah you can browse the internet on the HTC Fuze, and you have a choice, unlike on the iPhone, between IE Mobile and Opera; and there are even more browsers too.
I mean where to start with Snitch. First you didn't answer my question, so I question whether you thoroughly read my post. Secondly as stated by Cloud, you can use IE, Opera, Skyfire, and Iris (and maybe others I am not aware of) to browse the internet on the HTC Fuze and other WinMo devices. I use Skyfire to watch video on Hulu and Youtube all the time. Third what the f**k is up with the personal attacks? I'm giving you pointers for changing your name. Snitch is not a good name to have period. You had to resort to some stupid ass sh*t by calling me "gay", which I don't approve of since it's not PC. And you say I'm the twelve year old. By the way I'm from Los Angeles. I'm Mexican American and my Belizean friend gave me the name DJManoloco in junior high because I was an amateur pugilist and I spinned BDP, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Eric B and Rakim, ATCQ, etc back in the days. Oh yeah and I'm on the way back to grad school. That's it I'm no longer going to address you Snitch, waste of my time. I'm killing it right there.
Billions of dollars....iphone.....billions of dollars....iphone....
I think this woman made the right call.
AHAHAHAH!!
All the monies in the world cant make her happy...
She knows she wants that Apple C*** inside or her!!
AHAHAHAH
in case you are wondering C*** = core
AHAHAH!! what did u think i meant?
If you have billions of dollars, a $200 iPhone and the monthly bill isn't exactly going to break the bank.
Adults, remember to put tantrums and other negative and annoying behaviors on extinction we must ignore them. Children like to act out for negative attention and will continue with such behaviors if acknowledged. Thank you for your attention to this matter. And now to our regularly scheduled program.
I laugh at people who laugh at their own jokes... (iLuver)
She really isn't missing out on much.
Agree!
Really, it's just a device. Millions of people live happy productive lives without an Apple device.
I think she'll be OK.
The reality is she probably wants one so she doesn't have to put with a-hole friends fingering their phones in front of her.
A small price to pay to be married to a billionaire...
Seriously! If I were her, I would just go out on a shopping trip, buy HTC, and have them whip up a tasty mobile that fits my needs.
Or rather, a small price not to pay. If I could choose between an iPhone and any other cell phone in the world in infinite supply, I certainly wouldn't bother with the iPhone.
I took this as a joke article but I bet the fanboys finally feel vindicated somehow over their unfortunate decision to get locked into a seriously over-priced contract. And with a phone that gets boring after the first 2 hours of use.
Finger-friendly my ass!
Oh, sure, the PHONE is boring. But downloading apps, it's like a party in my hands!
/fanboyism
Until I get my Nokia N97, that is...
@RemDX
Proctologadget is THAT way.
i don't believe this should even be an article.
It's Vogue. It's not like it's a serious magazine anyway.