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The Daily Roundup for 05.13.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Bill Gates talks about the last time he saw Steve Jobs
Last night Bill Gates was interviewed by Charlie Rose on 60 Minutes. Though the interview covered many subjects, it inevitably turned to Gates' relationship with Steve Jobs. In the part of the interviewed that aired, Gates understandably teared up when he talked about the last time he saw Jobs, at his home in May of 2011. When Rose asked Gates what they talked about, Gates replied, "...what we'd learned, families... anything." Gates also elaborated on their relationship over the years in unaired footage of the interview that is available to watch online.
Charlie Rose interviews 'Bill Gates 2.0' on 60 Minutes: the man after Microsoft
Last night's 60 Minutes gave a solid block of screen time to Microsoft founder Bill Gates, with a focus on his efforts to tackle preventable diseases through the Gates Foundation. The show looked at how the Foundation is using the ethos of a technology company to meet humanitarian challenges, such as its recent plumbing-free toilet competition to improve sanitation around the world, and the development of a thermos that can keep 200 vaccines cool for 50 days using a single block of ice. Separately, Gates also spoke about the late Steve Jobs and how the two men effectively "grew up together" as rivals. 60 Minutes interviewer Charlie Rose noted that Gates will "long be remembered" for his philanthropy, whereas Jobs "did not have time to do that." There are two excerpts from the show after the break, but we can't guarantee how well they'll work on mobile devices so you may want to go straight to the source links below.
Bill Gates: iPad users are frustrated because they "can't type, can't create documents"
A long-time champion of tablet computing, one has to wonder how former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates feels given that Apple seemingly swooped in out of nowhere and quickly claimed the tablet market as its own in 2010. Indeed, the latest data from IDC indicates that the iPad amassed a 39.6 percent market share during the first quarter of 2013. In contrast, tablets from Microsoft accounted for just a 1.8 percent share. While Apple views the tablet and PC markets as two separate entities, Microsoft takes the opposing view. During a CNBC interview this morning, Gates continued to toe the party line insofar as he praised the benefits of Microsoft's tablets and Windows 8 while explaining that iPad users are frustrated because they have trouble typing and creating documents. With Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to gain share in what has been dominated by the iPad-type device. But a lot of those users are frustrated, they can't type, they can't create documents. They don't have Office there. So we're providing them something with the benefits they've seen that have made that a big category, but without giving up what they expect in a PC. As for frustration with respect to creating documents and the lack of Office, booming iPad and iPad mini sales suggest that most folks find the iPad feature set to be perfectly fine. In fact, Apple's Pages is the top paid iPad app of all time while Keynote and Numbers check in at number 10 and 11 respectively. Clearly, many consumers are, in fact, typing and creating documents on the iPad, just outside the familiar confines of Microsoft Office. As for any chance Apple may one day merge its tablet and laptop offerings, I think Tim Cook has been rather clear about where Apple stands on that. During an earnings conference call from last April, the Apple CEO quipped, "You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those aren't going to be pleasing to the user."
'80s throwback photo of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates (Updated)
You don't see too many photos of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates together, and you definitely won't see many more like this. This photo was posted a few years ago by Minimal Mac and is a classic that I've never noticed before. I absolutely love that '80s Breakfast Club-inspired cut on Jobs and the always-present nerdiness of Gates. Other than a credit to Croatian designer Alexander Pieri, background details surrounding the photo are not known. Update: Thanks to All About Steve Jobs which pointed out that the photo is from the August 1991 edition of Fortune that celebrates 10 years of the PC. The article has a great conversation with the two personal computing giants.
Why Bill Gates said no to buying Sega, according to former MS exec
Before there was an original Xbox, rumors ran rampant that Microsoft was looking to purchase Sega as a means to get into the console business. Joachim Kempin – who worked at Microsoft from 1983 until 2003 and rose to senior VP – says that Bill Gates ultimately decided not to purchase Sega because he didn't think they could "eventually stop Sony.""There was always talk maybe we buy SEGA or something like that; that never materialised, but we were actually able to license them what they call Windows CE, the younger brother of Windows, to run on their system and make that their platform," Kempin told IGN. "But for Bill [Gates] this wasn't enough, he didn't think that SEGA had enough muscle to eventually stop Sony so we did our own Xbox thing."Of course, we all know the ending to this story. Sega eventually got out of the console game after the Dreamcast and has endured a few ups and downs over the last year. Microsoft has since established one of the top consoles on the market with the Xbox 360, which has dominated NPD charts for the last 22 months straight.
Daily Update for December 31, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Gates' children won't own Apple products
Telegraph reports that Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft's former boss Bill Gates, noted that her kids are still forbidden from owning Apple products in a recent Radio 4 broadcast. It's been known for some time that the Gates children were not allowed to purchase Apple gear such as the iPod, but since Microsoft's own Zune has bit the dust, we thought that might have changed a bit. Not so, according to the latest update. Not that it's rough to be a child of former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. Being the offspring of one of the most wealthy individuals in the world isn't exactly a bad hand to be dealt. But to be born into the tech world and yet forbidden to own gadgets like the iPad and iPhone can't be an easy thing to explain to friends. Of course, if last year's rumors that young Jennifer Gates uses an iPhone are true, it looks like the sacred seal may already be broken.
Bill Gates already has a Surface and you don't (video)
Being the founder of Microsoft certainly has its advantages, as well as its downsides. Case in point: the video interview Microsoft released this morning, starring none other than Bill Gates himself talking about the world of Windows 8. On the positive side, Gates reveals he's already got his own soon-to-be-released Microsoft Surface RT -- he calls it "an unbelievably great product," unsurprisingly -- with a black keyboard. On the less than positive side, despite being out of the CEO seat at the company, Gates still has to do interviews like the one found after the break. You'd think he could just get Ballmer to put on his old Crazy Eddie's impersonation! We've dropped that notorious video after the break as well, for comparison sake.
Gates Foundation collaborates with Manchester University to develop potable toilet water
It's an unsettling thought, having to drink water from that bowl in your bathroom, but if the need ever arose, wouldn't you be glad to know it was clean and safe? Dr. Sarah Haigh, a researcher into the properties of nanomaterials at Manchester University, is currently pursuing this goal with a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. With the help of nanomaterials and bacteria, Haigh believes that hydrogen can be easily extracted from not only the water, but human waste itself, which could then be processed into clean water. Should the system work effectively, Haigh stands to receive an additional $1,000,000 grant to further her research and develop inexpensive purification systems for use in nations without modern infrastructure. And you thought nothing worthwhile would come from purchasing Microsoft Office.
Bill Gates's original PC game now on iPhone
Donkey, or more properly DONKEY.BAS, was computer game co-written by Bill Gates in 1981. It was included in early versions of the PC-DOS operating system and had players drive a car down a street while avoiding donkeys. Why there were so many donkeys on the road is a mystery. Today, Donkey is available for the iPhone. It's a fun example of an 8-bit game with chunky graphics and super simple action. Tap to change lanes. Take it from an old fogie: Donkey is fun and worth US$0.99. You wouldn't have your precious Zelda without it. [Via Gizmodo]
Daily Update for January 30, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Daily Update for January 25, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Bill Gates discusses Steve Jobs, iBooks and education in new interview
When you think of Apple, you may think of their longtime rival in the OS space, Microsoft. When you think of Mac OS, you may think of Windows (drawing comparisons between the two since Windows debuted), and when you think of Steve Jobs, you often think of Bill Gates. The two founders of two giant tech companies have often been described as binary stars in the tech world. It seems only fitting that in his recent interview with Yahoo! and ABC News, the former Microsoft head spent some time talking about his colleague Jobs and Apple's new push into education. Gates had nothing but pleasant things to say about Jobs and his relationship with the Apple co-founder over the years. "He and I always enjoyed talking. He would throw some things out, you know, some stimulating things. We'd talk about the other companies that have come along. We talked about our families and how lucky we'd both been in terms of the women we married. It was great relaxed conversation." Host Bill Weir also asked Gates about Apple's recent iBooks 2 and iTunes U announcement. Though he didn't talk about the iPad or iBooks specifically, Gates did talk about the promise of this new way of educating students. He said several times that we are still in the early days of this transition from traditional learning to digital learning. The interview is available on Yahoo News and is broken up into short segments so you can choose which sections you'd like to watch.
MIT developing educational MMO funded by Gates Foundation
Is gaming the answer to the math- and science-related apathy plaguing American school kids? Some folks at MIT think so, and a new press blurb outlines how the institute is developing an MMO designed to further science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. "In contrast to the way that (STEM) is currently taught in secondary schools –- which often results in students becoming disengaged and disinterested in the subjects at an early age –- educational games like the one to be developed give students the chance to explore STEM topics in a way that deepens their knowledge while also developing 21st-century skills," the release says. The title is being developed in collaboration with Filament Games, and MIT's Eric Klopfer says that it will be a powerful educational tool. "This genre of games is uniquely suited to teaching the nature of science inquiry," he explains, "because they provide collaborative, self-directed learning situations. Players take on the roles of scientists, engineers and mathematicians to explore and explain a robust virtual world." The project is being financed by a $3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Walter Isaacson reportedly to expand Jobs biography
Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson spoke recently at a meeting hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California, and said that he very likely will add an addendum to the already 630-page biography of Apple's co-founder. "This is the first or second draft" of the book, he reportedly said. "It's not the final draft." One obvious place the book could expand, according to Isaacson, is on the period after Jobs' death earlier this year, and the response around the country and the world from nearly everyone associated with Apple. Isaacson also says he's thinking about doing a more annotated version, including more details on the life Jobs shared with Isaacson over the last few years. Isaacson also talked a little bit about Jobs' input on the book -- he specifically asked to help design the cover, and Isaacson was happy to oblige. And Isaacson says that during all of his research and their talks, the one thing Jobs really wanted him never to speak about was philanthropy; Jobs obviously wanted that part of his life to remain out of the public eye. But that didn't stop him, Isaacson remembers, from poking a little fun at Bill Gates' famous giving: "Bill Gates was better at philanthropy because he didn't care about making great products," Isaacson quotes Jobs as saying to him.
CNET details the death of Microsoft's Courier and Bill Gates' 'allergic reaction'
For those that follow the twists and turns of the technology news business, the Microsoft Courier has practically become the stuff of legend. First leaked on Gizmodo in the fall of 2009, the device was never even officially confirmed by Microsoft until it axed the project in April of last year. And while we wound up learning quite a bit about the dual-screen tablet despite that lack of official information, we never really got the full story of its rise and fall within the company. Now CNET's Jay Greene has published an extensive look at the device's short history, which he says was "pieced together through interviews with 18 current and former Microsoft executives, as well as contractors and partners who worked on the project." The story, as you might expect, is fascinating -- read on for some of the details.
A history of Steve Jobs at the D Conference
Over the years, Steve Jobs has made several appearances at the D Conference. He's shared the stage with Walt Mossberg, Bill Gates and others in the now iconic red chairs. AllThingsD has compiled a brief history of Steve's remarkable moments at the event, some of which are described below. Tablet denial In 2003, Steve took the stage the day after Bill Gates enthusiastically described the tablet computer's future. Steve was less optimistic, saying, "We looked at the tablet, and we think it's gonna fail." In hindsight, we know he was right. The tablet, as Bill described it, has not worked. Apple's version -- to understate it -- has. The Apple PDA The following year, in 2004, Steve dismissed the notion of an Apple-branded PDA. In fact, it was during this appearance that Steve uttered my favorite Jobs quote: "I'm as proud of the products that we have not done as I am of the products we have done." I've said this before, but Apple's patience and dedication to careful contemplation is among its greatest assets. Steve and Bill, together again It was the first time the two shared a stage in 20 years, so all eyes were glued to the D stage when Bill Gates and Steve Jobs sat down together for a chat with Walt Mossberg. The two talked about each their legacies and each company's history. It's a compelling video. There's more, of course, and we urge you to view the full list. Jobs certainly is a gifted speaker.
Bill Gates' kids 'aren't deprived,' they have Zunes
Bill Gates doesn't give too many interviews, but the Daily Mail's Caroline Graham sure managed to get a lot out of him during their recent sitdown. Gates spent much of the time discussing his global health foundation, which, according to him, has become "full-time work for the rest of my life." And, while he acknowledged that he's still involved with Microsoft on a "part-time" basis, he reaffirmed that he has no desire to return to the throne. Does this mean he's finally ready to lift his household's notorious Apple embargo and allow his kids to own iPods? Not exactly: "They have the Windows equivalent. They have a Zune music player, which is a great Windows portable player. They are not deprived children." Hear that? Bill's kids aren't in need! In fact, they even earn allowances and "do chores," just like your kids. Sure, their pops may have billions of dollars stowed away under his mattress, but he says his offspring will only receive a "minuscule portion" of that fortune. Cue the violins.
Apple's value is more than Microsoft and Intel combined
Apple's market cap is now greater than Microsoft and Intel combined. When the market closed on Friday, Microsoft had a market cap of US$201.59 billion and Intel had a cap of $115.21 billion. Combined, they have a market cap of $316.8 billion which is just below the $317.60 billion of Apple. This may the first time Apple has exceeded the powerful Wintel platform. As MacDailNews points out, no one can forget what Bill Gates said about Steve Jobs in an unpublished 1998 interview conducted by Robert X. Cringely for Vanity Fair. Then the CEO of Microsoft, Gates wondered, "What I can't figure out is why he (Steve Jobs) is even trying (to be the CEO of Apple)? He knows he can't win." At that point, Microsoft was trading at $29 and had a market cap of $250 billion. Apple was down to a lowly $7.25 and had a market cap of $6 billion. Steve Jobs had resumed the helm as CEO of Apple and was looking to turn things around. I'd say he has been successful, wouldn't you?
