BillGates
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Let's face it: Steve will have to step down sooner or later, too
With Gates' bombshell announcement last week that he will be stepping down from his full-time role at Microsoft in 2008 to spend more time with his Gates and Melinda Foundation charity org, I finally came to wonder: how much longer does Steve have at Apple? Both companies were started around the same time and have helped shape the industry as we see it today. That has to be exhausting work, especially for someone like Jobs whose design and management obsessions are now the stuff of legends. Steve already stepped down from his other company, Pixar, so he could spend more time at Apple - but I'm wondering how long that's going to last, and what it means for Apple's future.Plenty of articles are analyzing the impact of Gates leaving Microsoft, as it's a slightly different situation. Bill is their Senior Software Architect, not the CEO - that's Ballmer, and he'll apparently be staying on and doing the same, shall we say, 'bang-up job' he's been doing since he took that throne. But Steve Jobs is Apple's CEO, and famous for the amount of control he exacts over bringing his the company's visions to life. So what would a two-week's notice from Steve mean to Apple and its burgeoning market?Honestly, I don't know, and since I am but a lowly blogger, I'll leave it up to those six-figure analysts who 'are people who know people' to pen those pieces. But before those analysts start earning their keep, TUAW wants to hear your thoughts, dear readers: what do you think it will mean for the future of Apple and their products when Steve needs to call it a day?
Gates to pull back on role at Microsoft in 2008
This isn't specifically Mac news, but it is a name we all know well. Bill Gates has announced that he will be stepping down from his full time role at Microsoft, something that I certainly didn't see coming. So, who will take over? Ballmer? We should be so lucky (think of the comedy potential). No, it looks like the torch has been passed to Ray Ozzie. So long, Bill, and thanks for all the fish.
Gates to spend more time with Bono
Microsoft announced today that Bill Gates will be transitioning out of his current role at Microsoft effective July 2008, though he will maintain an advisory role in a part-time capacity. After his departure, Gates plans to work full time on his chartable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates, his wife Melinda, and U2 lead singer Bono were jointly awarded Time's Persons of the Year in 2005 for the foundation's humanitarian efforts. Speaking of the move, the webslinger richest man in the world had this to say: "I believe with great wealth comes great responsibility - the responsibility to give back to society and make sure those resources are given back in the best possible way, to those in need ... It's not a retirement, it's a reordering of my priorities." New responsibilities were also relegated to Ray Ozzie -- who will become chief software architect -- and Craig Mundy -- who will take on the role of chief research and strategy officer. Mundy and Ozzie, realizing the comic nature of their names, plan to begin shooting a buddy comedy -- appropriately titled Ozzie and Mundy -- in the fall of 2009.* * That last bit is a joke and not true. Best of luck to Ozzie, Mundy, and Gates.
Bill Gates dropping the day-to-day MSFT grind
Microsoft announced today that Bill Gates -- who's been steering the Microsoft ship for over 30 years -- will be transitioning out of Microsoft, beginning with leaving his day-to-day duties behind to concentrate on playing more Xbox his charitable foundation. Sure, Bill just went to his first E3, and he doesn't have a constant presence in Microsoft's relatively detached Xbox division, but we do know he fields at least five to ten e-mails a week on their gaming plans. I mean, that's gotta count for something. While we're not sure if Sir Bill is a Joystiq reader (yeah, yeah, yeah, we know he reads Engadget), we'd like to think he stops by every once in a while. Maybe he even flames us in the comments (is that you Bill-ionaire360?). Now that he won't be burdened by the drudgery of the day-to-day, maybe he'll kill some time kicking it at Xbox HQ, or rocking Halo 3 at Bungie's new digs. No? Alright, we'll settle for just reading Joystiq daily. See you on XBL, Bill![Via Engadget]
Bill Gates quitting day-to-day duties at Microsoft
We've been harping on Bill Gates and company ever since we learned how to add "M$" to our clever newsgroup diatribes, and he's been doing his geeky thing for much longer than that. But after more than 30 years at Microsoft, Bill Gates says he's going to quit his day-to-day Microsoft duties in 2008 in order to concentrate on the charitable work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He'll stick around as chairman, and we're sure we haven't seen the last of him in a broader sense, but he's not going to be doing any more software architectin', and probably won't have as much time for continuing his series of Engadget interviews. Don't worry Bill, we won't forget about you. We just hope those charitable efforts don't take you away from your true passion: reading Engadget daily like every good knighted billionaire ought.
Sony's Stringer reveals "obsession" over Xbox 360
Making it perfectly clear that even the mightiest CEOs sit up at night fretting over their competitors' products, his highness Sir Howard Stringer recently confessed to having an "obsession" with Microsoft's Xbox 360 after inadvertently mentioning the PS3-rival in an interview with the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg. Stringer's admission followed what can only be described as a classic Freudian slip, in which he substituted the words "Xbox 360" for "X-Men III" when bragging about the success of Sony Pictures' The Da Vinci Code. After some prodding from Mossberg, Stringer even went on to pay Microsoft founder Bill Gates something of a backhanded compliment, admiring Gates' ability to put a positive spin on setbacks like the constantly-slipping Vista release date while still managing to take shots at the PS3 for its own delayed arrival. So, the obvious question that now presents itself is: who would win in a fight, Gates or Stringer? Comments are on and awaiting your thoughtful analysis.
Stringer: The Xbox 360 is an "obsession"
Well, you know what they say about what to do when you have nothing nice to say ... erm, say that the competing gaming platform (in this case, the 360) is an "obsession"?That's exactly what Sony CEO Howard Stringer had to offer in an interview with Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal recently. While sharing how The Da Vinci Code from Sony beat up on "X-Men 3" (aka The Last Stand) over in Europe, he seemed to mistakenly throw in "Xbox 3" in the stead of Fox's great summer blockbuster hope. Following Mossberg's correction, Stringer is reported to have retorted, laughing, "There's an obsession!"We don't know if he's referring to the media's obsession with the corporate gaming rivalry, his own obsession with the console that would dethrone the PlayStation, or some combination of the two (irony really doesn't help here), but he does seem to at least outwardly admire Bill Gates' salesmanship (as well as his hypocrisy in delaying Windows Vista while lambasting the PS3 delay). Of course, a lot of supposed compliments could go both ways, so we've provided a few handy links below to check out what other "nice" things hardware execs have had to say about their competitors lately. We're sure it's all in good fun.[Thanks, JC & SickNic; also via GameDaily BIZ]See also: Nice words -- "Thanks," "flattered," and "flattering." Not-so-nice words -- "Plagiarism," "no need for PC," "not mainstream for most games," and "same old experiences with new graphics."
Yes Martha, he looks Bill Gates-ish
When Apple rolled out the new ad campaign, a number of you sent in the tips (thanks!). I hopped online and saw the "virus" ad, which is what Apple apparently wants you to see first. And like most of us, I saw a guy who reminded me of Bill Gates. It's not exact by any means, and there's some guilt by association to be had here (can you mutter Windows PC without thinking of the guy?). Give him credit, Bill does a great job of being Nerd Prime. The actor in the commercial, aside from doing a terrible Bill G-money imitation, does a great job of being an understated Windows geek. OK, so the guy looks as much like Gates as the smiley on Apple's Get A Mac page looks like Microsoft's Bob icon... Now let's see those awesome parody videos/comebacks, Windows lovers!
Steve Jobs: capitalist, Bill Gates: philanthropist
Say what you will about Bill Gates (and I am sure you can say many things), but the man is concerned about the world, and he puts his money where his mouth is. Using the Gates Foundation, Bill has given away more money than either you or I will ever make in our life times (unless you're Bill Gates and you're reading this in your massive mountaintop retreat). But what about his Steveness?Leander Kahney, of Wired News, wonders if Steve deserves his rock-star-like status, given that he isn't known for his charitable works (Leander grants that Jobs might give anonymously). Sure, you have to admire Jobs for having a vision and sticking to it, but shouldn't Gates get more credit for his work?What do you think, readers: are we cutting Steve too much slack, or does he deserve to be put on such a high pedestal?Thanks, AJ Ballou.
Bill Gates runs like a girl
G4TV may be a shell of what TechTV was, but Attack of the Show still has the power to make me laugh out loud (that's LOL for you Internet addicts out there).They recently produced this little skit (Warning: it plays automatically) that spoofs a Stevenote and knocks both Bill Gates and Google. How can you not like it?The Steve Jobs' impression could use some fine tuning but it is still darn funny.Thanks, Jeffbot.
Who has bankrupted more companies?
So Engadget has another great interview with Bill Gates up, but there's this one part where Bill takes a low blow at Apple. Peter asks: "So you don't worry about Apple opening things up so an OEM like Sony could offer OS X?" And Bill replies, "Well, the last time Apple went out and licensed their operating system to people they changed their minds and they bankrupted all the people who had been involved in that, and I don't know if we'll see another round of Apple tantalizing people with that or not." Meanwhile, back here in reality: how many technologies and business moves have Microsoft backed out of that resulted in the bankrupting of regular people? I mean, hello kettle! It's a good interview though, so make sure you check it out.
Engadget chats with Gates; 360, PS3, HD DVD
Engadget had a chance to sit down with the big man himself: Bill Gates, head of Microsoft and the proud papa of the Xbox 360. There have been plenty of huge events in gaming since they interviewed him last May. Good thing they did the interview, 'cause they ask Billy G. all the right questions: "There were some [Xbox 360] shortages this holiday season." "There's been some speculation about the Xbox 360 as a platform for IPTV... What do you see as the 360's potential as a means for delivering video to the home?" "What sort of percentage of market share do you think you have to have by the end of this year?" "Are we going to see Halo 3 launch around the time of the launch of the PS3?" "Do you risk fragmenting the Xbox 360 as a platform by introducing an HD DVD drive?" Head over to find out all the answers, as well as questions about Apple's switch to Intel, the new Treos, and more.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Engadget Podcast 058 - 01.04.2006
While it's been a whirlwind few weeks in the world of the Engadget podcast, the flavor is back and ready for your CES consumption. Today's first episode of the podcast rocks out with more than your classic podcast favs like Ryan and Peter; today's podcast has interviews with everyone from Engadget contributors on the front lines to the exhibitors behind velvet ropes at the Digital Experience. We talk with some of the folks shaping CES including Microsoft's main Windows Mobile man John Starkweather, and OQO's Jory Bell. Clocking in just shy of an hour, this episode is the first of many we'll be recording here at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas! Get the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3) [RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3). [MP3] Download the show (MP3). [AAC] Download the show (enhanced AAC) [OGG] Download the show (OGG). [Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley! Hosts Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Producer Randall Bennett Music J J J - Jobs that Require Headphones Format 58:16, 26.6 MB, MP3 Program 00:36 Welcome to CES 2006. 03:31 CES Unveiled: ROKR E2 06:41 GigaBeat S-series 08:56 Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players unveiled 10:10 External HD-DVD for Xbox 360 11:40 CES2006.engadget.com 12:53 Barb on Sony's Press Preview 23:23 John Starkweather from Microsoft on the GigaBeat 24:45 Jack from Sony Ericcson and the Sony Walkman Phone 26:08 Tom from Sanyo, talking about the tapeless 720p HD1 27:23 Paul Boutin on the Bill Gates keynote 38:21 In-depth interview: Jory Bell and Dr. Richard Pocklington from OQO talk about the Model 01 getting Tablet PC OS LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (OGG) LISTEN (AAC) Call up the Podcast at: 1-888-ENGADGET
