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Software king Bill Gates turns 52
‘A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer.’ -Microsoft vision statement. With this vision the biggest computer conglomerate was founded in 1975. Bill Gates, 20, with his childhood friend, Paul Allen, 22, founded an empire called Microsoft Corp., currently valued at USD 50 billion.
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Mini Kumari
‘A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer.’ -Microsoft vision statement.
With this vision the biggest computer conglomerate was founded in 1975. Bill Gates, 20, with his childhood friend, Paul Allen, 22, founded an empire called Microsoft Corp., currently valued at USD 50 billion. Bill Gates, whose real name is William Henry Gates Jr. was born on October 28th 1955 in Seattle, Washington. His father William Henry Gates Sr. was a prominent lawyer and mother Mary Maxwell Gates was on Board of Directors of the first Interstate Bank. He has one elder sister Kristianne and a younger sister called Libby. Gates is the fourth of his name in his family, but is known as William Gates III or "Trey" because his father had dropped his own "III" suffix.
Early clicks
He alongwith other school friends Paul Gardner Allen, Ric Weiland, and Kent Evans formed the Lakeside Programming Group in 1968. It was at Lakeside that he developed his eagerness for programming computers in Basic.
Later in 1972, Gates formed a venture with Paul Allen, called Traf-O-Data, to make traffic counters based on the Intel 8008 processor. The company did a brisk business and they made USD 20,000 in the first year but profits slowed when Gates’ age was discovered. The joint venture ended soon after he left for college.
After completing studies at Lakeside School, Gates enrolled for a pre-law degree from Harvard in 1973 minus any study plan. It was at Harvard that Gates met his future business partner Steve Ballmer, whom he later appointed as the CEO of Microsoft. The two young men stayed in close contact even after leaving Lakeside. Eventually, Allen moved in nearby area in order to act on some of their programming ideas. Allen encouraged Gates to open a software company with him, but Gates remained unsure until Allen came to him with an issue of Popular Electronics.
The cover story in the magazine about an early personal computer called the Altair changed the career path of Gates while studying at Harvard. "The thing that Paul and I had been talking about happening was happening," he says, "and we`re sitting there going, Oh no! It`s happening without us!" Gates realised that a huge industry was being created in the field of personal computers and there was a huge market for potential programmers. The authorities at Harvard were not happy about these activities of Gates. He gave all his attention to writing programmes and studying computers at night and in the morning slept during the classes.
Meanwhile, Gates and Allen sold the Altair folks a version of BASIC, which they had written without ever having seen an Altair. The program worked and the boys got a contract of working as full time programmers for a small company called MITS, which closed within few years. Harvard brought him up on disciplinary charges for running a business out of his dorm room. This is how Gates took leave from Harvard after two years without completing his degree.
History created by a bunch of programmers
With Paul Allen, the duo formed Micro-soft (Microcomputer and Software) in November 12, 1975. With employee strength of 3 people, Paul Allen, Bill Gates and Ric Weiland, the annual income of the venture was USD 16,005. Within a year the hyphen was dropped and on November 26, 1976 the tradename "Microsoft" was registered officially.After formal registration of Microsoft, Gates says that every employee had to handle every type of work irrespective of the job that came in. They did everything from receiving a phone call for an order, to packing and dispatching it by mail. In the early 1980’s Microsoft developed and released its version of graphical user interface (GUI) and named it ‘Windows’. Soon in 1990, Windows version 3.0 was released which sold a record over 10 million copies in the first two years and gave Microsoft dominance in the operating system sales. Bill Gates’ & Melinda Ann French’s marriage
On January 1st 1994, Gates married Melinda French, who was a Manager with Microsoft. “We dated for a number of years off and on, and eventually, when it was clear to both of us that we thought we were both good partners to one another," she said, "We were on a pretty special trip to California and he proposed to me then." The couple have three children, Jennifer Katharine Gates (1996), Rory John Gates (1999) and Phoebe Adele Gates (2002).
House in the hills
The sprawling family home in Medina, Washington situated on the side of a hill overlooking Lake Washington, is thought to be one of the most expensive modern century houses in the world. According to local records of 2006, the total assessed value of the property (land and house) is USD 200 million, and the annual property tax is USD 991,000. Sprawled across more than 66,000 sq ft, there are four building levels with seven bedrooms, 24 bathrooms, six kitchens, and six fireplaces. Much of size of the house is camouflaged as it is built underground into the hill. There is a swimming pool, a grand staircase, a theater, a library, a formal dining room, a reception hall, conference facilities, offices, an exercise room, outdoor sports courts, and of course loads of technology. The software giant’s house is much like an operating system itself with 64 kms of optical fibre spread throughout the house, linking computer servers. Touch-sensitive pads control lighting, music, and climate in every section. Visitors are given small electronic pins to wear to maintain the identity and location of the person in the house. Lights and other settings adjust automatically. Floors throughout the house (and the driveway) are heated. Rich yet humble
He may be the richest man on earth, but there is an air of simplicity and it’s his feel-at-ease-persona, which is rare in most billionaires. Gates’ has been No. 1 on the Forbes list of ‘The World Richest People’ from 1997 to 2007 with a fortune of USD 57 bn (it had crossed USD 100 bn in 1999, with the media referring him as ‘centibillionaire’). With all the fortune in his hands, Bill Gates lifestyle epitomises minimalism to the core.
He once said in an interview that he wished he were not as rich as it brings unwanted attention to him and his family. In fact, he is quite a giving person when it comes to computers, Internet and any kind of funding. Some years back, he visited Chicago`s Einstein Elementary School and announced grants benefiting Chicago`s schools and museums where he donated a total of USD 110,000, a bunch of computers, and provided Internet connectivity to number of schools. Secondly, Bill Gates donated USD 38 million for the building of a computer institute at Stanford University. Gates plans to give away 95% of all his earnings when he is old and gray. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
With all the money at his disposal, Bill Gates switched to philanthropy in early age. He is the world`s biggest single philanthropist. On June 15, 2006, he announced that he would gradually shift his role over the next two years to dedicate more time to charity and serving humanity. He decided to support AIDS vaccine research when he discovered that efforts to develop a vaccine were waning because of lack of ‘market incentive’. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an asset of USD 33 billion, gives money to a variety of other causes besides HIV/AIDS. The Foundation has pledged USD 150 million to the Global Fund and has spent USD 200 million establishing an initiative to prevent HIV transmission in India. Gates has also announced that his charitable foundation will donate USD 100m as a five-year grant to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. The Foundation has also made large contributions to vaccine and microbicide research. ‘Gates’ way to India
The Gates’-India connection is more than a decade old. He had come in 1997, 2000, 2002 and the latest was in 2005. In 2005, Gates had announced that Microsoft Corp. will invest USD 1.7 billion in India over the next four years to expand its operations. He said, “India has an excellent university system. Its computer scientists are among the leaders of companies worldwide. Its technology centres in Bangalore, Pune and other places are well respected." Adding "India has what it takes to participate in, even to shape, the future if it makes the necessary investments now. It must build a national telecommunications infrastructure, develop a robust domestic software industry, provide Internet connectivity for the consumer and continue to invest in education." Gates has also said that India is rich in talent and quality software development. He said, “There is tremendous shortage of computer skills in the world and it was India, which foresaw this and stepped in to fill the gap.”
Love him or hate him, he still has that grinning, cocky attitude of his teenage years. He admits ruefully that his social skills aren’t all that great. He still has that much remarked-upon habit of rocking back and forth while he`s thinking, and he sometimes jumps up, rather startlingly, to pace while he`s talking. But there`s warmth to him and a weird but genuine charm. There are tales of his brutally breaking down employees in meetings. He likes the truth, and he likes things to be clear.
‘A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer.’ -Microsoft vision statement.
With this vision the biggest computer conglomerate was founded in 1975. Bill Gates, 20, with his childhood friend, Paul Allen, 22, founded an empire called Microsoft Corp., currently valued at USD 50 billion. Bill Gates, whose real name is William Henry Gates Jr. was born on October 28th 1955 in Seattle, Washington. His father William Henry Gates Sr. was a prominent lawyer and mother Mary Maxwell Gates was on Board of Directors of the first Interstate Bank. He has one elder sister Kristianne and a younger sister called Libby. Gates is the fourth of his name in his family, but is known as William Gates III or "Trey" because his father had dropped his own "III" suffix.
Early clicks
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With Paul Allen, the duo formed Micro-soft (Microcomputer and Software) in November 12, 1975. With employee strength of 3 people, Paul Allen, Bill Gates and Ric Weiland, the annual income of the venture was USD 16,005. Within a year the hyphen was dropped and on November 26, 1976 the tradename "Microsoft" was registered officially.After formal registration of Microsoft, Gates says that every employee had to handle every type of work irrespective of the job that came in. They did everything from receiving a phone call for an order, to packing and dispatching it by mail. In the early 1980’s Microsoft developed and released its version of graphical user interface (GUI) and named it ‘Windows’. Soon in 1990, Windows version 3.0 was released which sold a record over 10 million copies in the first two years and gave Microsoft dominance in the operating system sales. Bill Gates’ & Melinda Ann French’s marriage
On January 1st 1994, Gates married Melinda French, who was a Manager with Microsoft. “We dated for a number of years off and on, and eventually, when it was clear to both of us that we thought we were both good partners to one another," she said, "We were on a pretty special trip to California and he proposed to me then." The couple have three children, Jennifer Katharine Gates (1996), Rory John Gates (1999) and Phoebe Adele Gates (2002).
House in the hills
The sprawling family home in Medina, Washington situated on the side of a hill overlooking Lake Washington, is thought to be one of the most expensive modern century houses in the world. According to local records of 2006, the total assessed value of the property (land and house) is USD 200 million, and the annual property tax is USD 991,000. Sprawled across more than 66,000 sq ft, there are four building levels with seven bedrooms, 24 bathrooms, six kitchens, and six fireplaces. Much of size of the house is camouflaged as it is built underground into the hill. There is a swimming pool, a grand staircase, a theater, a library, a formal dining room, a reception hall, conference facilities, offices, an exercise room, outdoor sports courts, and of course loads of technology. The software giant’s house is much like an operating system itself with 64 kms of optical fibre spread throughout the house, linking computer servers. Touch-sensitive pads control lighting, music, and climate in every section. Visitors are given small electronic pins to wear to maintain the identity and location of the person in the house. Lights and other settings adjust automatically. Floors throughout the house (and the driveway) are heated. Rich yet humble
He may be the richest man on earth, but there is an air of simplicity and it’s his feel-at-ease-persona, which is rare in most billionaires. Gates’ has been No. 1 on the Forbes list of ‘The World Richest People’ from 1997 to 2007 with a fortune of USD 57 bn (it had crossed USD 100 bn in 1999, with the media referring him as ‘centibillionaire’). With all the fortune in his hands, Bill Gates lifestyle epitomises minimalism to the core.
He once said in an interview that he wished he were not as rich as it brings unwanted attention to him and his family. In fact, he is quite a giving person when it comes to computers, Internet and any kind of funding. Some years back, he visited Chicago`s Einstein Elementary School and announced grants benefiting Chicago`s schools and museums where he donated a total of USD 110,000, a bunch of computers, and provided Internet connectivity to number of schools. Secondly, Bill Gates donated USD 38 million for the building of a computer institute at Stanford University. Gates plans to give away 95% of all his earnings when he is old and gray. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
With all the money at his disposal, Bill Gates switched to philanthropy in early age. He is the world`s biggest single philanthropist. On June 15, 2006, he announced that he would gradually shift his role over the next two years to dedicate more time to charity and serving humanity. He decided to support AIDS vaccine research when he discovered that efforts to develop a vaccine were waning because of lack of ‘market incentive’. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an asset of USD 33 billion, gives money to a variety of other causes besides HIV/AIDS. The Foundation has pledged USD 150 million to the Global Fund and has spent USD 200 million establishing an initiative to prevent HIV transmission in India. Gates has also announced that his charitable foundation will donate USD 100m as a five-year grant to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. The Foundation has also made large contributions to vaccine and microbicide research. ‘Gates’ way to India
The Gates’-India connection is more than a decade old. He had come in 1997, 2000, 2002 and the latest was in 2005. In 2005, Gates had announced that Microsoft Corp. will invest USD 1.7 billion in India over the next four years to expand its operations. He said, “India has an excellent university system. Its computer scientists are among the leaders of companies worldwide. Its technology centres in Bangalore, Pune and other places are well respected." Adding "India has what it takes to participate in, even to shape, the future if it makes the necessary investments now. It must build a national telecommunications infrastructure, develop a robust domestic software industry, provide Internet connectivity for the consumer and continue to invest in education." Gates has also said that India is rich in talent and quality software development. He said, “There is tremendous shortage of computer skills in the world and it was India, which foresaw this and stepped in to fill the gap.”
Love him or hate him, he still has that grinning, cocky attitude of his teenage years. He admits ruefully that his social skills aren’t all that great. He still has that much remarked-upon habit of rocking back and forth while he`s thinking, and he sometimes jumps up, rather startlingly, to pace while he`s talking. But there`s warmth to him and a weird but genuine charm. There are tales of his brutally breaking down employees in meetings. He likes the truth, and he likes things to be clear.
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