It’s been ALL over the news this week, but today is Bill Gates’ last day of full-time employment at Microsoft.
He’ll still be plenty involved in the company, and he’s busy as ever with the Gates Foundation in Seattle, which is doing wide-ranging work to solve a variety of the world’s ills.
But it’s a milestone worth noting. Bill Gates has been THE face of Microsoft for so long.
An aside: I’ve personally seen Bill Gates speak at a few events around this region during the past six years, and I’ve even met him momentarily. But I remember the first time I was made aware of who he was. It was in the middle 1980s, when I was a teenager. My family and I were leaving Kidd Valley hamburgers in Bellevue when an average-looking guy drove up in a colorful, vintage-style car. My dad, in hushed tones, let us know that was Bill Gates, who was in charge of this up-and-coming computer company. If I’d only been as smart as I was young, I would have bought my first shares of Microsoft stock that day.
Anyway, to mark today’s occasion, PC Magazine takes a look at its interview with Gates 25 years ago and its most recent talk with him. It’s interesting to read his words then and now.
Reuters has a description of Gates’ “teary” farewell this afternoon.
And, finally, PC Advisor has a compilation of Gates’ all-time hits: his 17 best predictions of the future.
OK, actually, one last one: Wired has a good retrospective accompanied by a compilation of photos showing how Gates’ geeky look has changed over the years. In his case, I think age – and maybe his wife’s help – has improved his look.
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