Bill Gates actually changed the world. There are many people who will poopoo my opinion but he has to be given credit where it's due. Gates/Microsoft literally created millions of jobs and even more spinoff markets than Steve Jobs has even come close to.
When you think of the PC industry, communications, servers, networking, controls, software, etc, Microsoft and Bill Gates are both unrivaled. Everything I have at home and every workstation/server I use at work, they all run on Windows. I'm sure there are quite a few Linux servers where I work but the vast majority of them are almost certainly Windows based.
I can't think of one other person who has affected so many people in a positive way. Possibly rivaling him is the inventor of the automobile (which was not Henry Ford), the person who harnessed electricity (Not Thomas Edison) and the inventors of the telephone (no single person can be credited for inventing the phone).
Steve Job deserves recognition where it's due, also. He brought us all of those iGadgets which so many people covet. It's kind of an un-level playing field comparing the two men, but I still think Bill Gates grossly tips the scales as the person who has a far more lasting legacy.
Think about it, almost every household had a Microsoft product in it and has for several decades. Every work station runs on Windows and everyone uses Office and Outlook in an office environment. Microsoft still dominates at this point in time.
I don't know what 612 people were thinking when they voted "Both will be forgotten 50 years from now."
Have you forgotten JFK, Wide world of sports, Marlin Perkins, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, JOHN WAYNE, Dwight Eisenhower, Tarzan, King Kong, Godzilla, Gilligan, Castro, MLK, Rosa Parks, Paul Newman....so many more....?
The success of Windows shouldn't be the meter stick with which Bill Gate's legacy should be measured by. It's a known fact that Windows didn't win over the marketplace by being the superior product. It won through shrewd and unethical business tactics. Bill Gates stole the idea for "Windows". Microsoft was notorious for meeting with smaller innovative companies, promising them big money, getting copies of their software, and then stealing it and litigating the companies to death.
Now, Bill Gates might be remembered fondly in 50 years, but it will be in the same way we think of Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John Rockefeller; through their philanthropy. Not the awful behaviors that allowed them to accumulate their great wealths.
When I read the poll I actually thought like Gary. Who cares. In the grand scheme of things there are more important people to remember. I agree with Doug on MLK, Rosa Parks, JFK and definitely Gilligan (ok not Gilligan as much as the people who sacrificed to change the world). When I think of somebody famous, I always think about what they accomplished. Bill Gates and Steve Job did change things but I think there will be more innovative people in the future as there have definitely been quite a few in the past. Maybe next time Howard you could give us a button to push for "who cares". Just my thoughts.
Steve Jobs once complained to Bill Gates about Microsoft stealing from Apple and Gates said something like, "Steve I look at it this way. We both had a rich neighbor named Xerox. I broke into their house one day to steal their TV only to find you had been there first and already taken it."
Steve Jobs created the consumer computer market. He revolutionized computers, music and movies (Pixar).
Yes, Gates is becoming the Carnegie of his era. But Jobs is the Edison of the era. And that, to me, is the stupid thing about Gladwell's remarks. The world of 50 to 100 to 150 years ago is filled with famous people who weren't great philanthropists. They haven't been forgotten.
Doug, the impact the two men had on culture tips far greater toward Jobs than Gates.
Bill Gates actually changed
Bill Gates actually changed the world. There are many people who will poopoo my opinion but he has to be given credit where it's due. Gates/Microsoft literally created millions of jobs and even more spinoff markets than Steve Jobs has even come close to.
When you think of the PC industry, communications, servers, networking, controls, software, etc, Microsoft and Bill Gates are both unrivaled. Everything I have at home and every workstation/server I use at work, they all run on Windows. I'm sure there are quite a few Linux servers where I work but the vast majority of them are almost certainly Windows based.
I can't think of one other person who has affected so many people in a positive way. Possibly rivaling him is the inventor of the automobile (which was not Henry Ford), the person who harnessed electricity (Not Thomas Edison) and the inventors of the telephone (no single person can be credited for inventing the phone).
Steve Job deserves recognition where it's due, also. He brought us all of those iGadgets which so many people covet. It's kind of an un-level playing field comparing the two men, but I still think Bill Gates grossly tips the scales as the person who has a far more lasting legacy.
Think about it, almost every household had a Microsoft product in it and has for several decades. Every work station runs on Windows and everyone uses Office and Outlook in an office environment. Microsoft still dominates at this point in time.
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http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2012/06/controversial-trade-pact…
I don't know what 612 people
I don't know what 612 people were thinking when they voted "Both will be forgotten 50 years from now."
Have you forgotten JFK, Wide world of sports, Marlin Perkins, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, JOHN WAYNE, Dwight Eisenhower, Tarzan, King Kong, Godzilla, Gilligan, Castro, MLK, Rosa Parks, Paul Newman....so many more....?
The success of Windows
The success of Windows shouldn't be the meter stick with which Bill Gate's legacy should be measured by. It's a known fact that Windows didn't win over the marketplace by being the superior product. It won through shrewd and unethical business tactics. Bill Gates stole the idea for "Windows". Microsoft was notorious for meeting with smaller innovative companies, promising them big money, getting copies of their software, and then stealing it and litigating the companies to death.
Now, Bill Gates might be remembered fondly in 50 years, but it will be in the same way we think of Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John Rockefeller; through their philanthropy. Not the awful behaviors that allowed them to accumulate their great wealths.
Bill Gates is the Andrew
Bill Gates is the Andrew Carnegie of this era, he won't be forgotten 100 years from now.
I didn't vote, and my only
I didn't vote, and my only thought is "Who the hell cares?"
When I read the poll I
When I read the poll I actually thought like Gary. Who cares. In the grand scheme of things there are more important people to remember. I agree with Doug on MLK, Rosa Parks, JFK and definitely Gilligan (ok not Gilligan as much as the people who sacrificed to change the world). When I think of somebody famous, I always think about what they accomplished. Bill Gates and Steve Job did change things but I think there will be more innovative people in the future as there have definitely been quite a few in the past. Maybe next time Howard you could give us a button to push for "who cares". Just my thoughts.
Steve Jobs once complained to
Steve Jobs once complained to Bill Gates about Microsoft stealing from Apple and Gates said something like, "Steve I look at it this way. We both had a rich neighbor named Xerox. I broke into their house one day to steal their TV only to find you had been there first and already taken it."
Steve Jobs created the consumer computer market. He revolutionized computers, music and movies (Pixar).
Yes, Gates is becoming the Carnegie of his era. But Jobs is the Edison of the era. And that, to me, is the stupid thing about Gladwell's remarks. The world of 50 to 100 to 150 years ago is filled with famous people who weren't great philanthropists. They haven't been forgotten.
Doug, the impact the two men had on culture tips far greater toward Jobs than Gates.