Ladies and gentlemen...
May we present...
Mr. Bill Gates!
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Our sister (defunct) http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/cgi?cmd=team_lookup&name=ET%27s+for+BIll+Gates%21"(/defunct)ET's for Bill Gates! SETI at home project, listed under Groups --> ET's for Bill Gates!.
The first step in your Quest for MasterGates should be at (defunct)"//www.teamgates.com/(/defunct) TeamGates.com, the official Microsoft web site. Lots of pictures! or the www.microsoft.com/billgates - Microsoft site. For the newsgroupies, you can go to alt.fan.bill-gates. Just remember, it's a newsgroup! :-O
Here's a REAL Microsquishie: Here's an interesting tidbit...the - (//www.webho.com/WealthClock) - Wealth Clock Obviously created by a guy with a very small...um...paycheck. Vote for Bill! Here is a (//www.mitchellware.com/mitchell/home/fred/politics/vote_for_bill.htm) sad little page trying to diss our Bill, but of course, he's coming out on top again! Go show your support! "There are people who don't like capitalism, and people who don't like PCs. But there's no one who likes the PC who doesn't like Microsoft" --Mr. Gates, LA Times The (//www.lasvegassun.com/comdex/gatesomatic.html) Gates-O-Matic - Dress Bill! Don't get your hopes up when you go to (//www.cais.com/aschnedr/gates.htm) - Must C:\TV! It hasn't come true...yet...
Bill Gates for President in y2k! Visit the grassroots campaign headquarters at (//www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/7934/intromain.htm) Capitol Hill!
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Bill icons for the desktop!
William H. Gates III Social Security #: 539-60-5125
The Bill Gates Fan Club bylaws.
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If you asked customers who they would rather have deciding what innovations go into their computer - the government or software companies - the answer would be clear. They’d want the decision left to the marketplace, with competition driving improvements.
This is the question at the center of the Justice Department’s recent action aimed at forcing Microsoft to remove Internet Explorer from Windows. In this instance, consumer benefits seem to be less important than the complaints of a handful of our competitors who want the government to help them compete - by preventing Microsoft from enhancing its products.
The Justice Department’s position is equivalent to the government telling personal computer manufacturers that they can’t include word processing, spreadsheet or email functionality in PCs because it would be unfair to typewriter, calculator and courier companies.
Microsoft and the DOJ anticipated this very issue three years ago when we signed a consent decree that specifically allowed Microsoft to develop “integrated software products.” At the time, the DOJ was fully aware that we were planning to integrate Internet capabilities into the forthcoming Windows 95 operating system.
Microsoft has a long history of improving its operating system products and building in new functionality, just as Apple, IBM, Sun, Novell and others have. These features have included such things as a graphical user interface, memory management, type fonts, disk compression and networking. Every one of these was available first as a separate offering but eventually was integrated to meet customer demand for greater functionality in Windows.
Supporting Internet browsing in Windows is a logical, incremental step in the evolution of the operating system. For 15 years Microsoft operating systems have included as core technology the capacity to locate and use information from local sources - such as the hard drive or the CD drive - as well as remote sources, such as local area networks. Windows 95 simply permits users to get information from the newest remote source - the Internet.
When a PC manufacturer like Compaq, Dell or Gateway chooses to license Windows it agrees to ship all of the operating system, including Internet Explorer. Installing Windows 95 does not prevent OEMs from also shipping competing browser technology, such as Netscape’s Navigator, and many hardware manufacturers do just that. PC manufacturers are free to differentiate their products from one another in many ways -- including by adding their choice of software products -- but modifying Windows is not one of them.
Internet Explorer is much more than just a “web browser.” It provides important functionality that is the basis for other companies’ new software products. Without a uniform Windows installation, end users could not be sure of the performance of the integrated operating system and Microsoft could not stand behind its product. Furthermore, Windows would become Balkanized like the many incompatible versions of UNIX. This would eventually drive prices for PC products higher as software developers and hardware manufacturers would have to develop and test their products for all the different versions of Windows. And innovation would slow because developers would be reluctant to write new programs if they couldn’t be sure that new features would be present on all Windows PCs.
I doubt The New York Times would let a newsstand tear out the business section of the paper just because it wanted to sell more Wall Street Journals. Or that the Ford Motor Company would let its dealers replace a Ford engine with a Toyota engine. Microsoft has the right to preserve a consistent customer experience when using Windows.
Curiously, while the DOJ is claiming that Windows should not include browsing capabilities, Microsoft competitors are busy incorporating basic operating system services such as printing and running applications into their browsers, making them nothing less than…an operating system. If our competitors can integrate an operating system into their browsers in the name of competition, why should Microsoft be forbidden to integrate a browser into its operating system? Enhancing Windows to support Internet standards more fully is not a frill - it is critical for Windows to stay competitive. Telling Microsoft that we can’t improve Windows is telling us we can’t compete.
Since its inception more than 20 year ago, the PC industry has grown incredibly rapidly and provided real benefits for customers without the government regulating product designs. Creativity and entrepreneurship are flourishing as hundreds of new software companies and thousands of new products come to market each year.
Microsoft Windows has played an important role in this innovation, largely because it serves as an open, integrated platform for software developers, hardware vendors and solution providers. This gives them the incentive and the certainty they need to build products for Windows, which attracts more customers and, in turn, encourages greater demand, more innovation and new products.
There is no question that consumers are the big winners. Today, you can buy a PC for under $1,000 that is more powerful than a PC that just a few years ago was three or four times more expensive. Prices for software are constantly falling too, thanks, in part, to the stable development platform provided by Windows. In the late 1980s, business productivity applications such as word processors or spreadsheets typically cost several hundred dollars each. Now, you can buy a full suite of far better productivity applications for about the same price. In 1990, CD-ROMs containing games, encyclopedias and personal finance software cost $80 to $200. Today, it’s rare to see CD-ROMs for home users priced above $49.
And although Windows is by far the most popular operating system on the market today, the price has remained virtually the same for years while its performance has leapt forward. Unlike other operating systems, Windows will always be an open platform available at a reasonable price because that’s the key to attracting new software development and giving customers the kind of low-cost, innovative PCs they want and have come to expect. A high-volume, low-cost approach works only as long as the platform remains open, so we have a vested interest in keeping it that way.
The PC has provided millions of workers with the tools to do their jobs better, empowered students to become lifelong learners, and enabled consumers to enjoy exciting new forms of information, communication and entertainment on the Internet. In fact, the Internet promotes openness and competition more than almost any other invention of the last 100 years. The government should encourage the rich support for Internet standards that Microsoft is providing. The popularity of Windows does not create a chokehold on the Internet any more than a popular word processor chokes off free speech. Windows PCs allow people to browse the entire Internet easily. They allow anyone to become a publisher and to offer their goods and services to the global market at minimal cost and without anyone taking a fee.
U.S. antitrust laws do not exist to prop up competitors. The laws are intended to ensure that consumers benefit from the widespread availability of goods and services at fair prices, and that’s exactly what we have today.
Microsoft spends more every year to improve the Windows operating system. This year we will spend more than $1 billion on R&D for future versions of Windows. Over the next several decades we will enhance Windows so that computers can talk, listen, see and learn, making it dramatically easier to get at the benefits of the Internet. The PC business will have an exciting future if the government does not hold it back by regulating product design.
AN OPEN LETTER TO HOBBYISTS February 3, 1976 By William Henry Gates III An Open Letter to Hobbyists To me, the most critical thing in the hobby market right now is the lack of good software courses, books and software itself. Without good software and an owner who understands programming, a hobby computer is wasted. Will quality software be written for the hobby market? Almost a year ago, Paul Allen and myself, expecting the hobby market to expand, hired Monte Davidoff and developed Altair BASIC. Though the initial work took only two months, the three of us have spent most of the last year documenting, improving and adding features to BASIC. Now we have 4K, 8K, EXTENDED, ROM and DISK BASIC. The value of the computer time we have used exceeds $40,000. The feedback we have gotten from the hundreds of people who say they are using BASIC has all been positive. Two surprising things are apparent, however, 1) Most of these "users" never bought BASIC (less than 10% of all Altair owners have bought BASIC), and 2) The amount of royalties we have received from sales to hobbyists makes the time spent on Altair BASIC worth less than $2 an hour. Why is this? As the majority of hobbyists must be aware, most of you steal your software. Hardware must be paid for, but software is something to share. Who cares if the people who worked on it get paid? Is this fair? One thing you don't do by stealing software is get back at MITS for some problem you may have had. MITS doesn't make money selling software. The royalty paid to us, the manual, the tape and the overhead make it a break-even operation. One thing you do do is prevent good software from being written. Who can afford to do professional work for nothing? What hobbyist can put 3-man years into programming, finding all bugs, documenting his product and distribute for free? The fact is, no one besides us has invested a lot of money in hobby software. We have written 6800 BASIC, and are writing 8080 APL and 6800 APL, but there is very little incentive to make this software available to hobbyists. Most directly, the thing you do is theft. What about the guys who re-sell Altair BASIC, aren't they making money on hobby software? Yes, but those who have been reported to us may lose in the end. They are the ones who give hobbyists a bad name, and should be kicked out of any club meeting they show up at. I would appreciate letters from any one who wants to pay up, or has a suggestion or comment. Just write to me at 1180 Alvarado SE, #114, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87108. Nothing would please me more than being able to hire ten programmers and deluge the hobby market with good software. Bill Gates General Partner, Micro-Soft
Microsoft Addresses Justice Department Accusations
REDMOND, Wash. - In direct response to accusations made by the
Department of Justice, the Microsoft Corp. announced today that
it will be acquiring the federal government of the United States
of America for an undisclosed sum.
"It's actually a logical extension of our planned growth," said
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, "It really is going to be a
positive arrangement for everyone."
Microsoft representatives held a briefing in the Oval Office of
the White House with U.S. President Bill Clinton, and assured
members of the press that changes will be "minimal." The United
States will be managed as a wholly owned division of Microsoft.
An initial public offering is planned for July of next year, and
the federal government is expected to be profitable by "Q2 2001
at latest," according to Microsoft president Steve Ballmer.
In a related announcement, Bill Clinton stated that he had
"willingly and enthusiastically" accepted a position as a vice
president with Microsoft, and will continue to manage the United
States government, reporting directly to Bill Gates. When asked
how it felt to give up the mantle of executive authority to
Gates, Clinton smiled and referred to it as "a relief." He went
on to say that Gates has a "proven track record," and that U.S.
citizens should offer Gates their "full support and confidence."
Clinton will reportedly be earning several times the $200,000
annually he has earned as U.S. president, in his new role at
Microsoft.
Gates dismissed a suggestion that the U.S. Capitol be moved to
Redmond as "silly," though did say that he would make executive
decisions for the U.S. government from his existing office at
Microsoft headquarters. Gates went on to say that the House and
Senate would "of course" be abolished. "Microsoft isn't a
democracy," he observed, "and look how well we're doing."
When asked if the rumored attendant acquisition of Canada was
proceeding, Gates said, "We don't deny that discussions are
taking place."
About Microsoft: Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is
the worldwide leader in software for personal computers, and
democratic government. The company offers a wide range of
products and services for public, business and personal use.
About the United States: Founded in 1776, the United States of
America (USA) is the most successful nation in the history of
the world, and has been a beacon of democracy and opportunity
for over 200 years. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the
United States is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft
Corporation
Setting up a batch of overseas companies: $25,000,000 Liquidating and transferring all assets: $50,000,000 Flipping the U.S. Justice Department the bird as you relocate to a third world country: priceless.
Every few years I have sent out a memo talking about the highest priority for Microsoft. Two years ago, it was the kickoff of our .NET strategy. Before that, it was several memos about the importance of the Internet to our future and the ways we could make the Internet truly useful for people. Over the last year it has become clear that ensuring .NET is a platform for Trustworthy Computing is more important than any other part of our work. If we don't do this, people simply won't be willing -- or able -- to take advantage of all the other great work we do. Trustworthy Computing is the highest priority for all the work we are doing. We must lead the industry to a whole new level of Trustworthiness in computing.
When we started work on Microsoft .NET more than two years ago, we set a new direction for the company -- and articulated a new way to think about our software. Rather than developing standalone applications and Web sites, today we're moving towards smart clients with rich user interfaces interacting with Web services. We're driving the XML Web services standards so that systems from all vendors can share information, while working to make Windows the best client and server for this new era.
There is a lot of excitement about what this architecture makes possible. It allows the dreams about e-business that have been hyped over the last few years to become a reality. It enables people to collaborate in new ways, including how they read, communicate, share annotations, analyze information and meet.
However, even more important than any of these new capabilities is the fact that it is designed from the ground up to deliver Trustworthy Computing. What I mean by this is that customers will always be able to rely on these systems to be available and to secure their information. Trustworthy Computing is computing that is as available, reliable and secure as electricity, water services and telephony.
Today, in the developed world, we do not worry about electricity and water services being available. With telephony, we rely both on its availability and its security for conducting highly confidential business transactions without worrying that information about who we call or what we say will be compromised. Computing falls well short of this, ranging from the individual user who isn't willing to add a new application because it might destabilize their system, to a corporation that moves slowly to embrace e-business because today's platforms don't make the grade.
The events of last year -- from September's terrorist attacks to a number of malicious and highly publicized computer viruses -- reminded every one of us how important it is to ensure the integrity and security of our critical infrastructure, whether it's the airlines or computer systems. Computing is already an important part of many people's lives. Within ten years, it will be an integral and indispensable part of almost everything we do. Microsoft and the computer industry will only succeed in that world if CIOs, consumers and everyone else sees that Microsoft has created a platform for Trustworthy Computing.
Every week there are reports of newly discovered security problems in all kinds of software, from individual applications and services to Windows, Linux, Unix and other platforms. We have done a great job of having teams work around the clock to deliver security fixes for any problems that arise. Our responsiveness has been unmatched -- but as an industry leader we can and must do better. Our new design approaches need to dramatically reduce the number of such issues that come up in the software that Microsoft, its partners and its customers create. We need to make it automatic for customers to get the benefits of these fixes. Eventually, our software should be so fundamentally secure that customers never even worry about it.
No Trustworthy Computing platform exists today. It is only in the context of the basic redesign we have done around .NET that we can achieve this. The key design decisions we made around .NET include the advances we need to deliver on this vision. Visual Studio .NET is the first multi-language tool that is optimized for the creation of secure code, so it is a key foundation element.
I've spent the past few months working with Craig Mundie's group and others across the company to define what achieving Trustworthy Computing will entail, and to focus our efforts on building trust into every one of our products and services. Key aspects include:
Availability: Our products should always be available when our customers need them. System outages should become a thing of the past because of a software architecture that supports redundancy and automatic recovery. Self-management should allow for service resumption without user intervention in almost every case.
Security: The data our software and services store on behalf of our customers should be protected from harm and used or modified only in appropriate ways. Security models should be easy for developers to understand and build into their applications.
Privacy: Users should be in control of how their data is used. Policies for information use should be clear to the user. Users should be in control of when and if they receive information to make best use of their time. It should be easy for users to specify appropriate use of their information including controlling the use of email they send.
Trustworthiness is a much broader concept than security, and winning our customers' trust involves more than just fixing bugs and achieving "five-nines" availability. It's a fundamental challenge that spans the entire computing ecosystem, from individual chips all the way to global Internet services. It's about smart software, services and industry-wide cooperation.
There are many changes Microsoft needs to make as a company to ensure and keep our customers' trust at every level - from the way we develop software, to our support efforts, to our operational and business practices. As software has become ever more complex, interdependent and interconnected, our reputation as a company has in turn become more vulnerable. Flaws in a single Microsoft product, service or policy not only affect the quality of our platform and services overall, but also our customers' view of us as a company.
In recent months, we've stepped up programs and services that help us create better software and increase security for our customers. Last fall, we launched the Strategic Technology Protection Program, making software like IIS and Windows .NET Server secure by default, and educating our customers on how to get -- and stay -- secure. The error-reporting features built into Office XP and Windows XP are giving us a clear view of how to raise the level of reliability. The Office team is focused on training and processes that will anticipate and prevent security problems. In December, the Visual Studio .NET team conducted a comprehensive review of every aspect of their product for potential security issues. We will be conducting similarly intensive reviews in the Windows division and throughout the company in the coming months.
At the same time, we're in the process of training all our developers in the latest secure coding techniques. We've also published books like "Writing Secure Code," by Michael Howard and David LeBlanc, which gives all developers the tools they need to build secure software from the ground up. In addition, we must have even more highly trained sales, service and support people, along with offerings such as security assessments and broad security solutions. I encourage everyone at Microsoft to look at what we've done so far and think about how they can contribute.
But we need to go much further.
In the past, we've made our software and services more compelling for users by adding new features and functionality, and by making our platform richly extensible. We've done a terrific job at that, but all those great features won't matter unless customers trust our software. So now, when we face a choice between adding features and resolving security issues, we need to choose security. Our products should emphasize security right out of the box, and we must constantly refine and improve that security as threats evolve. A good example of this is the changes we made in Outlook to avoid email borne viruses. If we discover a risk that a feature could compromise someone's privacy, that problem gets solved first. If there is any way we can better protect important data and minimize downtime, we should focus on this. These principles should apply at every stage of the development cycle of every kind of software we create, from operating systems and desktop applications to global Web services.
Going forward, we must develop technologies and policies that help businesses better manage ever larger networks of PCs, servers and other intelligent devices, knowing that their critical business systems are safe from harm. Systems will have to become self-managing and inherently resilient. We need to prepare now for the kind of software that will make this happen, and we must be the kind of company that people can rely on to deliver it.
This priority touches on all the software work we do. By delivering on Trustworthy Computing, customers will get dramatically more value out of our advances than they have in the past. The challenge here is one that Microsoft is uniquely suited to solve.
Bill
/*
TOP SECRET Microsoft(c) Code
Project: Chicago(tm)
Projected release-date: Summer 1998
*/
#include "win31.h"
#include "win95.h"
#include "evenmore.h"
#include "oldstuff.h"
#include "billrulz.h"
#define INSTALL = HARD
char make_prog_look_big[1600000];
void main()
{
while(!CRASHED)
{
display_copyright_message();
display_bill_rules_message();
do_nothing_loop();
if (first_time_installation)
{
make_50_megabyte_swapfile();
do_nothing_loop();
totally_screw_up_HPFS_file_system();
search_and_destroy_the_rest_of_OS/2();
hang_system();
}
write_something(anything);
display_copyright_message();
do_nothing_loop();
do_some_stuff();
if (still_not_crashed)
{
display_copyright_message();
do_nothing_loop();
basically_run_windows_3.1();
do_nothing_loop();
do_nothing_loop();
do_nothing_loop();
}
}
if (detect_cache())
disable_cache();
if (fast_cpu()) {
set_wait_states(lots);
set_mouse(speed, very_slow);
set_mouse(action, jumpy);
set_mouse(reaction, sometimes);
}
/* printf("Welcome to Windows 3.11"); */
/* printf("Welcome to Windows 95"); */
printf("Welcome to Windows 98");
if (system_ok())
{
bsod(random_err());
crash(to_dos_prompt);
}
else
system_memory = open("a:\swp0001.swp", O_CREATE);
while(something)
{
sleep(5);
get_user_input();
sleep(5);
act_on_user_input();
sleep(5);
}
create_general_protection_fault();
}
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