Bill Gates Is Still Pulling the Strings At Microsoft (businessinsider.com) 47
theodp writes: Reports of the death of Bill Gates' influence at Microsoft have been greatly exaggerated: "Publicly, [Bill] Gates has been almost entirely out of the picture at Microsoft since 2021, following allegations that he had behaved inappropriately toward female employees. In fact, Business Insider has learned, Gates has been quietly orchestrating much of Microsoft's AI revolution from behind the scenes. Current and former executives say Gates remains intimately involved in the company's operations -- advising on strategy, reviewing products, recruiting high-level executives, and nurturing Microsoft's crucial relationship with Sam Altman, the cofounder and CEO of OpenAI.
In early 2023, when Microsoft debuted a version of its search engine Bing turbocharged by the same technology as ChatGPT, throwing down the gauntlet against competitors like Google, Gates, executives said, was pivotal in setting the plan in motion. While Nadella might be the public face of the company's AI success [...] Gates has been the man behind the curtain."[...] "Today, Gates remains close with Altman, who visits his home a few times a year, and OpenAI seeks his counsel on developments. There's a 'tight coupling' between Gates and OpenAI, a person familiar with the relationship said. 'Sam and Bill are good friends. OpenAI takes his opinion and consult overall seriously.' OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood confirmed OpenAI continues to meet with Gates."
In early 2023, when Microsoft debuted a version of its search engine Bing turbocharged by the same technology as ChatGPT, throwing down the gauntlet against competitors like Google, Gates, executives said, was pivotal in setting the plan in motion. While Nadella might be the public face of the company's AI success [...] Gates has been the man behind the curtain."[...] "Today, Gates remains close with Altman, who visits his home a few times a year, and OpenAI seeks his counsel on developments. There's a 'tight coupling' between Gates and OpenAI, a person familiar with the relationship said. 'Sam and Bill are good friends. OpenAI takes his opinion and consult overall seriously.' OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood confirmed OpenAI continues to meet with Gates."
AND IN "NO SHIT, SHERLOCK" NEWS.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:AND IN "NO SHIT, SHERLOCK" NEWS.... (Score:5, Informative)
(I miss that).
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Eh, it was a bit cringe.
https://www.penny-arcade.com/c... [penny-arcade.com]
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Cringe to who? People who don't know shit about Microsoft, Bill Gates, the relevant history, or the computing ecosystem in general? Fuck 'em, Slashdot is not for them.
Re:AND IN "NO SHIT, SHERLOCK" NEWS.... (Score:5, Insightful)
"What exactly is he influencing? Certainly not product design. Everything Microsoft produces today is shit. "
Wait you think that if he was influencing them they would be better? What in the 40+ year history of Microsoft makes you think that?
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Wait you think that if he was influencing them they would be better? What in the 40+ year history of Microsoft makes you think that?
Uh, most of Microsoft's history under his watch?
There's a good reason why most OS's generally follow the Win 95/98 GUI paradigm. They got it right. And when they went to all-NT based systems, they got even better. They've certainly had their issues over the years, but if I had a dollar for everytime I've heard someone go "I miss Win 95/98/2K/XP, I'd still be using them today if I could", I'd be a comfortably wealthy man.
When did Microsoft customers scream the loudest and rebel? When Win 8 tried to do away w
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They were popular but they were famously bug-ridden and unstable. Nobody misses Windows 95 or XP, btw.
Hell, NT was the first moderately stable OS they had, and that was just because someone had the bright idea to halt new feature development for a period of time and focus on fixing what they already made.
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Every version of Windows after Windows 7 is shit, every version of Office after Office 2003 is shit.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. After Windows/Office 2030, you'll be looking back at the good old days of Windows 11/Office 365.
Re: AND IN "NO SHIT, SHERLOCK" NEWS.... (Score:4, Funny)
"What exactly is he influencing? Certainly not product design. Everything Microsoft produces today is shit"
That sounds like Gates is involved to me...
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I care. This is Gates-gate!
What's the point? (Score:2)
I thought I smelled a rat. (Score:2)
So when I curse Gates over blaring gaps in MS Shitware, It's not entirely in vain.
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Correction, it's supposed to be "glaring", but blaring works also, as the gaps are so obvious you can practically hear the suckage.
As a practical suggestion, the main screens for their software should have a completely different UI for mouse/desktop versus mobile. For infrequently-used screens, mobile is the lowest common denominator and works good enough, but the high volume screens should be tuned for each if you care about your customers.
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Re: good (Score:3)
Hint, if you have to post that anonymously then you know it's wrong, coward.
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... a company where his input is of immense negative value.
FTFY
Re:good (Score:5, Interesting)
Bill Gates being force to step down (or to appear to step down, take your pick) in 2020 for improper behavior toward female employees was likely connected to developing information about Gates association with Jeffrey Epstein, who tried blackmailing Gates in 2017 [theguardian.com]. The revelations about this, some of which became public in 2023, are likely connected to Melinda Gates divorcing him that same year.
The rich and powerful men who frequented Epstein's island of sex-with-under-age-girls have succeeded in keeping the list of people who went there to do that from becoming public, though a much wide list of people who flew on Epstein's airplanes, not all of which were flights to the island, has become public, but has protected thus far the sex-criminals by pooling them with people who were not and did not.
It is quite possible that the Microsoft board (and Melinda Gates) has information about Gates and Epstein's island which motivated both of them to erect a firewall between themselves and him.
Re:good (Score:4, Informative)
Not sure why his interest in women should preclude him from helping run a company where his input is of immense value.
One reason is that it opens him to blackmail [livemint.com], possibly forcing him to act against the interests of the company.
There is also a question of whether he has an interest not only in women but in under-age girls too. He was a frequent visitor to Epstein's house, which, when called out, he said was because he was intrigued by the interior decor. Yeah, right. That was one of the reasons why his wife divorced him.
Most people now see Gates as an arsehole rather than the boy-genius they used to imagine. If he is of any value to a company they have to keep him out of public sight.
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He's still the biggest shareholder. (Score:2)
He's not in charge any more, but a bit of web search says he is the largest single shareholder of the company, at about 207 million shares, or about 2.8%, or about 82 billion dollars worth of ownership. Three institutions own more of the company but it is diffused ownership, Vanguard, iShares, and SPDR, and those institutions aren't asking for any specific changes, only profits.
He doesn't need to be in the corporate boardroom with people directly reporting to him while still maintaining a strong influence
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I think it's more that Nadella knows if he goes against Gates' wishes and his own plan fails, he's in the hot-seat, as Gates is bigger than life.
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That's just not really enough to be that influential.
So that is why their crap still sucks so bad... (Score:2, Insightful)
And actually getting worse relatively to the higher and higher requirements put on it by increasingly sophisticated attacks and more and more critical things depending on it. Makes sense that the chief incompetent (with regard to technology) is still making sure things do not get fixed.
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Microsoft software now is light years ahead of where it used to be. Is it perfect? No. But it's stable and works now, which it certainly didn't do for a few decades.
Re: So that is why their crap still sucks so bad.. (Score:2)
"Microsoft software now is light years ahead of where it used to be."
Are we talking about the same software?
Stable and works? OneNote crashed when I renamed a note. Teams still isn't able to detect which messages you have read and update the flag on the icon correctly. Microsoft software is just as shit as it has ever been.
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I remember the 80's and 90's.
Re: So that is why their crap still sucks so bad. (Score:2)
So it's slightly less terrible now, whoopee.
Just watched a coworker try to find an outlook window, not only was it not appearing but couldn't right click the entry in the taskbar menu and move it into visibility. Every few days word documents stop loading correctly, not even all the widgets in the window will draw, have to quit (closing all open windows) and restart word to get it to work again.
Microsoft is still shit, and will always be shit.
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You seem to be going into dementia there. Because that is not what is happening.
"Quickly, Ball-Boy! To the Gatesinarium!" (Score:3)
I guess that explains their non-consensual ways (Score:4, Informative)
Did you see what your computer was wearing? It was asking for it.
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I wonder if he's pull integers too (Score:1)
I wonder if he's pull integers too
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He's pulling doubles ... Microsoft AND the Gates Foundation. /s
Tortured commas (Score:2)
In ... 2023, when ... ChatGPT, throwing ... Google, Gates, executives said, was ....
I call him "Money" for short. (Score:2)
I phone him up at home and I make him do my tech support!
Antichrist (Score:2)
I thought bill would to busy as CIO for Satan. May God save his evil soul.