Gates and Microsoft

There are slides devoted to this topic: Lecture 12b, pp. 5-10, pp. 47-50, pp. 63-72

Websites

Read Bill Gates’ concise official biography from Microsoft.

If you want a less polished account of Gates and his accomplishments, check out his 1993 interview with the Smithsonian Institution. This transcript covers everything from Gates’ family background to the software pioneer’s visions for the future of computing.

Gates has been anticipating trends in computing since he and others developed BASIC. Read the 1976 “Open Letter to Hobbyists,” in which Gates admonishes the hobbyists who have been “stealing” this software.

Check out the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic organization to which Gates now devotes much of his energies.

Videos

Watchmojo.com has created a five-minute, fast-paced video journey through the history of Microsoft, from MS-DOS to Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype.

If you want a more detailed video history, check out the Youtube video series “The History of Microsoft.” Each video covers one year, spanning 1975-1995.