Reflective Gates Waxes Nostalgic

Says Gates plotted to take his shares while Allen battled cancer

(NEWSER) - There's no love lost between Paul Allen and Bill Gates—at least, it seems that way in Allen's new memoir. Idea Man: A Memoir by the Co-founder of Microsoft is scheduled to hit shelves April 17, and its pages contain a biting portrait of Gates, reports the Wall Street Journal , which viewed a draft of the book. Allen presents a revised story of his relationship with Gates—which began in high school—writing, for instance, that in Microsoft's early days, Gates plotted to take his shares in the company while he was being treated for cancer. "It was mercenary opportunism, plain and simple," Allen writes. More»

Microsoft co-founder commits most of his fortune to philanthropy

(NEWSER) - Looks as though Bill Gates' billionaire challenge is paying off: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has pledged to give away most of his $13 billion fortune. He made the vow public a month after Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett urged the world's richest to give away at least half of their wealth. Allen, the 37th-richest person in the world on the most recent Forbes list, hopes to "spur other people to give," a rep tells the Seattle Times . More»

H. Edward Roberts had a young employee named Bill Gates

(USER SUBMITTED) - H. Edward Roberts, the man who invented the MITS Altair in 1975, generally considered by computer historians to be the first personal computer, died Thursday in Macon, Georgia. While he was not well known outside the computer industry, one of his employees, Bill Gates, came to define, and some say, control the microcomputer industry. Roberts left the computer industry in 1977, later becoming a medical doctor. Gates visited him at his bedside shortly before his death. Read the full New York Times article here . More»

Windows 7, open-source competition hold Chrome OS back

(NEWSER) - Microsoft needn’t stress about Google’s planned operating system, writes Joseph Tartakoff for paidContent. Five reasons why:

• Windows 7 will put Microsoft on firmer ground, having won great reviews so far—and it will have been out 9 months by the time Chrome OS appears.
• Google’s not the only behemoth that knows users are running apps inside their browsers more often: Microsoft is developing a new "browser-based OS" with that in mind.

iPhone-like screen, due by 2010, signals need to replace Vista

(NEWSER) - Microsoft, still smarting over consumer discontent with its Windows Vista operating system, yesterday offered a peek at the touch-screen operating system it believes will revolutionize personal computing, the Wall Street Journal reports. The OS isn’t expected to hit shelves for 20 months, but already is creating buzz with its iPhone-like ease of use. More»