Gates 2.0

So Bill Gates is leaving Microsoft in July 2008... is the sky falling? What do you think?

Bill has had his share of battles - and wins: IBM in the 80's, Sun and Netscape in 90's, and now it's the Linux and Open Source crowd. While the MS jury is still out on the Linux and Open Source crowd - Bill already has Steve Ballmer to be the front man on that battleground.

If I were the richest man on earth - what would I want to do... hmmmm... let's see:

a) The same crap I've been doing for the last 30 years and being vilified for "embracing and extending" others' technology
OR
b) Giving away billions of dollars to the poor, being "bullet proof" from snarky criticism, and being loved and appreciated by millions

I don't know about you - but I'm picking B for sure. Now that he's 50, maybe he's thinking about "Bill 2.0" and what type of legacy he wants to leave rather than just creating (or "embracing and extending") the "next big thing." I've got to imagine it's got a certain amount of "been there, done that" to it. I would imagine that trying to decide where to dole out hundreds of millions in interest (their foundation is endowed with over $29 BILLION) has got to be a whole lot more fun.

Whether you love him, hate him, or don't care - you gotta' admit - it's really hard to criticize and dislike someone who give away money. LOTS of money.

I, for one say - GOOD ON YA, Bill!

P.S. If you like this blog - I would be happy to take some of that filthy money off your hands...