Gates: What everyone is saying - News

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Gates: What everyone is saying

October 13, 2000
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/soa/Gates-What-everyone-is-saying-/0,139023165,120104237,00.htm

No one is short of opinions when it comes to tech mogul Bill Gates. Not even US President Bill Clinton. So, when Gates handed his title of CEO over to Steve Ballmer to focus on software development, industry leaders and ZDNet Australia readers were quick to take up their electronic pens.

What the players think
"Steve's promotion will allow me to dedicate myself full time to my passion: building great software and strategizing on the future and nurturing and collaborating with the core team helping Steve run the company."
-- Bill Gates

"Many people think that the barrier to a Microsoft breakup is more personal than financial. One interpretation of today's announcement is that Bill Gates is further disengaging from the business, making it easier to consider a breakup of the company. But that may be reading too much into today's news."
-- James Love, director of consumer advocate Ralph Nader's Consumer Project on Technology

"Other than the fact that Steve Ballmer is less rich than Bill Gates, those two are Siamese twins."
-- David Wu, financial analyst

"Ballmer is a very able (manager), and Gates is a genius when it comes to technology. I'm interested to see what happens."
--President Bill Clinton, on CNBC

What ZDNN readers think

Name: steve
Location: adelaide
Comment: Who the hell cares? this is just more reshuffling the decks on the titanic before it all goes down under the weight of Linux and the Open Source movement. Go the Penguin!

Name: Andrew Holman
Location: Toowong, Queensland
Comment: Although I regard some of Microsoft's business strategies as questionable, I
have a high regard for what they have done for worldwide information
technology. Bill Gates, without a doubt, is one of the greatest visionaries
of the modern era, and anything that can relieve him of tedious
administrative chores will be for the greater good.

Name: Wozza
Location: Sydney
Comment: this is a pre-emptive strike to try and stop the US Government breaking up the company. I'd be very surprised if it has any effect, but that's just my 2 cents worth

Name: Michael Nguyen
Location: Brisbane
Comment: Stop knocking the man - this is Tall Poppy Syndrome gone mad. If there were more of him in other industries then the world wouldn't be in half as great an economic mess as it is now.

Tell ZDNet Australia what you think: send your comments about Gate's resignation and the Microsoft court case to edit@zdnet.com.au
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