Bill Gates: The Brain Behind Microsoft
Introduction:
Bill Gates is one of the all time most successful entrepreneurs across the globe. He is best known as the founder of Microsoft, the world’s largest computer software company. He is also among the world’s richest people. Over the course of his career, Gates has amassed a personal fortune of over $100 billion. He is also one of the world’s philanthropic leaders, having donated immense amounts of money to charitable organizations and causes. He and his wife, Melinda, have donated tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes and have founded and funded many educational programs. He has also helped create thousands of jobs, revolutionized the way we learn, work, and communicate, and has been hailed as one of the greatest leaders of our time. Along with Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, Gates is one of the most influential people in the world. He has been called the world’s greatest leader and the second greatest leader of all time.
Early Life:
Bill Gates was born on 28th October, in the year1955, in Seattle, Washington. His father was William H. Gates, Sr., and mother was Mary Gates. Since birth, Gates was known as “Boz” and is often nicknamed “The Wizard of Redmond.” He grew up in Belmont, a suburb of Seattle, with his elder brother, Brian, and his younger sister, Patty. His father, William Gates, was a notable lawyer. Both the parents wished their son to become a successful lawyer. He got admitted to Lakeside Preparatory School when he was thirteen.
First Programming:
When Bill was a school student, he wrote his first software programming. His first programming helped in implementation of first computer games. During his high school days, he helped a group of programmers in making a payroll software. Though he had affinity towards programming, on various occasion he was punished in his school due to breaching the security of school system software to steal free time for accessing computer.
Higher Studies:
Bill Gates graduated from Lakeside School in 1973 as a National Merit Scholar. Here, he suffered a great loss when his friend and co-programmer Kent Evans died during rock climbing. They were engaged in programming the attendance software for their school and ultimately the project was complete with the help of Paul Allen, his another friend and associate. In the same year he enrolled at Harvard University and pursued Computer Science. Though he initially studied law, eventually shifted to the study of Mathematics and Computer Science. He left his study two years later and planned to start his own company.
Beginning of Microsoft:
As a reputed company, Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), was looking for a programming for their platform, Gates seized the opportunity. He contacted the personnel of MITS and along with his friend Paul, demonstrated their work to the organization. During this period of 1975, Gates had to leave his study at Harvard unfinished and never returned to complete the same. Since then a journey started for them, they named their venture “Micro-Soft”, combination of initials of Microcomputers and Software. The very next year, in 1976, they registered their company as “Microsoft” and established their first office in Albuquerque. Later it was shifted to Belle Vue in Washington, in the year of 1979.
Other Ventures:
Bill Gates and his company Microsoft signed a partnership with, perhaps the most reputed international computer device manufacturing company, IBM in the year 1980. As IBM was badly looking for the most needed operating system for their devices, they approached to Microsoft for providing the software. This deal between the two companies completely changed the course of Microsoft and earned them international reputation. Once the deal was signed, Microsoft never had to look back.
Microsoft Windows:
The first retail version of Microsoft Windows was released in 1985. Few of the successive versions of Windows are, Windows 2, Windows 3, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows11. During the initial days of Windows it had to compete with Macintosh by Apple and quite successfully replaced the position of the former.
Achievements:
Bill Gates has been given credit for revolutionizing personal computing, but he has actually had a much greater impact on society as a whole. His vision and foresight contributed to the development of the Internet and to the spread of the personal computer worldwide.
Developing the first software applications for personal computers involved a combination of art, science, and engineering in which the engineer-artist worked closely with the scientist-programmer. The engineer-artist drew on the scientist-programmer’s knowledge to help ensure that the user interface was appropriate and efficient. It was an early example of the interactive design process. The processes of developing and refining software and interacting with users were amplified by the fact that Bill Gates and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen were friends and vacationed in the same places.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once said, “I did not create the first breakthrough in personal computing. It was the marketing.” And in a sense, he was right. Microsoft’s marketing efforts — particularly a series of television commercials, such as its 1980s ads featuring the tagline “You’re in charge, Bill Gates” — led to billions of dollars in unexpected sales.
Post-Microsoft Days:
Once stepping down from Microsoft, Bill Gates expanded the horizon of his philanthropic endeavours. Over the years, Gates has used his wealth to achieve a wide range of philanthropic goals. These efforts have included funding biomedical research, education, and arts, culture, and the environment. His philanthropic interests in health, education, and combating disease have captured the world’s attention.
Gates as a Writer:
Besides being a successful entrepreneur and a philanthropist, Bill Gates penned four books titled, The Road Ahead, Business @the Speed of Thought, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic.
Conclusion:
In 2001, Time magazine listed Bill Gates as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Forbes ranks him as the world’s most powerful person. Although the life of Bill Gates is not free from controversies, for certain personal and professional issues, he will be remembered ever at least as the founder of Microsoft and a co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.