Let’s face it, Microsoft (specifically Gates) and Intel were pivotal in creating the desktop boom. Sure, they weren’t the revolutionaries, but they brought it down to the masses. Yes, Microsoft probably used their monopoly power to shove the Win 9x crap down our throats, but there weren’t that many options. And its hard to believe that they want customers to pay for OneCare when they themselves left big security holes in their products.

But its hard to imagine a more philanthropic person than Gates. The Gates Foundation is funding a lot of initiatives to fight diseases in third world countries like malaria and tuberculosis. They are funding a project to make boats into mobile libraries in Bangladesh and providing scholarships to students who can’t afford to go to college.

Like an InfoWorld article says, maybe Bill realized the software industry was changing and not the way he was used to thinking. It was time to move on and do something fruitful with his name and money he had amassed. There are lot of rich people out there, but very few using their power to fix the myriad of problems the world is facing.

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