Bill Gates Wrote Steve Jobs A Letter He Kept By His Death Bed
Bill Gates Wrote Steve Jobs A Letter He Kept By His Death Bed
Posted 01/29/2012 at 1:03pm
| by Justin Kerr
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It’s been awhile now since Bill Gates ruled the roast over at Microsoft, however his philanthropic work across the globe has more than made up for his absence. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has almost completely rid the world of polio, and malaria and aids can’t be far behind at this rate. The founder of Microsoft has arguably made one of the most significant contributions to the world in the past hundred years, but even despite all his own personal accomplishments, he continues to reminisce over the death of Steve Jobs in interviews.
According to Gates Steve Jobs was one of the few people to understand his compulsions, and has started slowly opening up to the press in his defense over his description in the late Apple co-founder’s biography. “Steve was an incredible genius who contributed immensely to the field I was in. We had periods, like the early Macintosh, when we had more people working on it than they did. And then we were competitors. The personal computers I worked on had a vastly higher [market] share than Apple until really the last five or six years, where Steve’s very good work on the Mac and on iPhones and iPads did extremely well. It’s quite an achievement, and we enjoyed each [other’s work].”
Gate’s comments might sound a bit like a tribute, but reading between the lines you can also sense his confidence in the decisions he made which lead to Microsoft’s dominance. “He spent a lot of his time competing with me. There are lots of times when Steve said [critical] things about me. If you took the more harsh examples, you could get quite a litany.” In Jobs’s view, his rival was “unimaginative”, “a bit narrow” and derivative. As he once told an interviewer, “He [Gates] would be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram.”
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Cooketh
January 31, 2012 at 2:42pm
Jobs was a narcissist who refused to accept modern medical treatment when he was diagnosed with cancer.
The moron that he was, thinking he was super-human and invincible, he simply woke up from his ridiculous delusions far too late. By the time he had done something reasonable to treat the cancer, he was already a dead man.
Here's a guy who had such unbelievable ego he literally took his survival rate with cancer from 90% down to 10%. All because he's an egotistical narcissist.
What has Gates been doing with his life after his career? Wiping out and curing polio world wide.
Pretty easy to see, for me at least, that one man is simply a more moral, realistic, down to earth man. If there was proof of God, and I'm not saying there is, this is it.
End Rant- Just tired of people being shocked and empathetic to an ass who pretty much killed himself via a twisted greedy self righteous persona he liked to carry.
Sad that he died, but I for one will not miss him. His fate was the result of his choices.
JCCIII
January 31, 2012 at 10:58am
Bill Gates’ philanthropies over at FoxConn, in China, along with equally pleasant memories of Steve Jobs, really have left a mark on our world, a Walmark!
FoxConn surpasses $60 billion, which is, itself, only surpassed by the harm and death of its employees.
I do not want or need a new thinly-improved, advertisement-driven, root-kit device every three months, shouting out, me, at all costs.
Thanks Apple; thanks Microsoft.
Sincerely, Joseph C. Carbone III
titan8813
January 30, 2012 at 11:01am
Why does the title of this article not have anything to do with the content? Seriously, nothing else about a death-bed letter is mentioned in the article.
h e x e n
January 30, 2012 at 5:43am
See, Gates strikes me as a genuine person, a real down to earth, caring individual. His contributions can be seen and felt far beyond that of the tech industry.
Jobs reminds me of a five year old after not getting the toy he wanted at Wal Mart.
nduanetesh
January 30, 2012 at 2:09am
Heh. "...ruled the roast..."
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/rule+the+roost
What you wrote implies that he was the king of beef. :-)
p47riot
January 30, 2012 at 2:15pm
I was thinking more along the lines of the Comedy Central variety...
However, Jeff Ross currently holds the title of "Roastmaster General"
Gezzer
January 30, 2012 at 2:05am
I should paraphrase this by saying I was a teenager in the 70's and yes I did have a misspent youth. If that has made me a more "broader" or "creative" person I can't say. It's not something I'm ashamed nor proud about. It's simply a phase of my life that I went threw, nothing more.
As for what Steve Jobs said about Bill Gates I can really see him thinking that. Consider that, other then in a competitive nature, Gates was much more like Steve Wozniak then Jobs, a true geek.
Jobs creativeness was never geeky in nature. The geeks engineered his visions for him. Then he sold the results to the world. Could you ever see Jobs at anytime of his life with a pocket protector filled with pens carrying a slide rule? How about Gates or Wozniak? Jobs would be too "cool" to do something like that. In fact I don't think Job's comment was to suggest that Gates needed to get stoned, but try to be more "cool". Whatever that really means.
Which is actually a bit ironic considering that geek is now considered by many to be the new cool. Then again they might of meant Job's version of geek, the trendy "hipster geek"
Holly Golightly
January 29, 2012 at 1:54pm
You know, Steve was a hothead for insults. Anyone who did not agree with him was a person who stood in the way of progress... At least in his mind. This is a personality many simply just cannot relate to. Therefore, many people would much rather buy the competition since there is no image pasted onto the product. I am not a hipster, so why should I ever purchase anything that begins with a lowercase letter? I am a PC gamer, and power is what I like. I simply can not get this on a Mac. Although, I will admit, the iPad is selling. I'd much rather save that money for something of equal or greater value.
aferrara50
January 29, 2012 at 5:13pm
I have multiple of each platform and each serves its own purpose. One thing I that makes no sense to me is that apple products are made at foxconn while the price of the product is similar to that of one made in taiwan (generally higher prices and quality).
tekknyne
January 29, 2012 at 2:02pm
Yeah, I'm still having a hard time with Jobs' message. The guy sub-contracts Foxconn to export some jobs and enslave a few thousand Chinese workers and he has advice about being a "broader" and more open-minded person. It's a bit of a conundrum.
routine
January 29, 2012 at 5:59pm
See, your first mistake is you think Steve Jobs was a liberal. I read the book.
A liberal doesn't tell the president of the United States the problem with our public schools are the unions, and that we need a meritocracy in it's place. A liberal wouldn't tell the president that the reason he can't open a factory in the US is because of high taxes and regulations.
Nimrod
January 29, 2012 at 7:45pm
Yeah its to bad. If he had been a "liberal" maybe he would have opened his factories here and that way he would have gone out of business!
What you believe in is a fairy tale that doesnt actually exist. But hey, if there went stupid consumers like you there wouldnt be anyone for producers like Jobs and me to feed our bullshit to.
OCFRED
January 29, 2012 at 4:42pm
Don't be a player hater, rule changes like the lamented group "B" demise (FIA 1986) make it tough to stay competitive in any game; being flexible is just evolution to current realities.
tekknyne
January 29, 2012 at 1:53pm
Everyone would benefit from dropping acid once in their lives... well, at least doing some mushrooms. There's a reason why republicans are the way they are- most of them have never even visited another country let alone tripped balls and opened their minds. That's why they're called conservatives or less-politely: scared of change.
Ironic that Jobs would make that recommendation, he always seemed like a doosh.
routine
January 29, 2012 at 5:53pm
Hrmm... I probably dropped more acid, ate more shrooms, and did more drugs than you can even dream about.
I've been all over these United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean. I've been all over Europe, driven 160 mph on the Autobahn. Hell, I even smoked a joint at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
I've been to South Africa and Mozambique. I've been to a tiny island in the Indian Ocean and saw first-hand how people live there -- the same as their fathers and mothers did 1,000 years ago -- with no electricity or running water.
I am a registered Republican.
Who's the ignorant one now?
And by the way, "doosh" is spelled d-o-u-c-h-e.
shommy2002
January 29, 2012 at 3:10pm
and the dumbest statement of the day goes to?!?!?! tekknyne!!!
austin43
January 29, 2012 at 1:53pm
I applaud you for somehow taking something totally irrelevant to the subject, and adding it to the conversation.
Havok
January 29, 2012 at 4:36pm
Now, can you show me where on the toy doll did the Republicans touch you?
I looooove it when doorknobs spew anti-political party lines for no good reason. Doesn't add to the conversation unless the story is a bout party 'A' or party 'B'
gatorXXX
January 29, 2012 at 5:17pm
He's just upset that the conservatives want citizens to work and make a life for themselves instead of depending on government to do it for them.
Steve Jobs was an incredible hack of a human being. Sure, he was smart and an incredible marketing guru, but that doesn't make him anymore special than anyone else. In my eyes, he was evil and sorry to say, deserved what he got....death. I'm sure alot of you don't agree but that's my opinion.
Keith E. Whisman
January 29, 2012 at 7:56pm
I completely agree with you GatorXXX. I read about 3/4 of the book and I just got too sick of the bullshit and too pissed off to read anymore of it. I've lived clean and obeyed the law all my life and I'm poor as shit and this fucking hippy gets high and spends most of his life high on dope and not showering and he gets the best jobs and makes billions. He was certainly the king of all douche bags.
OCFRED
January 29, 2012 at 1:19pm
Nothing like watching heavyweights sparring, one good hit to the jaw and it's lights out. From a business and shareholder equity prospective suits appreciate the MS approach to evisicrating challenging foes. Mr. Mac on the other hand could just fly from the seat of his pants in regards to risk and create entrirely new opportunties with faith in demand materializing (see Pixar). I'm taking away that open collaboration and mutual encouragment will continue yeilding far more equitiable dividends long term, just without the rockstar trust to show for it.
EscoDaddy
January 29, 2012 at 1:12pm
No Steve, acid wouldnt have helped develop the world's most used OS.
It wouldnt have helped develop the Xbox, Xbox Live, or Xbox 360.
It wouldnt have established MS early ventures in smartphones/PDAs before you combined your mp3 player and made the hipster phone.
I remember seeing the integrated coffee-table PC years back....R.I.P, but your description of Bill is just a hint at your jealousy. Gates did just stroke checks for a sum of $1.1 billion for his foundation.
Mr.Rager22
January 29, 2012 at 10:37pm
You wouldn't know because you've clearly never tried it. Hallucinogens are conscious enhancers. Some artists/inventors claim it stimulates creativity - and I can vouch for that.
aferrara50
January 29, 2012 at 5:15pm
agreed. Why waste ur life with using drugs when you u can have any "toy" in the world or invent/have one made.
tekknyne
January 29, 2012 at 1:55pm
Not sure that the article said it would help develop Windows- just that Gates would be a "broader" guy if he did. Honestly though, if Gates is doing all this awesome stuff and he's never touched any drugs -- live and let live. He's got my respect. More business owners and CEO's could take a page out of that playbook.
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