“His skills as a computer programmer “
Illusion, not reality. He bought DOS.
“His skills as a computer programmer “
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Much like Dr. Bill’s skills as a virologist. Nonexistent.
“In July 1981 Microsoft bought all rights to 86-DOS, otherwise known as QDOS, for Quick and Dirty Operating System, from Seattle Computer Products for $50,000 or $75,000, depending on how the cost is calculated. They renamed it MS-DOS.”
https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=99
I’ve read the cost was a lot more, as Microsoft allegedly had to buy up rights held by many other people. But even if so, Bill Gates got a bargain.
I remember seeing the Seattle Computer Products ads in “Byte Magazine”, copies of which are in a box in my garage.
I showed my father a copy of “Byte Magazine” in the summer of 1979. He said I ought to write a program like CP/M.
“Illusion, not reality. He bought DOS.”
Actually, he WAS a very good programmer, when it was a lot harder to be one; I’ve read some of his source code and a lot of those ideas in it were ingenious and copied by others.
That does not make a climate and public health expert.
Yep - interesting how this myth continues...
Back in the late ‘90’s was doing contracts at M$, and there were rumors then that Gates, by then married, was still a “player”. Nothing concrete, and certainly nothing beyond him stepping out.
Didn’t think much of it; wealthy men tend to attract rumors.
And Paul Allen was the technical mind @ M$; Gates’ had his moment with early BASIC interpreters, but Allen was the one who coordinated the early technical moves @ M$. Without Allen, Gates would have been just another used-Altair salesman.