Bill Gates says China has created brand-new form of capitalism (and praises Communist leaders)

Agence France Presse ^ | January 29, 2005

[durasell]

I had nothing to do with his accomplishments. However, I would say that:

A)The guy that IBM originally approached with the idea of creating an operating system for their new "micro computer" and who blew off the IBM execs, probably played a role.

B)Bill's mom, who sat on the board of United Way with Opal (sp?) then president of IBM who gave Bill a shot at coming up with an operating system for the micro, probably played a role.

C)The guy who had the core of DOS in Seattle, which Bill purchased for around $50,000 and then tweaked to work on the IBM micro probably played a role.

D)Bill's lawyer dad who came up with the BRILLIANT idea of getting a royalty for each DOS system sold rather than a flat out payment from IBM, probably played a role.

And for the record, I have never met a great man who didn't credit luck and the assistance of others for playing a role in his accomplishments.

[Sam Cree]

Not that I know what a graphic interface is.

[durasell]

Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) came up with the idea of a mouse that moves the cursor around the screen to click on icons. You're probably using one now. Xerox invented the mouse and the idea of little pictures, file folders, documents, etc. because they thought it would help computer illiterate executives.

The powers that be at Xerox basically said, "Cute, but there's no market for it. Why would executives want to use a computer?" Over strong objections of its engineers, Xerox gave Jobs a look at the technology. The rest is history...

[durasell]

...oh yeah, Jobs being Jobs, couldn't resist bragging about the concept he stole from Xerox. And Gates being Gates couldn't resist stealing it for Microsoft.

[Sam Cree]

I'd have thought the same thing the Xerox execs did, it took years before I got a computer, and then only over my "better judgement."

But what a tragedy for Xerox.

[durasell]

If you want to do more research into it, the correct term is "graphical interface."

The Xerox guys actually got the idea, if I remember correctly, from an academic who conceived of it in the 1960s.

Probably a tragedy for Xerox, but back then nobody knew what the market for computers would be. There were actually more photocopy machines than computers in a typical office. IBM was pulled kicking and screaming into the PC market. Jobs et al were blitzed out of their minds in California and either scared or were dismissed out of hand by the corporate types.

[durasell]

...and remember, when all this was going on, the internet was still a top secret government project.

[big bad easter bunny]

The last anology I heard is they are 70% marxist and 30% Sapranos.

[Captain Peter Blood]

Gates may be smart in number of ways but has absolutely ZERO Common Sense.
If he thinks what China has is New Capitalism I have to say Gates can't distinguish very well between an oppressive government that monitors and censors the Internet in that country or what we have here in the United States.

[oceanview]

slave labor, no freedoms, an artificial currency peg - the new capitalism. just great.

my next computer is a mac.

[usa1776]

"our productive system"...? Do you know what the term "pursuit of happiness" meant at the time of the founding of the US? It was an educated way of saying private property. It only had one definition to its users. Thomas Jefferson use of an educated term has caused much confusion to the uneducated. Hope this helps you understand the foundation of this nation better; life, liberty, private property.

In any event, Microsoft is starting a big push to crack down on pirated copies of windows. What's the problem? Apparently, Gates thinks its wrong to steal his property, but not wrong to enslave people and force them to labor.

[Bogey78O]

It's called feudalism. Trust me, it's nothing new.

[Bush2000]

Hey, you might want to bump up the meds.

[familyop]

"Hey, you might want to bump up the meds."

In other words, you don't have any respectful or respectable argument, because I posted references to factual information instead of rhetoric. So you posted a personal insult.

If you keep indulging in leftist vanities like those of Gates and hating those of us who aren't social "progressives," you'll lose.

[af_vet_rr]

I have to say Gates can't distinguish very well between an oppressive government that monitors and censors the Internet in that country or what we have here in the United States.

He knows exactly what China does to its people, how it's setup, etc. If he were to actually criticize the Chinese government, Microsoft would find itself shut out of potentially the largest market in the world.

Bill Gates doesn't answer to you or I or the United States when it comes to these matters, he answers to the stockholders of Microsoft. Microsoft has been making overtures to the Chinese government for years (they've given millions to various groups/organizations inside of China). If your a MS shareholder, you've got to be happpy as hell that he's doing whatever he can to get Microsoft entrenched in the Chinese market.

Don't get me wrong - I don't care for his speech or what MS has done in regards to China, but this is hardly surprising in this day and age. I can happily say my machines at home are MS free. I'll take the hippies of Apple (where at least I know there is a good chance most of their products are coded in the US), or the FreeBSD types.

[Captain Peter Blood]

Yes but all of these companies that do business in China should do so warily. The Chinese are very good at copying then leaving a company holding the bag not to mention the fact that they are notorious about looking the other way on International Copyright law.

[Bush2000]

Get it straight: Your information isn't factual. It's conjectural. There's simply no evidence that the NSA has a backdoor in Windows. Speculate all you want. You're in the realm of conspiracy nutcases. Give my regards to Lee Harvey.

[Bush2000]

Yes but all of these companies that do business in China should do so warily. The Chinese are very good at copying then leaving a company holding the bag not to mention the fact that they are notorious about looking the other way on International Copyright law.

And western companies are lusting after the Mao-jacketed market so much that they're willing to give away the keys to the kingdom. For example, China is going to buy airplaces from Boeing. But I guarantee you that somewhere in that contract is a stipulation that Boeing not only build some portion of the planes in China -- but also employ Chinese labor. Meanwhile, the Chinese are ramping up their own manufacturing industries to compete with westerners -- and they'll steal the expertise that they get from Boeing to put into their own products.

[Bush2000]

If your a MS shareholder, you've got to be happpy as hell that he's doing whatever he can to get Microsoft entrenched in the Chinese market.

When the Chinese improve their human rights record, then I'll be happy. Until then, I'd rather take a lower dividend in exchange for being able to sleep at night.

[Captain Peter Blood]

Yes that is exactly right.