Thanks Bill
Today Bill Gates steps down from his role at Microsoft and I believe I owe him a huge thanks for all he’s done – for the software industry, for his community and now what’s he’s doing for the world at large. I grew up not far from Microsoft and remember when its offices were next to the BurgerMaster. In High School I dreamed of working there but after college I wound up at a small startup called Visio instead. Visio rode the coat tails of Microsoft’s revolution as they pushed for a PC in every home and on every desk. We had incredible success due in part to both our product and team but also to the massive growth that Microsoft was causing in the industry. I remember sitting around with other devs around 1995, we were talking about how important Microsoft was to the current industry expansion and about the role Gates/Microsoft played in it. Someone speculated that Microsoft, so dependent upon Gates, would crumble if he ever left. We all agreed until someone, Mike Frederick methinks, reminded us that all things do come to an end and that, though we couldn’t see that far in the future, he would one day step down. 13 years later and that day is here. The industry looks completely different now but hearing about his departure is making me wax nostalgic about where we came from. I’m proud to have been part of that history and thank Bill for helping make it happen. Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Microsoft helped fuel the revolution that keeps on moving. I hope that he has even more success in his philanthropic pursuits.
Thanks Bill.