51–60 of 122 posts
The only thing I ever think of when Gates speaks about Allen is how they tried to reduce his equity when he got sick. It's something that has stuck with me for 20+ years.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
True, but not fair, to Gates OR to Allen. "After a few years all that passes. Bill and I have always been friends, even through the ups and downs" https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/may/02/paul-alle...
If you ever go into business with a friend, you should anticipate the worst. They're only human. You have to be on your toes from the start, and you can only blame yourself if you get beat or blindsided. At that point, its irrelevant to your friendship. It was just business.
The only thing I ever think of when Gates speaks about Allen is how they tried to reduce his equity when he got sick. It's something that has stuck with me for 20+ years.
They started and ended as friends, the rest are details
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's why it's a mistake to oversimplify public figures into "hero" or "demon" or whatever. They are always just people. If Bill Gates is just a person and not a hero, you don't have to explain away any of his mistakes. You don't have to elevate him for his philanthropy. You don't have to make any judgments about him, unless it has any bearing on any decision or action you have to take.
Fanboyism is like a cognitive disease. Gates has himself admitted that he was a bully, yet people feel the need to defend him. Rockefeller ruthlessly destroyed lifes but he was also committed philanthropist that started to give six percent of his earnings to charity at age 16. As he grew richer he gave more.
"... Popular Electronics. It featured a new computer called the Altair 8800, which ran on a powerful new chip. Paul looked at me and said: “This is happening without us!” That moment marked the end of my college career and the beginning of our new company, Microsoft. It happened because of Paul." What a magical moment, those youthful fancies. I know that very spot they stood and it still is the same I guess -- all th…
That's quite a statement, wow. I wonder if it's moments like this that distinguish really, really successful people from the rest.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thank you for bringing this up. I had never heard of Ric Weiland. Here is another article discussing how he distributed his wealth: https://www.geekwire.com/2017/remarkable-life-legacy-ric-wei...
"A gay man who fell victim to HIV." The number of times I have heard of this misfortune is sometime truly astounding. A whole community ravaged by an illness that we don't have a solution to, with the government turning their back to it.
Reagan and the US government not only “turned their back” and failed to act for years, leading to conservative estimates of thousands of new infections that could’ve been prevented; they also also actively interfered: for example, Congress banned the use of federal funds for prevention campaigns that “promoted or encouraged, directly or indirectly, homosexual activities”. So a lot of the prevention campaigns became ineffective fear-based propaganda rather than what was needed: targeted education to vulnerable communities about safer sex and needle drug use practices.
"... Popular Electronics. It featured a new computer called the Altair 8800, which ran on a powerful new chip. Paul looked at me and said: “This is happening without us!” That moment marked the end of my college career and the beginning of our new company, Microsoft. It happened because of Paul." What a magical moment, those youthful fancies. I know that very spot they stood and it still is the same I guess -- all th…
>“This is happening without us!” That's quite a statement, wow. I wonder if it's moments like this that distinguish really, really successful people from the rest.