Bill gates biography microsoft corporation uk

One of the pioneers of home computing, Gates proved himself to be a technological visionary and software applications guru. According to industry analysts, he also demonstrated that he was a shrewd marketing strategist as well as an aggressive corporate leader. The son of a lawyer and a schoolteacher, Gates attended a public grade school and then the Lakeside School, a private college preparatory institution.

It was at Lakeside that he first became interested in the relatively new field of computer programming, met his friend and future business partner Paul Allen, and developed his first computer software program at the age of In the Lakeside School was still purchasing computer time on a machine owned by General Electric, as computers were extremely expensive in the late s.

Gates and his friends from Lakeside became fascinated with the machines and formed the Lakeside Programmers Group to try to make money in the computer field. The Programmers Group primarily earned its founders free computing time on machines owned by a company in Seattle. Gates and Allen then formed a company that they called Traf-O-Data. The company remained in business until Gates and Allen graduated from high school.

Although Gates was interested in computers, he enrolled at Harvard University with the intention of becoming a lawyer like his father. By the time he was a sophomore inhowever, Gates was more interested in computers and electronics than in his pre-law studies. What became the Microsoft Corporation grew out of two college undergraduates' bluff and bravado.

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Gates's old friend Allen showed him an advertisement for a kit to build a home computer. When MITS expressed interest, Gates and Allen ignored their studies and spent the next four weeks frantically working on turning their boast into reality. In an interview in Money, Gates later recalled, "One little mistake would have meant the program wouldn't have run.

Having written the first computer language for a personal bill gates biography microsoft corporation ukGates and Allen established the Microsoft Corporation in The name "Microsoft" was formed from the words "microcomputer" and "software. He believed that there was a market for computer software and that the market was going to expand rapidly as affordable computers were developed for home use.

Before long, however, Microsoft found itself unable to cover its overhead. Even though Gates and Allen received royalties, their software was also pirated by computer hackers. This piracy led Gates to write an "Open Letter to Hobbyists," which said that computer software should not be copied by the then relatively small computer community without the developer's permission.

Gates also recognized at this point in time that the future of computer software lay in owning a standard software package to be used on most computers. By the late s the computing giant IBM had plans for marketing a personal computer for home use. They approached Microsoft to develop the standard operating system for their home computer models.

Money magazine quoted Gates as recalling, "We bet all our resources on that system" July Gates had learned well his early lessons in the software business. He insisted that IBM make Microsoft the exclusive software licensee for their home computers, meaning that all IBM products would have Microsoft operating systems. Furthermore, Gates negotiated a contract that allowed Microsoft to retain the right to manufacture and license the software, which he and Allen had named MS-DOS, to other manufacturers.

InGates and Warren Buffett founded the Giving Pledgewhereby they and other billionaires pledge to give at least half of their wealth towards philanthropy. Gates Sr. Gates's maternal grandfather J. Maxwell was a national bank president. Gates also has an older sister Kristi Kristianne and a younger sister Libby. He wrote his first computer program on this machine, an implementation of tic-tac-toe that allowed users to play games against the computer.

Gates was fascinated by the machine and how it would always execute software code perfectly. Rather than using the system remotely via TeletypeGates went to CCC's offices and studied source code for various programs that ran on the system, including FortranLispand machine language. The arrangement with CCC continued until when the company went out of business.

The following year, a Lakeside teacher enlisted Gates and Evans to automate the school's class-scheduling system, providing them computer time and royalties in return. The duo worked diligently in order to have the program ready for their senior year. Towards the end of their junior year, Evans was killed in a mountain climbing accident, which Gates described as one of the saddest days of his life.

He then turned to Allen who helped him finish the system for Lakeside. Gates left Harvard after two years while Ballmer stayed and graduated magna cum laude. Years later, Ballmer succeeded Gates as Microsoft's CEO and maintained that position from until his resignation in His parents were supportive of him after seeing how much he wanted to start his own company.

I was officially on leave. Allen named their partnership "Micro-Soft", a combination of "microcomputer" and "software", and their first office was in Albuquerque. The first employee Gates and Allen hired was their high school collaborator Ric Weiland. Microsoft's Altair BASIC was popular with computer hobbyists, but Gates discovered that a pre-market copy had leaked out and was being widely copied and distributed.

He remained chairman of the board but he began to focus more on his charitable work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. InGates revealed he would be leaving Microsoft to focus on his charity work full-time. His last full day at Microsoft was on 27 June Gates made the announcement that he would be stepping down as Microsoft chairman and move into a new position as technology adviser in February Interesting fact: Gates was arrested in Albuquerque in for running a red light and driving without a license.

It spawned quite the mugshot. Whether it's cyber security, cloud computing, IT infrastructure, or business strategy, we aim to equip leaders with the data they need to make informed IT investments. Both young men were fascinated with the possibilities of what this computer could create in the world of personal computing. Gates and Allen contacted the company, proclaiming that they were working on a BASIC software program that would run the Altair computer.

In reality, they didn't have an Altair to work with or the code to run it, but they wanted to know if MITS was interested in someone developing such software.

Bill gates biography microsoft corporation uk: Bill Gates (born October 28,

It worked perfectly. Together they founded Microsoft. Allen remained with Microsoft untilwhen he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Though his cancer went into remission a year later with intensive treatment, Allen resigned from the company. Rumors abound as to why Allen left Microsoft. Some say Gates pushed him out, but many say it was a life-changing experience for Allen and he saw there were other opportunities that he could invest his time in.

Founding Microsoft InGates and Allen formed Micro-Soft, a blend of "micro-computer" and "software" they dropped the hyphen within a year. At first, all was not smooth sailing. Microsoft's BASIC software was popular with computer hobbyists, who obtained pre-market copies and were reproducing and distributing them for free.

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At this time, many personal computer enthusiasts were not in it for the money. They felt the ease of reproduction and distribution allowed them to share software with friends and fellow computer enthusiasts. Gates thought differently. He saw the free distribution of software as stealing, especially when it involved software that was created to be sold.

In FebruaryGates wrote an open letter to computer hobbyists, saying that continued distribution and use of software without paying for it would "prevent good software from being written. The letter was unpopular with computer enthusiasts, but Gates stuck to his beliefs and would use the threat of innovation as a defense when faced with charges of unfair business practices.

The combative Gates clashed with Roberts on software development and the direction of the business. Roberts considered Gates spoiled and obnoxious. InRoberts sold MITS to another computer company and went back to Georgia to enter medical school and become a doctor. Gates and Allen were on their own. The pair had to sue the new owner of MITS to retain the software rights they had developed for Altair.

Microsoft wrote software in different formats for other computer companies, and, at the beginning ofGates moved the company's operations to Bellevue, Washington, just east of Seattle. Gates was glad to be home again in the Pacific Northwest and threw himself into his work. All 25 employees of the young company had broad responsibilities for all aspects of the operation, product development, business development and marketing.

At the age of 23, Gates placed himself as the head of the company. With his acumen for software development and a keen business sense, he led the company and worked as its spokesperson. Gates personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, often rewriting code himself when he saw it necessary. He often took his mother with him.

Mary was highly respected and well connected with her membership on several corporate boards, including IBM's. Legend has it that at the first meeting with Gates someone at IBM mistook him for an office assistant and asked him to serve coffee. Gates did look very young, but he quickly impressed IBM, convincing them that he and his company could meet their needs.

The only problem was that Microsoft had not developed the basic operating system that would run IBM's new computers. He made a deal with the software's developer, making Microsoft the exclusive licensing agent and later full owner of the software but not telling them of the IBM deal. The company later sued Microsoft and Gates for withholding important information.

Microsoft settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, but neither Gates nor Microsoft admitted to any wrongdoing. IBM wanted to buy the source code, which would have given them the information to the operating system. Gates refused, instead proposing that IBM pay a licensing fee for copies of the software sold with their computers. Following the development of software for IBM, between and Microsoft's growth exploded.