Eng. 102
Research Paper
11:00
The Gates Influence
William Henry Gates III is certainly one of the best-known personalities of the
last decade. In these days, his name is more than ever a synonym for
technologic and economic achievement, built systematically and skillfully through
the fourth generation of modern computers.
Gates, as a young Washington State eighth-grader, first approached
computers in the late '60s when he teamed up with his school friend Paul Allen
for an unusual pastime: testing and crashing early computing devices of the
early-BASIC era. As Gates' father recalls, his son and Paul Allen would literally
spend days and nights at a nearby company, testing and debugging the
company's new computer (Isaacson). In those days the young Gates was in
constant disagreement with his mother Mary, and the computer was probably the
best justifiable way to solve his problems. Mary was quite authoritative, and
Gates didn't like that. Yet, she soon came to accept the fact he was stronger than
her, and that there was no way she could tell him what to do because he was
extremely determined. Whatever happened would have never stopped him from
thinking that way.
Walter Isaacson of Time describes Bill Gates by saying, "His success stems
from his personality" and I agree completely with him. I like to think of Bill Gates
as a leader rather than a follower because of the constant competitiveness that
originates from his Pink Floydian dark side. Despite the fact he was a shy person
when he was a child, he apparently managed to shift his hidden potentials with
skill and intelligence to make a winner of himself, almost a symbol of self-built
achievement. He has always been a strong-willed person, and he has always
known what he wanted because of his hard-driven personality.
Gates is one of the most influential personalities of the last decades and
"does not deserve moral credit for giving away his wealth, but for having
produced it in the first place," comments Andrew Bernstein of KnightRidder/Tribune News Service. He had a tremendous, positive impact on
American and world economies, and people should realize that this had a
beneficial effect on everybody. He created Microsoft, a company that now
employs 27,000 people in sixty countries and that literally changed the way
people do business. Thanks to the introduction of Microsoft Office applications,
he revolutionized people's life and contributed to the dramatic change in the way
computers were used just a few years ago.
According to Michael J. Miller of PC Magazine, "[Microsoft's] greatest success
has been moving the entire PC industry from the character-oriented world of
DOS to the graphical world of Windows." Up until a few years ago, the computer
was a useful tool for businesses. Yet, the major problem was that it was useful
only if you knew how to use it. By that time, since computers were strictly based
on DOS and similar operating systems, only a relatively small elite was able to
take advantage of that kind of technology. Notwithstanding, Microsoft and Gates
envisioned a new way of using computers and gave birth to Windows with the
intent, besides the economic one, to bring computers closer to people. Windows
and relative applications were actually defying a computer market that was
strictly "language-oriented", contributing to speed up a process of technologic
integration of computers in society.
By now, everyone should acknowledge the importance of computers in
everyday life. These machines are widely used in every field from education to
construction technology, from environmental monitoring to space exploration,
and if it weren't for Microsoft products, things might have never changed.
Gates has been criticized because of his way of doing business. He has been
accused of monopolizing Microsoft products just because consumers buy them
(which means that they are useful). In the past years, he has been treated like a
criminal, and that is not fair because he made his money legally. Most people
know that he is one of the richest men in the world, but what people ignore is that
he made his fortune because he is smart. Gates is not a criminal: he is a blend of
acute intellect and intelligence at the service of a powerful company that he
made successful.
As far as public opinion is concerned, according to Robert J. Samuelson of
Newsweek, Gates is considered to be "an unchastened bully who will attack his
rivals by almost any available means." He doesn't knock at the door, he just
enters: this is what the people think. Despite this, people don't understand that it
is all about marketing: the best product sells out. Nobody wants to buy poorly
developed programs because nobody wants to waste money. If Microsoft sells
more than other companies it means that Microsoft's employees create better
products and that their products are good. When Microsoft was a small company
and IBM ruled the market, I would bet nobody had a feeling of sympathy for the
tiny Microsoft.
According to David Moschella of Computerworld, "The strategic errors of
competitors have been a huge part of the Microsoft story." This is completely
ridiculous! According to Moschella's opinion, Microsoft's success was primarily
determined by mistakes of rival companies. It sounds as if Microsoft survived
through the years because its competitors were plain stupid and were not able to
keep their ideas secret. Through the years, Microsoft made its way into the
business because the company had the smartest CEO and the best employees.
Now, if Microsoft rivals can't keep up with Gates, somebody better find smarter
people to employ (I don't see any other reasonable alternative).
As far as money, Gates has frequently been criticized for his donations over
the last years as well. Since the early '80s, after IBM's failure to retain exclusive
rights on a product that Microsoft bought from a local company, Gates has been
accumulating a huge fortune that is now valued over $107 billion, which means
that he is the second richest man in the world (after the Sultan of Brunei). His first
philanthropic gift was a modest $200 million check for computers in poor areas
(Alter). The public and the press criticized the act, as Jonathan Alter of
Newsweek notes, "as a self-interested--more Microsoft marketing." As far as I am
concerned, Gates can do whatever he wants with his money. He can donate a
few million dollars here and there and, if he wants, he can also burn his money.
People shouldn't worry about what he does. After all, even if it's easy for him to
be generous with a $107 billions in his pockets, Gates has the right to spend his
money anyway he likes it because he made the money, and he deserves it. I'm
pretty sure that the majority of people that criticize Bill Gates are just envious and
believe that money and success are granted to everybody. Unfortunately none of
them understands the fact that success is not that easy and, if you want to
succeed in life and be successful, you have to play the game, play hard, and play
to win.
Works Cited
Alter, Jonathan. "New Windows on the World." Newsweek 30 Aug. 1999: 50+. 10
Sep. 1999
<http://web3.infotrac.galegroup.com/..._1_0_A55548547?sw_aep=lom_
gogebiccc>.
Bernstein, Andrew. "Making Money, not Giving It Away, Is a Virtue." KnightRidder/Tribune News Service 19 Aug. 1999: n.pag. 17 Sep. 1999
<http://web4.infotrac.galegroup.com/..._1_0_A55498257?swaep=lom_
gogebiccc>.
Isaacson, Walter. "In Search of the Real Bill Gates." Time 13 Jan. 1997: 44-56.
3 Sep. 1999
<http://web5.infotrac.galegroup.com/..._2_0_A18986542?sw_aep=lom_
gogebiccc>.
Miller, Michael J. "Lifetime Achievement." PC Magazine 19 Dec. 1995: 135. 10
Sep. 1999
<http://web3.infotrac.galegroup.com/..._2_0_A17801018?sw_aep=lom_
gogebiccc>.
Moschella, David. "Each Round of Poker Could be Bill Gates' Last."
Computerworld 13 Sep. 1999: 33. 22 Oct. 1999
<http://web2.infotrac.galegroup.com/..._1_0_A55729743?sw_aep=lom_
gogebiccc>.
Samuelson, Robert J. "A Tycoon for Our Times?" Newsweek 16 Nov. 1998: 65. 7
Sep. 1999
<http://web2.infotrac.galegroup.com/..._3_0_A53203445?sw_aep=lom_
gogebiccc>.