BillG’s last day here at Microsoft

Cory Bergman June 27th, 2008

Some 33 years after co-founding Microsoft with Paul Allen, Bill Gates is ending his full-time employment with the company today, which would explain the TV crews standing in front of a Microsoft sign as I arrived to work. That made me a little reminiscent of my days as an 11-year-old programming in BASIC on an original IBM PC. Ah, those were the days. Who would’ve thought Microsoft would grow to 91,200 employees and essentially create a new city here in Washington State. Of course, BillG (that’s his Microsoft alias) has taken some heat for the company’s hesitancy to embrace the internet, but he wrote this in a memo in 1995: “I want to make clear that our focus on the Internet is critical to every part of our business.” And those memos became famous. (My favorite is this hilarious memo back in 2003 when he couldn’t download Moviemaker off Microsoft.com. Oh, and who can forget the Blue Screen of Death.) Now BillG is devoting his time to continue his role as the world’s biggest philanthropist — a noble calling that’s already making a big difference around the world.

I’ll end my little rambling tribute with a Gates quote: “Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.”

Video tribute on Microsoft.com: The story of Bill Gates and of things to come. Also, here’s Tom Brokaw’s complete interview with Gates…