September 5th, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
By now you’ve probably watched the Bill Gates / Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft ad a dozen or so times (if not, get to it). If you’re like us, you’ve got a healthy conversation happening about what the new campaign means, and whether or not you actually like the thing. According to a leaked internal email from Redmond’s senior vice president Bill Veghte, this first installment in what will be a series of commercials is meant to function as an “Icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context.” It seems that the company is following the path they’ve stamped out with their previous media burst, the Mojave Experiment, which appears to be less concerned with changing the product (Windows), and more concerned with changing consumers’ perception of the product. In Veghte’s words, “Telling our story means making significant investments to improve the way consumers experience Windows.” So here’s our question to you: is Microsoft on the right track here? Let us know in the poll below! (You can also read the full text of the email after the break)
View Poll
Continue reading Poll: Is Microsoft’s new ad working?
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Posted in Microsoft, Jerry Seinfeld, vista, windows, ad, poll, Bill Gates, BillGates, commercial, JerrySeinfeld, ad campaign, AdCampaign | No Comments »
September 4th, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
As promised, Gates and Seinfeld made their television pair-up debut tonight, in an advertisement for something or other. We were sad to see Seinfeld sans-bee suit, and Gates is lacking in Costanza-isms, but we might just be looking at a beautiful friendship here. Video is after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading Seinfeld and Gates pair up for intense shoe-fitting session, cryptic advertisement
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Posted in Microsoft, Jerry Seinfeld, ad, Bill Gates, BillGates, gates, JerrySeinfeld, seinfeld | No Comments »
August 30th, 2008 by
Filed under: CES
Are you ready to really let loose at this year’s CES? If you said yes, then you’ll be stoked as hell to know that our main man Steve Ballmer will be taking over Bill Gates’ famous keynotes. You read that right, the scariest fratbanger this side of your last toga party will be stepping up to the plate in what we can only hope will be the kind of explosive performance we’ve come to expect from him. Other keynoters will be the handsome Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer and Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford. Here’s hoping Gates at least drops by for a cameo — it just won’t seem like CES without him.
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Posted in Steve Ballmer, SteveBallmer, ballmer, Bill Gates, BillGates, keynote, ces, ces 2009, Ces2009 | No Comments »
August 20th, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/microsoft/Microsoft_enlists_Seinfeld_Gates_to_battle_Get_a_Mac_ads’; Those Apple “Get a Mac” ads have long been an annoyance to Microsoft and to Bill Gates in particular. No surprise as an emboldened Apple with rising market share has continued to ratchet up the venom in quips like, “fear of switching is the foundation of customer loyalty for PCs,” found in its latest TV ad. Now Microsoft is fighting back.
Microsoft’s new $300 million campaign (one of Redmond’s largest ever) is set to launch with a $10 million assist from “key celebrity pitchman” Jerry Seinfeld. Yes, Bill Gates will appear as well — the once maligned, rich corporate nerd turned adorable, rich humanitarian nerd. The campaign is said to based on the idea of “Windows, Not Walls,” stressing the need to “break down barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting.” Something we think open-sourcers might have a laugh at. Anywho, the immediate goal of the campaign is to reverse the negative public perception of Vista and thus incorporates elements of the Mojave Experiment. While we have doubts about the latter, the combination of Seinfeld’s pithy observations with a bit of that Bill Gates, self deprecating humor seen in “Bill’s Last Day” could be a winning combination. Whether that turns the slow moving boat of public opinion remains to be seen.
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Posted in Microsoft, Apple, Jerry Seinfeld, ad, Bill Gates, BillGates, JerrySeinfeld | No Comments »
June 27th, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Well, Bill, it’s just about quittin’ time out here on the left coast, so with your final day at Microsoft drawing to a close, we wanted to present you with a little farewell card. It’s not much, but we hope you like it.
Bill,
I can’t believe you’re already taking off! They even going to let your pension fully vest? Just kidding, I think heard somewhere that you’re worth a lot of money or something. Thanks for the Xbox 360 and for always being so damn friendly — promise I’ll try my best to think only of Allchin whenever I bluescreen. Come visit soon and KIT, okay?
Yours Truly, Ryan
Continue reading Engadget’s farewell card to Bill G
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June 27th, 2008 by
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Being that it is Bill’s special day and all, we figured we’d give you a shot at stepping into his shoes and shaping Microsoft into something even more dominant that the juggernaut it is. Just imagine taking a seat in the biggest corner office Redmond has to offer, getting your Outlook set up, fiddling through a mess of old floppy discs and finally conjuring up a business plan. How in the world would you tweak / overhaul / etc. Microsoft if you were suddenly dubbed the big kahuna? We know this one’s wide (and we mean gaping wide) open, so feel free to write a book down there.
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Posted in Microsoft, vista, windows, software, windows xp, WindowsXp, how would you change, HowWouldYouChange, windows vista, WindowsVista, hwyc, Bill Gates, BillGates, features, bill gates day, BillGatesDay | No Comments »
June 27th, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
It looks like there more than a few misty eyes around Microsoft’s Redmond campus today, where even the man of the day himself wiped away tears as he bid his official farewell to the company. According to Reuters, Gates was joined on stage at the employee-only event by CEO Steve Ballmer, who reportedly got choked up himself as he heaped praise on Gates, saying that “there’s no way to say thanks to Bill. Bill’s the founder. Bill’s the leader,” adding that, “this is Bill’s baby.” Ballmer also talked about how he had contemplated leaving Microsoft just a month after joining the company, only to have Gates persuade him to stay by saying “You don’t get it. You don’t get it. We are going to put a computer on every desk and in every home.” Say what you will about some of his predictions, but he was sure on the mark with that one.
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June 27th, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/microsoft/Bill_Gates_top_ten_greatest_hits_and_misses’; Damn, Bill, you have come a LONG way. Look at you there back in ‘82, you handsome devil. As part of our tribute, let’s take a quick look back at the top ten greatest (and not so great) products created on Bill-time, shall we? Don’t worry, it’ll only sting a little.
Continue reading Bill Gates: top ten greatest hits (and misses) - the Microsoft years
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June 26th, 2008 by
Filed under: Announcements
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/microsoft/Bill_Gates_Retires_Today’; The end of an era; a fresh beginning; good riddance — whatever you think of Bill’s final day at Microsoft, it’s impossible to deny that his tenure there helped forever re-shape not just technology, but the world as we know it. So we’re declaring June 27th Bill Gates Day here at Engadget and hopefully you’ll forgive us for, like, totally tearing up now that he’s finally stepping out of his role as nerd-baron and into the shoes of full-blown immortal philanthropist. Hey, it’s Sir William Henry Gates III’s world, we just live in it — that means you, too, Steve.
We’ll miss you big guy.
P.S. -Keep this on the DL, but we heard this rumor he’s thinking of returning to uni for his post-post-post-doc, and it won’t even be honorary. We’ll keep you posted. In the mean time today, expect plenty more Bill.
Continue reading Celebrate Bill Gates Day with us here at Engadget
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Posted in Microsoft, breaking news, BreakingNews, Bill Gates, BillGates, depressed editors, DepressedEditors | No Comments »
June 26th, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Man, who could have predicted back in 1978 that this collection of nerds, dweebs, and hippies would come to rule the desktop? A time when a PC in every home was just a vision and 640KB of memory ought to be enough for anybody. That’s the original Microsoft “family” re-photographed 30 years later (minus Bob Wallace who died in 2002) as Bill Gates slips into retirement tomorrow. It’s better than a gold watch we guess. Who’s who after the break.
Continue reading Microsoft, then and now
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June 25th, 2008 by
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
While Bill Gates’ imminent retirement from Microsoft is understandably a cause for some quiet moments of reflection for some, it’s also given folks an excuse to dig up some tidbits from Gates’ tenure that have somehow gone unnoticed or unheralded in the past few years, one of the juiciest of which comes in the form of a 2003 email that Todd Bishop of the Seattle Post-Intelligence has thankfully given fresh light. In it, Gates rips into “how Windows Usability has been going backwards” as he details his long, arduous attempts to download Moviemaker and buy the then new Digital Plus pack. While there’s far to many gems to include here, a few of Gates’ stand-out observations include how “crazy” it is that it took six minutes to install “a bunch of controls” before he was able to install Moviemaker, and his disappointment that he had to reboot his machine even though he reboots it every night. Eventually, after (apparently) getting Moviemaker installed, Gates decided to go digging in the add/remove program options to ensure that it was installed, only to find it missing, which prompted him to declare that, “someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable,” adding that, “this program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.” Needless to say, we’d recommend hitting the read link below to check out the full must-read email.
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Posted in windows, windows xp, WindowsXp, Bill Gates, BillGates, gates | No Comments »
June 5th, 2008 by
As you’re undoubtably aware, Bill Gates is set to retire on June 27th at the ripe old age of 52. Bill’s Harvard bud, Mr. Dancin’ Steve Ballmer, also 52 and a notable fan of the developers, has been itching to take over since his appointment as CEO back in 2000. Speaking at an event on Tuesday, we now know that he intends to remain in command, “for another nine or 10 years… until my last kid goes away to college.” Still, as easy-going as the relationship appeared at D, the transition was forged in fire. In fact, the power conflict was reportedly so severe, according to the Wall Street Journal, that it “paralyzed business strategy decision that the company still wrestles with today.” The tension at least once unravelled into a public shouting match (no really, from Ballmer?) between the two. The struggle was apparently resolved in 2001 when Bill finally accepted that he was number 2, “I had to change,” says Gates. Keep in mind that Bill will continue “working” for Microsoft one day a week and serve as the chairman of the board after his so-called retirement. And with Ballmer packing up Gates with a parting quote like, “I’m not going to need him for anything. That’s the principle. Use him, yes, need him, no,” well, let’s just say things don’t seem 100% resolved.
Read — Retirement
Read — Conflict
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Posted in Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, SteveBallmer, Bill Gates, BillGates | No Comments »
May 27th, 2008 by
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
6:16PM PT - The joint’s filling up! Clearly no one’s on stage yet, though, so don’t go too far.
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May 27th, 2008 by
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Gates and Ballmer are down at the WSJ’s All Things Digital conference to talk tech with Mossberg and Swisher, and it looks like tonight they’ll be unveiling the first (official) glimpses of Vista’s successor, currently known as Windows 7. We’ll be posting live from the event, so be sure to check back at 6:15pm PT (9:15 Eastern) as things kick off.
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Posted in breaking news, BreakingNews, Steve Ballmer, SteveBallmer, Bill Gates, BillGates, windows 7, Windows7, keynote, all things digital, AllThingsDigital, d confrence, DConfrence, wsj | No Comments »
May 19th, 2008 by
Filed under: Gaming
Apparently not one to let a tacky trend pass him by, Bill Gates has commissioned 100 mother of pearl-clad Xbox 360s to be used as extra special gifts, the first of which was given to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak earlier this month, prompting a response that we can only imagine to be, “gee, thanks.” To be fair, the design by Korean artisan Kim Young-jun is a bit classier than most of the crystal-encrusted gadgets we come across, but the same can’t quite be said for the move of bringing a bit of thinly disguised self-promotion to a visit with a head of state. We can also only assume that Gates is dreading the day that the President calls him up and asks him what the red rings on his Xbox mean.
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Posted in xbox 360, Xbox360, xbox, Bill Gates, BillGates, gates | No Comments »
April 7th, 2008 by
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
If your pants / panties were in a “bunch” upon hearing news that Windows 7 would be headed into your ever-loving arms “next year,” you might just want to hold off on those party invites for a little bit. Sure, Bill Gates just happened to mention that we’d see a new version of the OS “Sometime in the next year or so,” but it’s looking like that “or so” makes a world of difference. Microsoft wants to chill everyone out with the somber news that its got no plans to introduce Windows 7 any earlier than January 2010 (three years from the launch of Vista), and reassure us that crazy old Gates may have just been talkin’ developer speak. “As is standard with the release of a new product, we will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain tester feedback,” a spokesman for Microsoft said, downplaying Gates’ statement. Of course, this means that XP’s cutoff will suddenly move even further down the line, which makes us wonder what the point of setting that June 2010 date was in the first place. Why are you toying with us like this, Microsoft?
[Thanks, Tony]
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Posted in Microsoft, vista, xp, Bill Gates, BillGates, windows 7, Windows7, release date, ReleaseDate | No Comments »
April 4th, 2008 by
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
You know, we should have paid a little closer attention to Microsoft’s decision yesterday to extend Windows XP sales to “June 2010 or one year after the general availability of Windows 7″ — if the company was really planning on shipping Windows 7 in 2010, that first date doesn’t make a lot of sense unless the plan is to ship Windows 7 much, much earlier. And hey — what’s Bill Gates doing telling investors this afternoon that Windows 7 will come “in the next year” and that he’s “super-enthused” about it? As far as we know, the official Windows 7 timeline hasn’t changed, so Bill might just talking about beta versions, but something’s clearly up Windows-wise in Redmond — perhaps Vista’s wow is not long for this now.
[Thanks, Jon]
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Posted in Microsoft, vista, windows vista, WindowsVista, Bill Gates, BillGates, windows 7, Windows7 | No Comments »
March 22nd, 2008 by
Filed under: Gaming
Remember that dude Nathaniel whose highly sentimental autographed Xbox 360 console was sent in for repairs and returned maddeningly clean? Turns out he didn’t just get a signed Halo 3 care package. Even more swag arrived this week, including (among other things) an Xbox 360 with signatures from the 360 team and Bungie, and even Bill G himself. Yeah, that Bill G. And we can tell you exactly how damned hard it is to get the man to autograph stuff, the last few times we saw him we asked him sign our chests — no dice. The G-man’s infamous signature after the break. Us? We’re closing the book on this one — well played, Microsoft.
Continue reading Even happier ending for “cleaned” Xbox 360 owner: Gates-signed console arrives
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