Emotional day at MSFT
Today Bill Gates announced his plans to transition from Microsoft to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The employee town hall meeting that followed the public announcement was a very emotional event. Bill and Steve both choked up several times, and I wasn't the only one in the audience with teary eyes. There was lots of laughter and humor too. Someone told Bill, "At least I'm glad you're not leaving us to go join Google!" Here are some pictures of Bill and Steve at the employee meeting in Redmond this afternoon.
Like many folks, I've admired Bill Gates since I was little. I grew up dreaming about being at Microsoft some day, and "working for Bill" is still one of the coolest things about being a Microsoft employee. We love Bill and wish he never left Microsoft. But it's a selfish thought given how much good the Gates Foundation can do for the world.
Bill will become a part-time Microsoft employee after 2008, but still remain the company's Chairman and stay involved with major products. Someone from the audience asked what exactly "part time Microsoft employee" meant. Luckily he didn't answer that. Hopefully we'll see Bill keynote another MEDC event like he's done in the past.
Speaking of MEDC, I'm off to conferences in Taiwan, China and Malaysia starting this weekend. I'll have another Spot the Bug contest posted before starting the long trip. Feel free to post your thoughts about Bill's announcement, and any questions you might have about its impact on Microsoft or the software industry.
