Autobiography of bill gates pdf free download

He saw the free distribution of software as stealing, especially when it involved software that was created to be sold. In February of , Gates 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. In , Roberts sold MITS to another computer company, and went back to Georgia to enter medical school and become a country 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 end of , Gates moved the company's operations to Bellevue Washington, just east of Seattle. Bill 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.

Gates was only His acumen for not only software development but also business operations put him in the position of leading the company and working as its spokesperson. He personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, often rewriting code when he saw it necessary. As the computer industry began to grow with companies like Apple, Intel, and IBM developing hardware and components, Bill was continuously out on the road touting the merits of Microsoft software applications.

He often took his mother with him. Mary was highly respected and well connected with her membership on several corporate boards including IBM. Legend has it that at the first meeting with Bill 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. 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 wrong doing. 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. Between and , Microsoft's growth exploded, and staff increased from 25 to In mid Gates and Allen incorporated Microsoft, and Gates was appointed president and chairman of the board. Allen was named executive vice-president.

By , Microsoft was going global with offices in Great Britain and Japan, and with 30 percent of the world's computers running on its software. But also brought news that rocked Microsoft to its very foundation. Paul Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Though his cancer went into remission a year later with intensive treatment, Allen resigned from company that same year.

Rumors abound as to why Allen left Microsoft. Some say Bill 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. In early , a computer company called VisiCorp developed a mouse-driven computer system that used a graphic interface to display text and images on the screen.

This differed greatly from the text and keyboard driven MS-DOS system where all text formatting showed on the screen as code and not what actually would be printed. For the unsophisticated user—which was most of the buying public—the graphic imagery of the VisiCorp software would be so much easier to use. Gates announced in an advertising campaign that a new Microsoft operating system was about to be developed that would use a graphic interface.

The announcement was a bluff, in that Microsoft had no such program under development. But as a marketing tactic it was sheer genius as nearly 30 percent of the computer market was using the MS-DOS system and would wait for Windows software rather than change to a new system. Without people willing to change formats, software developers were unwilling to write programs for the VisiCorp system and it lost momentum by early In November , Bill Gates and Microsoft launched Windows; nearly two years after his announcement.

Visually the Windows system looked very similar to the Macintosh system Apple Computer Corporation had introduced nearly two years earlier. Gates had advised Apple to license their software but they ignored the advice, being more interested in selling computers.

Autobiography of bill gates pdf free download

Once again, Gates took full advantage of the situation and created a software format that was strikingly similar to the Macintosh. Apple threatened to sue and Microsoft retaliated, saying it would delay shipment of its Microsoft compatible software for Macintosh users. In the end, Microsoft prevailed in the courts because it could prove that while there were similarities in how the two software systems operated, each individual function was distinctly different.

Gates held 45 percent of the company's Over time, the company's stock increased in value and split numerous times. Their homework was being turned in late if at all , they were skipping classes to be in the computer room and worst of all, they had used up all of the schools computer time in just a few weeks. It was offering computing time at good rates, and one of the chief programmers working for the corporation had a child attending Lakeside.

A deal was struck between Lakeside Prep School and the Computer Center Corporation that allowed the school to continue providing it's students with computer time. It was not long before the young hackers started causing problems. They caused the system to crash several times and broke the computers security system. They even altered the files that recorded the amount of computer time they were using.

They were caught and the Computer Center Corporation banned them from the system for several weeks. They were determined to find a way to apply their computer skills in the real world. The first opportunity to do this was a direct result of their mischievous activity with the school's computer time. The Computer Center Corporation's business was beginning to suffer due to the systems weak security and the frequency that it crashed.

Impressed with Gates and the other Lakeside computer addicts' previous assaults on their computer, the Computer Center Corporation decided to hire the students to find bugs and expose weaknesses in the computer system. In return for the Lakeside Programming Group's help, the Computer Center Corporation would give them unlimited computer time [Wallace, , p.

The boys could not refuse. Gates is quoted as saying "It was when we got free time at C-cubed Computer Center Corporation that we really got into computers. I mean, then I became hardcore. It was day and night" [Wallace, , p. Although the group was hired just to find bugs, they also read any computer related material that the day shift had left behind.

The young hackers would even pick employees for new information. It was here that Gates and Allen really began to develop the talents that would lead to the formation of Microsoft seven years later. Roots of Business Career Computer Center Corporation began to experience financial problems late in The company finally went out of business in March of The Lakeside Programmers Group had to find a new way to get computer time.

Eventually they found a few computers on the University of Washington's campus where Allen's dad worked. The Lakeside Programmers Group began searching for new chances to apply their computer skills. Their first opportunity came early the next year when Information Sciences Inc. Once again the group was given free computer time and for the first time, a source of income.

ISI had agreed to give them royalties whenever it made money from any of the groups programs. As a result of the business deal signed with Information Sciences Inc. Gates and Allen's next project involved starting another company entirely on their own, Traf-O-Data. They produced a small computer which was used to help measure traffic flow.

The Traf-O-Data company lasted until Gates left for college. During Bill Gates' junior year at Lakeside, the administration offered him a job computerizing the school's scheduling system. It appears your browser does not have it turned on. Please see your browser settings for this feature. EMBED for wordpress. Want more? Advanced embedding details, examples, and help!

This book examines the life and achievements of this standout American inventor and philanthropist"-- Includes bibliographical references and index. There are no reviews yet. Gates has one elder sister, Kristi Kristianne , and one younger sister, Libby. He was the fourth of his name in his family, but was known as William Gates III or "Trey" because his father had the "II" suffix Early on in his life, Gates' parents had a law career in mind for him When Gates was young, his family regularly attended a Congregational church.

Gates was fascinated by the machine and how it would always execute software code perfectly. When he reflected back on that moment, he said, "There was just something neat about the machine. IBM representative Jack Sams mentioned the licensing difficulties during a subsequent meeting with Gates and told him to get an acceptable operating system.

He aggressively broadened the company's range of products, and wherever Microsoft achieved a dominant position he vigorously defended it. He gained a reputation for being distant to others; as early as an industry executive complained in public that "Gates is notorious for not being reachable by phone and for not returning phone calls. Firsthand accounts of these meetings describe him as verbally combative, berating managers for perceived holes in their business strategies or proposals that placed the company's long-term interests at risk.

He often interrupted presentations with such comments as, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! The target of his outburst then had to defend the proposal in detail until, hopefully, Gates was fully Bill Gates giving his deposition at Microsoft on August 27,