[__b__]

Was Kildall a better programmer than Gates?^U

Who wrote more elegant software?

Who undercut the price of the other's software? And why?

Microsoft's early success was not due to originality.

Gates has no aesthetic. He has no respectable standard of quality.

Does anyone remember "Microsoft Bob"?

He may be worthy of respect by less capable programmers. He may be worthy of respect by the business community. He may be worthy of respect for his philanthropic efforts.

But for software users who have any insight into and appreciation of software quality, he has yet to earn any respect. For these users, he has only impeded progress. And Microsoft continues this tradition to this day.

It is perfectly OK to critique him on this particular point.

[Original title was something like "Gates wrote this beauty at four in the morning."]

[SmellyGeekBoy]

Did Bill Gates personally write Microsoft Bob? I got the impression OP was referring to late 70s / early 80s Microsoft when Gates was still very much doing the coding himself, as opposed to the much bigger 90s Microsoft when he was a few layers removed.

[johansch]

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2483957/microsoft-windo...

"'We were just ahead of our time, like most of our mistakes,' Gates says of personal agents like the notorious Clippy character."

"Gates has a personal connection to Microsoft Bob -- more than it being just another product launched on his watch -- as his wife, Melinda French Gates, was a marketing manager on the Bob project."