[jacquesm]

> I had a lot of respect for Bill

That was your mistake right there. Bill Gates has been a criminal for longer than I can clearly remember, the only thing that kept his company from being split up was his political connections. Bill Gates did not deserve anybody's respect past the point where he started to use his wealth to buy access and cover for his misdeeds. And make no mistake: the rot that this caused has never really left Microsoft, it has only caused it to get smarter about how it presents itself.

[datavirtue]

The respect was from Bill and Melinda's tireless philanthropic work.

[jacquesm]

I see that whole philanthropic work as a giant white-wash operation. And: it's working. But if you first commit a series of crimes to amass a great fortune and then you go around playing Santaclaus I am not going to be one of those easily swayed to move you to the 'good' column. The origin of your wealth matters as much if not more than what you do with it.