If I were Bill Gates, I'd ban iPhones too
Melinda Gates was recently interviewed in Vogue magazine and had some rather interesting things to say about her husband and the technology in her home.
According to Gates, both she and Bill have strict rules forbidding their children from having an iPod or iPhone.
"There are very few things that are on the banned list in our household," Gates tells Vogue. "But iPods and iPhones are two things we don't get for our kids."
But it gets better. Gates went on to say that there is an "inevitable lure of forbidden fruit" and "every now and then" she looks at her friends and says, "'Ooh, I wouldn't mind having that iPhone.'"
Of course, the blogosphere has erupted, adding fuel to the Bill Gates fire that might never extinguish. In fact, commenters on David Carnoy's Crave article first reporting on this story have delivered some interesting takes on the issue.
"That is kind of a pathetic insecurity that demonstrates just how little confidence Gates and wife have in the products that built their lives," a commenter named ewlech wrote.
In Gates' defense, commenter David Dudley writes, "I don't think it's a confidence issue, they just don't see a point in using their own cash to increase market share of a competitor. You certainly would not espouse Apple to use Dell servers in their internal infrastructure despite opinions of what is 'superior' or otherwise, right?"
The argument could rage for hours. But I don't think it's as difficult an issue as some might think. If I were Bill Gates and I had three children running around my mansion, I'd ban all Apple products, Nintendo consoles and handhelds, Linux, and every single Zune competitor. There's something to be said about family loyalty.
I don't think this is any different than kids being asked to root for their professional athlete father's sports team. Should Derek Jeter's future children root for the Boston Red Sox? Should Tiger Woods' two kids root for Phil Mickelson? Should Tom Coughlin's kids root for the New England Patriots? Of course not. They should stay loyal to their fathers and be a fan for whichever team their fathers are on. Period.
It's the same concept for Gates. He wants his kids to take sides, and by banning iPods and iPhones, he's ensuring that they grow accustomed to Microsoft products. And if he's smart, he'd ban the Wii, PlayStation 3, Android-based devices, the BlackBerry, Macs, Linux, Windows XP (Microsoft doesn't want anyone to use that anymore, just ask Ballmer), Google, Yahoo, and every other product from a competitor.
But he shouldn't stop at that. Gates should paint over all the windows in his home with the colors in the Microsoft logo, and each night before the kids go to bed, he should read them stories about his rise in the tech business. And once they turn 18 and are prepared to enter the real world, they need to perform their final rite of passage: buy an iPod from the Apple Store, bring it home, and throw it in the fire as their entire family watches. If they succeed, they are officially a Gates. If not, they'll need more intensive training.
Well, that's at least what I would do if I were Bill Gates. I mean, hey, why would I be willing to allow my children to be brainwashed with competing products? My kids are mine alone to brainwash. So I agree with Bill and Melinda. iPods, iPhones, Wiis, and Linux should be banned from the Gates home.
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
MicroSoft may spend more on R&D, but Apple has a better return on theirs.
And being so inspired by you I've had an eppifany that I'd like to share with you:
Why don't you stop your trolling, hateful ways or go somewhere else to spew your hate. Be part of the solution, not the problem. (and no Apple products aren't THE solution to everything.)
Do you honestly believe that Bill Gates has the authority to shut the company down?
Seriously?
Michael Dell said that about Apple. I didn't agree with Michael then and I don't agree with AppleRocks in this case.
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"I don't think it's a confidence issue, they just don't see a point in using their own cash to increase market share of a competitor. You certainly would not espouse Apple to use Dell servers in their internal infrastructure despite opinions of what is 'superior' or otherwise, right?"
This was a stupid quote. why compare a business infrastructure to a personal home? Servers are one thing, an iPod is another. If iPods were band from the Microsoft campus, I can understand but sending kids to school with a Zune is just cruel.
They do? Like what better commercials and sheep saying they do?
Facts are in numbers not BS ( as most mactards are).
Not just % of market but % of those that collaborate with MS in business, in home, in entertainment systems, in games, in hardware. There are sooooooooooooo many more things that Apple is a horrible return on.
Bill does not own MS btw - he is a shareholder. Which part cant mactards understand? Which part of school did they miss when busy with the latest trendy thing?
The apple trendiness got mactards in a frenzy. They wanted something spoon fed to them, they didnt get sarcasm, they actually had to think. This was beyond them and they rallied that they couldn't possibly be that stupid and that the commercials were to blame.
1 person can be intelligent, but a group of them can be incredibly stupid!
@savvy, well they were proactive for decades before somebody actually challenged them. There's no need to be highly proactive if there's nothing to react to. Now that something did come, what should they do but react?
My main gripe is that they have been more reactive than proactive for arguably some 6-7 years or so, and they do not appear to have the capacity to be proactive any more. Either that or it just takes too long for them to be proactive, which results in them being perceived as reactive nowadays. Windows 7 is a good example. While it seems to be the OS everyone has been hoping for, you have to wonder why much of it wasn't in place back in 06. Vista R&D costs were massive, yet it didn't feel like a big step forward. It felt like half a step with WIndows 7 being the other half a step. Perhaps MS have become so big a company, they no longer have the flexibility to be proactive, or at least react quickly to the market and competitors.
There are exceptions of course. The xbox 360 was a massive turnaround from the first xbox. Proactive by getting it to market a lot earlier than PS3 to gain a big headstart, and it worked. At a cost though, as for a long time the hardware quality control was terrible. But it is a risk they were willing to take that Sony were not. Sony chose to be proactive with their technology approach thinking the market would wait as long as it took to get the tech right. MS chose a different approach and it gained them significant market share they did not have with the first xbox.
That isn't even close to an intelligent analogy.
Does the CEO of McDonald's (about equivalent to the quality of MS) ban his kids from going to a real restaurant? That is a bit closer.
Not even close at all. A real comparison would be CEO of McDonald's letting kids eat at Burger king. Your an idiot, Apple sucks.
Ah, the irony is priceless!
@pentest, McDonald's is a great company, and they produce highly desirable products. Same with Microsoft.
You comparison is more ridiculous than the quote. Sure you don't compare home and business environment, but Gates wants their kids to have a business-like thought process. But your analogy, wow just ****! You're talking about a whole other industry here! What the hell is wrong with you?
I think they do use them at Pixar for rendering.
The actual article was about charitable giving and research supported by the Gates Foundation. This discussion is a meaningless aside by a bunch of people driven by jealousy. Imagine the stupid paparazzi attention the Gates family would get if there was a picture out there with one of them donning the awful white headphones. I think Gates is doing his family a service by avoiding the publicity circus.
Geez, why isn't there a story about Job's charity foundation? Oh that's right.... Thanks to stories like this the Gates'es will be less likely to do interviews in the future and will certainly be more cautious about revealing private details.
I would think that Gates might LEARN by allowing his family to use whatever they like. He might better understand why some people prefer them to his company's output. As an MSFT corporate officer, he might pass on those insights to make the company stronger. Being overly defensive is not going to serve his interests as much as he thinks.
It's a no duh, with media like it is, having your competitors products in your household would be a bad call. Of course, it seems like a no win situation... since you made negative sarcasm article about it anyways am I right?
I remember a huge flurry about how MS has Apple workstations in one of their locations. Never mind that MS is one of the largest Apple software producers, and to do that you would need actual computers to develop on... no, these nit-wits came out saying how this proves something about MS.
It is standard fare for them.
The kids will become prey of the media who might start bombarding the kids with question about why they use product competing with their father?s company. Quality issue aside, it?ll make a great headline nevertheless.
But in this following article, the closest quoted here is the ?using their own cash to increase market share of a competitor? argument.
Why ? I think the argument about how media would react if they use iPhone is the best defensive argument in the previous article.
BTW, the portable cash registers that Apple employees carry with them in the Apple stores are Window's mobile devices.
If your own kids and wife prefer the competitor's product over yours, even with built-in family loyalty, then maybe your products could stand to be improved. I thought the article had a point at the start, but then devolved into silliness.
And yet, his kids can't even have the chance to compare between products. They're not allowed to even sample the competition at home.
If I were owner of MS and I had kids, I'd want them to try out the competition. I'd watch them, see which product they chose and then I'd ask them why they chose that product. I'd get as much information as they could give me and I would find a way to make my own product that much better. I'd let them choose whatever they liked as long as they tried out my products as well and gave me honest feedback.
Any successful company with a good R&D department realizes that the best product reviews come from your own kids. That's why Vista crapped out, that's why so many other current Windows products (current, not future, ie, not Windows 7) just don't cut it with so many people. Hell, that's why the Zune isn't selling so well. The R&D isn't done where it does the most good for the least cash.
If Mark Shuttleworth can try out Windows 7 and Steve Jobs can use Windows computers, Bill Gates should be able to suck it up and let his kids use a iPod. Maybe the Zune would benefit from it.
I had to point this out because my co-workers asked me "what's up" when they heard me laugh out loud reading that. They then proceeded to laugh too after reading it. I'm glad the kids have a job and money to buy those products so be the primary demographic. I'll let my co-workers kids buy me a Zune and copy of Vista next time I want either. We all know more kids own Vista and a Zune then adult do so they are the primary owners as well. How could MS be so blind as to omit kid testing as their primary R&D option? This is why I hate MS because they won't allow kids to test their products out since they are the primary demographic. Blasted MS!
Someone who was critically involved in the design of these products should use, consume, and play with every type of device they can get their hands on, starting with the popular ones. Only then will you know your competition, and your creativity and ideas for the future will benefit your own products.
But I agree with the idea that it shows a definite lack of confidence in the MS product line by Bill Gates. The proper way to handle this would be to let the kids get the Apple products but to insist that they also get the MS product as well. Let them use both and see which they like the best. Bill just might learn a thing or two about what people like in these devices. It just might help MS to survive and get rid of the present attitude that MS knows best and that MS will tell the consumer what the consumer wants.
Personally, I think Bill might be better off if he banned all those devices including his. :-)
Yea they'll do that just before dad says, "Now remember if I catch you with an Apple product EVER you get zero of my money". I'm sure they understand who's in the top 5 richest people in the world and want a piece.
Ah, sweet, sweet justice.
P.S. wasn't Steve Jobs infamous for carrying a ThinkPad around Apple when he initially returned to the company? Perhaps Gates should do the same thing - refuse to eat his own dog food until his own dog food is worth eating.
Your logic is flawed for at least two reasons that come to mind:
1. The best way to know your competition is to use their products.
2. Using your logic, Bills life would have to change completely.
Dump that fancy European car, where's your American loyalty?
That flat screen TV, that's got to go. Those high dollar French wines
down in the cellar, they got to go. Those good looking fruits from
Mexico/South America/Africa, they all have to be dumped. Lets not
forget all those H1B Engineers at MicroSoft, their not even U.S. citizens,
where's your loyalty? Better not take any calls from Obama, he's a Democrat.
Better pull up the Italian marble, that did not come from America. I could
go on and on, but I think you get the point. randys2Cents
Knowing your competitions product doesn't mean Bill Gates should go out and buy an Ipod for every child member of his own family. Knowing your competitions product would be the resposibility of the people actually involved in Product development not their children.
As for all the banter about H1B Engineers, Buying American, or European cars that's irrelevent to the topic.
Bash if you will, but if you have a relative that does something you need from cutting hair to selling cars there will be a time that it will make sense to follow suit.
Of course I would want my kids to have mediocre products, since that's how I built my empire!
As with everything - people need to take this in moderation.
- by iptofar March 4, 2009 12:58 PM PST
- That's because Microsoft only budgets enough money to buy Apple products for their R&D. Unfortunately, by the time the R&D folks finish up, the item they attempted to copy is out of date so the poor Gates kids can't even use the cast offs.
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- by viper396 March 4, 2009 3:08 PM PST
- Yes, I'm sure you have first hand knowledge into all the BS you just spouted. You're an idiot.
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- by t8 March 4, 2009 6:54 PM PST
- I can confirm that he is right.
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- by xcal78 March 5, 2009 6:17 AM PST
- @t8
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Showing 1 of 3 pages (88 Comments)Please link your references to this. I'm interested in a crediable article proving this as a fact. Shouldn't be but a 30 second process but your 30 seconds of work would enlighten hundreds of readers. We await your infinite wisdom. Brilliant!