Sounding off on Gates' farewell

As Bill Gates wraps up his last few days of full-time work at Microsoft, listen to three industry pioneers reflect on Gates' early days and his legacy in the technology world.

by Ina Fried

June 24, 2008 3:49 PM PDT

One of the best parts of working on the Bill Gates transition stories was checking in with some of the pioneers of our industry.

Although the audio here was part of the reflections package that posted earlier Tuesday, I thought it was worth calling out our files of three luminaries reminiscing about Gates.

Below are the words of Ethernet creator Robert Metcalfe, Lotus founder Mitch Kapor, and VisiCalc's Dan Bricklin.

AUDIO

Robert Metcalfe

Gates 'isn't evil'
Ethernet co-inventor Robert Metcalfe heavily criticized Gates in the 1990s on issues of Micrsoft's anticompetitiveness. Yet, he admits he likes Gates, even if the sentiment is unreturned.
Download mp3 (999KB)

Dan Bricklin

Dancing Gates memories
Dan Bricklin, co-creator of VisiCalc spread sheets, talks about Gates' willingness to do anything--including dancing at conferences--for his business and for the industry.
Download mp3 (3.85MB)