William Henry Gates, commonly known as “Bill Gates,” made major contributions to the world of computer technology. As the president and the CEO of Microsoft Corporation, the market leader in supplying software for personal computers, he became the youngest billionaire in the computer industry. His life and achievements have left a legacy in the field of computer systems (McCrossan, 2000, p.99; Wallace & Erickson, 1992).
On 28 October 1955, Bill Gates was born in Seattle to a financially stable family. His father, William H. Gates II, is a famous attorney in Seattle while his late mother, Mary Gates was the director of First Interstate Bank. He learned at the private Lakeside School that placed him in an academically challenging environment. At Lakeside, he met his friend and associate, Paul Allen, and together they ventured into the field of computer programming. At the tender age of 15, Gates managed to crash the DEC and the CDC operating systems that were dreaded as the most complicated computer systems then. This achievement brought him some problems and made the way for his first business deal. Gates and Allen founded the Traf-O-Data company where they came up with a machine that was able to monitor progress of traffic in Seattle. This business adventure did not last long due to low returns.
Gates and Allen then signed a contract with TRW, a firm that made software products. They gained valuable experience in software development while working for this corporation. Bill Gates joined Harvard University in 1973 as a freshman, where he stayed a few metres from the present Microsoft president, Steve Ballmer. While studying at Harvard, Gates and Allen came up with the BASIC programming language for the initial microcomputer – the Mango Information Technology Systems (MITS) Altair 8800. In 1975, Gates and his boyhood friend founded Microsoft Corporation. Two years later, he quit Harvard to devote his energies to their company. Propelled by a conviction that the personal computer would become a necessity in every home and office, they started making software for personal computers.
In 1980, Microsoft signed a contract with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) to have the rights to O-DOS operating system. They developed O-DOS to use IBM’s new PCs. MS-DOS was developed a year later (Lesinski, 2007, p.42). In 1983, Gates ventured into the field of application software by launching WORD 1. Microsoft also introduced Graphical User Interface (GUI) referred to as Windows and the computer mouse, which transformed how a user interfaces with the personal computer. In May 1990, Microsoft launched Windows 3.0 and became the market leader in providing PCs software.
President George Bush recognized Gates role in making Microsoft the largest computer-industry corporation and crowned him with the reputable National Medal of Technology. Gates capitalized on the advancing use of the internet by launching Windows in 1998 that had Microsoft browser incorporated into the software. Under Gate’s management, Microsoft maintained its goal of advancing and improving computer software industry. He strove to ease, reduce costs and make it more pleasant for individuals to use computers. Although Gates resigned in 2000 as the Microsoft CEO, his role in technological innovation, ardent strategy in business, and aggressive competition skills in building the success of Microsoft, is applauded.
References
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Howe, W., 2009. A Brief History of the Internet. Web.
Lesinski, J., 2007. Bill Gates. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company.
McCrossan, J., 2000. Books and reading in the Lives of notable Americans: a biographical sourcebook. Westport: Greenwood Press.
Ruthfield, S., 1995. The Internet’s History and Development. Web.
Wallace, J. & Erickson, J., 1992. Hard drive: Bill Gates and the making of the Microsoft empire New York: Wiley.
Wiggins, W., 1994.The Internet for Everyone: A Guide for Users and Providers. New York: McGraw-Hill.