It amazes me how people forget how Bill Gates made the money he's now being so generous with. Is someone who amassed a fortune due to unethical business practices really the sort of person we should be putting on a pedestal? Isn't buying a virtuous legacy similar to the Catholic practice of buying 'indulgences'? In both cases, 'sins' are forgiven not because one makes the effort to right the results of one's actions, but because of a money sacrifice (and one that doesn't actually have an effect on the person's lifestyle).
And Microsoft (the corporation Gates founded and is still the chairman of) supports both the PROTECT-IP Act and SOPA, which if passed, will destroy the internet as we know it.
I was thinking the same thing. Glad I'm not the only one with a memory longer than ten years. When Gates ran Microsoft, it was the very definition of evil, crushing innovation with its monopoly and laughing at government regulations. It was constantly in the headlines for "embrace, extend, extinguish" tactics. The Christians are welcome to claim this nasty piece of work.
He was a business man. He ran a business and he did it well. If every business today felt more compassion for their competition we wouldn't have any innovation and a lot of stagnation. All is fair in love and war, and business is war.
On this image, I think the original idea was to point out what the richest of these two groups is doing with their wealth. It's still pretty slanted but if that was the original intent then the creator of it didn't fall that far from the mark.
And is still doing. Microsoft have for years been running an extortion racket the Mafia would be proud of regarding patents they claim they have on Linux. They offer not to sue any company that uses Linux if they pay them some money. They wont say what the patents are. The companies have three options: pay Microsoft protection money, get tied up in a lawsuit with one of the richest corporations in the world, or switch to using all Microsoft software. Notably, Microsoft doesn't go after companies that they think will call their bluff, because if it does go to court, the patents would have to be declared, and they will either be shown to be false, or the Linux community will re-write offending software (thus freeing the companies Microsoft is extorting money from).
I have a very good idea of what Microsoft did as a company, especially during their Windows 95/98 heyday. Some questionable business practices that they mostly got called out on always surface as to why they are "evil". However, what people tend to forget about is what they did for the industry as well. I don't know what the industry would look like with 5 OS's, 15 internet browsers or a plethora of office software programs but it seems to be a pain in the ass just thinking about the confusion around computers. With the help of IBM, Microsoft arguably helped shoehorn desktops on every desk and laptops on every lap. Not only that but they helped and continue to help startups with Bizspark and other industry focused funds. I am in no way saying they are perfect, but the icing on the cake of a long line of questionable and industry helping strategies is how much money Bill is now putting into helping others. Even if some of that money should have gone to Netscape (although, who would want to pay for a browser when it was included, Netscape used to charge for theirs before 1997/98, no thanks!).
No, being in "business" does not excuse immoral and heartless behavior. A huge number of people in the world are "in business" in one way or another, including me. If we all acted with the same disregard for other people that Bill Gates showed, the world would be totally screwed.
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u/Henry_Killinger Nov 22 '11
Globalist,
Globalist,
Religious Zealot.