News

The Bill Gates FAQ

In a Q&A on the Microsoft Web site, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates tackled a handful of questions that Microsoft says are the ones he is most commonly asked.

In the three-page Word document posted this week, Gates opines on his happiest moments at Microsoft (getting BASIC to run on the Altair in 1976 and the IBM PC launch in 1981), the prospect for computers to really think on their own (not in the next 20 years), the role of fate or luck in his success ("immense") and the secrets to his success.

Gates also took the opportunity to talk about how he spends his time. "I spend less time in the office than I used to, partly because I have family now but more because electronic mail has freed me to work at home in the evenings and on weekends," Gates said.

He says his work schedule is still 10 hours or more each weekday, not including business-related social functions, and another 10 hours most weekends.

He says about half of his work time is spent with product groups, a quarter is spent in customer-related activities and the rest in "general management activities" like board meetings, press interviews, hiring, budget reviews and writing.

About three hours a day he spends working on his computer. Roughly half of that time goes to Web browsing or trying new software and half is spent reading and writing e-mail and reports.

"I used to work all night in the office, but it's been quite a while since I lived on catnaps. I like to get seven hours of sleep a night because that's what I need to stay sharp and creative and upbeat," Gates said.

To download the full FAQ, click here.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.