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Gates Is Gone, Deal with It

Mary Jo Foley, Redmond columnist and renowned Microsoft watcher, has been hearing rumors and pleas for Bill Gates to return to full-time Microsoft duties. Don't get your hopes up, Foley says. Bill is thoroughly, and for me, thankfully, ensconced in his humanitarian efforts.

Many of those wishing for a Gates return are not huge fans of Steve Ballmer. But as Foley points out, Steve has said he wants to remain in Redmond till his oldest kid goes to college, some eight years in the future.

I don't share these views 100 percent. While I'd love to see Bill back full time, his charity work is far more important that cutting deals and reviewing code (yeah, Bill is famous for his code reviews). And I'm not a Ballmer basher. I've known the guy since the mid-80s and this is one smart, intense dude. He's probably the most fun CEO in existence today.

Those that question Microsoft's methods must not track their financials -- which keep getting better and better. Maybe someday the stock price will catch up to this phenomenon.

Do you or did you own MSFT stock? Tell me whether you won or lost, and what Redmond needs to do to get the stock price moving at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on August 04, 2010


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