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Bill Gates Bows Out Quietly at CES

Funny tribute videos aside, Bill Gates, who's finally pretty much done as Microsoft's chairman, didn't really have a whole lot to say at this week's big, headline-grabbing trade show, CES. Of course, Gates' somewhat mundane speech gave rise to a whole new round of criticism of Microsoft for not innovating...which leads us to wonder, to what extent has Microsoft ever innovated?

Microsoft has always been about sales, marketing and, uh, "dealing with" its competition. It has rarely been on the cutting edge of much of anything -- nor has it needed to be. And Redmond's not hurting financially now. So Gates didn't set the world on fire in one of his big farewell appearances. So what? He can still play big-money whip-out with just about anybody on the planet, and, fortunately for much of the world, he's doing a lot of good with his money.

Posted by Lee Pender on January 08, 2008


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