I think he's a good inspiration to americans. I hate the way people put M$ down all the time.(sometimes they deserve it). I think americans should be proud of what he has done.

He deserves a break from Microsoft.

Gates has given us a lot. Microsoft has changed computing and brought microcomputing into almost everyone's life. Like him or hate him, he will go down in history as one of the key people that drove the microcomputer industry from nothing to controlling almost everything we access information wise in about 25 years. Faster then any other major change in humanity.

Dude, before you start spouting that I suggest you watch Pirates of Silicon Valley. Or just read about the whole story about the creation of Apple and Microsoft and the split between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

He made it where he is because he was a ruthless, a-moral theif for all intents and purposes. Just because he now takes less then 10% of his monetary worth and gives it to his own charity doesnt make him anymore likeable.

Hell, I donate more then 15% of my income to charity, does that mean Americans should be proud of what I have done?

A true hero to many, the man who put computers in people's homes, making a real dent in the universe. Thanks Bill, you'll always be remembered, and no doubt we will still hear from you in future MS proyects, I have no doubts!

#1 Philanthropist!

Oh and:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3HA4lSUhlbw

I fail to understand your point.  You seem even quicker and less justified to call someone a j.a. as some may be too quick to call him evil.

You are not looking at the big picture if you think it is that simple.  As an extreme, if someone steals 1 trillion from a bank murdering and killing thousands in the process, and then gives away 100 billion of it, that doesn’t make the person a saint.
 

How much of the foundation is an attempt to appease a guilty conscience and an attempt to atone for actions in the past?  How much of it is for publicity to make himself look good in the history books instead of being remembered for the illegal monoplistic practices used to gain that fortune? Much of the money from the foundation has been to promote abortions, which many feel is one of the purest forms of evil present in modern society.

I am not saying he is evil, but what about this news would show that he is not?  Especially considering this isn't news as it's been planned for years and he has been milking the story for a long time (at least in America).  If it was truely for the right reasons, it wouldn't need to be repeated so many times years in advance for every step of the story.

This blog has quite a few personal and very informative reasons as to why he might 'also' be stepping down, I'd check it out for a good read.

Gates is a liar, cheat, thief, and criminal (though hiding behind the company he made protects him from direct prosecution). He has destroyed dezons of businesses and certainly put thousands out of house and home in the process. He is ruthless, he is greedy, he is manipulative and decietful. There is nothing about his actions that is noble or just, and giving some of the money back after stepping on blood and broken bones to get it doesn't really make things right.

Oh, and you're misguided if you think Gates is responsible for the revolution in computers that we had. It was innevitable, plain and simple. In fact, a great deal of his lying and cheating occured in order for him to become the man who will be remembered.

What Microsoft did in the business world is no different than anybody else out there. Apple, Google, AT&T, they all trampled their way to the top, stealing and buying start-ups. If you, for one second, think any other massive corporation is morally better than Microsoft, you are naive. Actually, this hatred of Microsoft is a relatively new thing. In the 90's they were the shit. Everybody awaited their next release, hell people were waiting in lines the night Windows 95 was released.