Preparing for Gates
- 5 Jan 08, 15:13 GMT
First off, thanks for all the questions you sent in for our Bill Gates interview at CES in Las Vegas on Sunday.
We laid down the challenge - and you responded.
We had more than 3,000 questions and I had the task of picking out the best ones to put to the Microsoft boss in our interview.
We've made our choices - and it was difficult. With only 20 minutes in which to put these questions to Mr Gates, we had to make sure they were interesting, challenging, stimulating and accessible to a broad audience.
The planning of the interview has also been an intriguing eye-opener into the corporate world.
So how do we arrange a Bill Gates interview? Well, we put a proposal to Microsoft's UK PR team, explain our plans, and they, if happy, pass it on to the US team.
A drawn-out stage of negotiation then takes place over how much time we have, the format of the interview, and so on.
Microsoft never tell us what questions we can or can't ask - but they were keen to limit the amount of "personal questions", which is understandable.
The reality is that in a 20-minute interview using questions from 大象传媒 News readers/viewers, we were not going to have a glut of personal questions because we want a range of discussion points.
Once the interview has been granted - which takes a few weeks to firm up - we then move to the logistics stage.
How many cameras will be used? What tape format is the interview being shot in? Where are the cameras placed?
And today we come to the last part of the pre-interview planning. I'm meeting a senior Microsoft PR executive to finalise details and to get a clearer idea of what Bill Gates will speak about at his CES keynote, which takes place after our interview.
My colleague and blogging partner Rory Cellan-Jones will be putting your questions to Mr Gates tomorrow and the interview will be shown on 大象传媒 News 24, 大象传媒 World TV - and in full on the 大象传媒 News website - on Monday.
I look forward to the reaction.
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This is dot.life - a blog about technology from 大象传媒 News.
Rory Cellan-Jones is the 大象传媒's technology correspondent.
Maggie Shiels is the 大象传媒's tech reporter based in Silicon Valley.
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Comments
Mr. Gates, as an admirable philanthopist, you do a great deal in the U.S., and abroad--including your work providing the Polio vaccine in Africa. Have you aware that in the U.S., care for Polio survivors is greatly lacking due to lack of medical education and public information to alert Survivors of symptoms, before it's too late? Drs. John R. Bach (world expert on Polio and MD breathing), and Richarl L. Bruno are giving of their time, day and night to help us.
Will you? What we do now for Polio survivors, will benefit the world with SARS, Bird Flu, and other viruses that will leave the same horrific symptoms.
I hope one of the questions is about his 2004 assertion that "spam will soon be a thing of the past" see
Spam seems to be worse than ever...thanks Bill!
Kevin
How very uninteresting. Of course the upper reaches of 大象传媒 technology are littered with Microsoft fanboys (take a bow Ashley Highfield and Eric Huggers, who was a top Microsoft executive) so this is probably why the 大象传媒 is cosying up to Gates for the nth time.
Is it really good enough to plough tens of millions of UK public money into an American near-monopoly via the Bill Broadcasting Corporation? We certainly don't need the crowd of sycophants as well...
It's easy for anyone to own a computer now - you can even pick-up a decent computer at the local council skip. But buying software to go on it can be expensive, especially for people on a lo income. Now my question is, Wouldn't it be better for Microsoft to give away it's old software (office 97, etc), to discourage people from downloading and using the latest editions, illegally?
I have two questions to put: -
A man I met 24 years ago from the same industry was asked 鈥淣ow you have enough money to do whatever you like why do you continue to work鈥 he replied 鈥渇or the power鈥.
1. I would like to know Mr Gates thoughts about the obvious power that Microsoft has and his philanthropic activities. As has been said 鈥測ou have to be poor to know what it means to be generous鈥.
2. The spread of IT is nothing more than the emergence of a new tool so how about Microsoft providing a English menu so that we here in the English Speaking world do not have to tolerate such words as 鈥榝avorites鈥.
I hope one of the questions asked was if he is worried about Mac OSX being able to run on standard pc hardware. Is he nervous?
I would like to personally thank
Bill Gates for providing excellent
computers for the town library in
Greenville, Pennsylvania, USA. It
is much appreciated by us all.
Dear Bill,
How does your company differ from a Tyrannosaurus Rex?
"How does your company differ from a Tyrannosaurus Rex?"
How can you compare the two? A Tyrannosaurus Rex is top of the food chain and eats on sight anything that is smaller than it.
Oh wait...
Dear Bill,
I heard Microsoft was looking for talented people who can work wonders with computers. My question is why haven't your guys found me yet. It's not as if I work for Apple, Oracle or the Playstation team.
Comon.. give me a chace..
I am not much of a environmentalist but would you ever consider buying large parts of rainforests around the world and pay for there management/protection.
Hi Bill,
Microsoft seems to get a load of bashing from the IT press and Linux/Mac users.
Have you ever been tempted to pack up your bags, close the MS doors, quit developing enhancements and fixes and see how the users who slagged off such a great suite of software survive without it ?
Cheers,
Geoff.
Mr Gates
2 questions
1.When you started Microsoft, did you expect that the business would be where it is today?
2. Realistically, can Windows be developed any further? Are there any more major advances to be made or do we have more or less everything we need?
"How does your company differ from a Tyrannosaurus Rex?"
How can you compare the two? A Tyrannosaurus Rex is top of the food chain and eats on sight anything that is smaller than it.
Oh wait...
Oh boy did I laugh and laugh at that one! Thanks Phil!
I'd like to know Bill's thoughts about open source software and Linux distributions such as Ubuntu
I'd really love to know what he uses on his PC other than emails and internet connection. Does he ever play games? Does he muck about with Frontpage, Access or Publisher at all?
Why is Vista so unwieldy? You started down the right road with XP and then along comes Vista and undoes all the good work.
Dear Bill Gates,
What inspires you to continue to move forward in the Microsoft Empire? What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs that plan to change the world with new technology?.....and do you own an ipod?
Thanks,
Laurence
I'd like to thank Microsoft for giving me my living for nearly 20 years because I've either used the software, taught others how to use it and now able to work from home. Thank you.
Dear Bill,
Do you ever use a cashpoint machine and ask for a balance. I'd love to see if it could display the number!
Hugh - perhaps the reason the 大象传媒 "is cosying up to Gates" is that his company's operating system is by a very wide margin the most popular on the planet.
Most of us are envious of success. It is a distinctly human emotion. And when most of us do reach some degree of it we do exactly the same as most others. So Bill Gates you are only human and your conribution to others welfare is accepted as being as normal as many others who eventually realise that their success is founded on the needs of all the others. The circle may not be perfect but it does go round. To make a lot and give a little is no great matter but to also give a lot is only right and proper. Your ego
has been satisfaierd by the measure of your success. There is little to better that; except by acknowledging it. So thank you.(One of the others).
dear bill,
have u seen the matrix? are u not worried that in the future (i'm talking distant here) artificial intelligence in computers or machines, whatever, will ruin the world. people don't like doing meaningless boring tasks but they do it for the money. computers won't like doing meaningless boring tasks. see where i'm going here...... this is not an insane thought. have you seen the film A.I.? i - robot? how long before we/you develop that technology?
fraser
Bill, your software has changed the way that the world uses information. I'm curious however to know how you react to the growing sighs of resignation people are now often heard to make when hearing of yet another major flaw in Windows that may provide access to those with bad intentions.
What will you do to restore your product's reputation in the eyes of a world who feel saddled with a product that causes, rather than solves, so many problems?
There's no need to pop Andrew's shallow questions to Bill (number 13). The answers are 'no' and 'yes' respectively. Sigh...
What's your favorite deodorant?
dear Bill,
Is there anyway apart from the EU forcing you to create an operating system that cuts out all the extras that are not needed for the basic OS. I know people have been asking you for years. Do you not think giving people the option to select programs from other people drives innovation. Firefox and Tab'ed browsing springs to mind.
Please do not read that I think Microsoft is bad, it plainly is not. The problems with using Linux prove that fundamentally Windows is good. I just wish that there was a level playing field so we get innovative products.
Hi Bill,
when will Windows Vista Home Basic EnterprisePlus Service Pack 14 be available? And will you be offering a "professional" version of it, so that I can do important stuff with it?
Also my mum might need a special version which lets her play DVDs, will she need to buy Windows Vista Home Basic Enterprise Plus Media Center Edition?
ta for your help fella
Simon
And in answer to Craig McMahon's extremely superficial analysis, to wit:
Hugh - perhaps the reason the 大象传媒 "is cosying up to Gates" is that his company's operating system is by a very wide margin the most popular on the planet.
I would guess that this is a fanboy or indeed an astro-turf post by Microsoft itself, but:
1. There's a big difference between 'popularity' and 'lock-in' (for example, pressuring hardware suppliers to pre-install because of market dominance and abuse of dominant position, force updates and hence computers into landfill - same reason).
2. This is nth appearance of Gates in some bit of Bill Broadcasting Corporation media (TV or web), enough already, please interview a talented and interesting technologist, not just a rich owner of a abusive marketing company.
3. Paul Swindells above would be quite happy with Ubuntu and Open Office, try it, you'll like it!
4. As with the ethical puchases, so beloved of the chattering classes that man (person) the 大象传媒, there ARE ethical considerations associated with technology choice. Wake up!