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[vangace]

I mean they guy has given more than 5 billion to charities fighting poverty, Aids etc. Other billionaires like Larry Ellison or Olson( the oracle guy) and the Dell guy have not been active when it comes to charitable work. Even though many of you hate Bill Gates at least give him his due for his charitable work.

You see a lot of celebs who are multi-millionaires holding these events to raise money for their charity, hell why don't they take some of their money and give it to the charity. Tiger made almost 90 million but later this year he is going to hold his charity event to raise money for his charity. Why doesn't he just fund the charity himself.

 

[MrAngryFace]

The hate for Gates is less as you move closer to him. Hate for Gates in the Seattle area is pretty fucking low from what I can tell since he donates so much to schools in the state. Yes its seed for Windows monopoly but whatever. He also donates to a bunch of other things non computer related.

He's a nice guy that happens to run a company thats currently on top. Every loves a winner but also hates a winner, because they arent the winner. If that linux shit was on top everyone would be hating on it too.

 

[Deg]

I dont think most really care about Gates so much.

Bear in mind many remain anonymous rather than arrange PR that they are giving charity. Often it seems like the celebs give the most charity or somehting

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Larry Ellison, from what I hear at least, is just big asshole and will only donate to save on taxes.

 

[vangace]

I dont think most really care about Gates so much.

Bear in mind many remain anonymous rather than arrange PR that they are giving charity. Often it seems like the celebs give the most charity or somehting

What i don't get and don't like is why celebs hold these charity events to raise money when they can just write a check to the particular charity themselves, for instance the Tiger Woods example i gave above. The made almost 90million dollars last year, why doesn't just he write a check for the charity.

 

[Baconäger]

Doesn't he donate for tax purposes too..?

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

I have to deal with a lot of Gates hate seeing as how I'm a CS major surrounded by Linux whoring dorks who swear that merely writing a text document on a Windows OS will make it crash before extolling the benefits of Linux. God, one of them can't even get his 128mb flash drive to work on Linux and another is unable to get his laptop to display Linux in 1280x800. At least know what the fuck you're doing before you come to me with "OMG Linux rocks it never crashes, XP blows!" That's great, now lets see the contents on your flash drive.

 

[MrAngryFace]

yeah the school I go to has a lot of linux lovers.

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

I like doing development on Linux but I also understand that Winxp is a good OS that makes a lot of things easier on me. I don't have time to deal with bullshit like having to compile a media player before watching my teensnowballing video or figuring out why my flashdrive isn't being detected.

 

[iapetus]

God, one of them can't even get his 128mb flash drive to work on Linux and another is unable to get his laptop to display Linux in 1280x800. At least know what the fuck you're doing before you come to me with "OMG Linux rocks it never crashes, XP blows!" That's great, now lets see the contents on your flash drive.

And your point? There are some morons who use Windows too, you know. A lot more of them, actually (both because of the larger install base and because that's what all PCs come with, making it impossible for anyone who isn't computer-literate enough to install a new OS to be Linux-friendly).

No problems with any resolution this PC can display here. As for flash drives, I plug them into the USB port and they're ready to read.

I'm not going to recommend everyone uses Linux, but if you've got a certain level of computer literacy, there are things that it's a lot better for than Windows.

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

The point is that I have certain friends who are having specific problems with Linux that I don't have with WindowsXP, so I decided to write a post related to a personal experience. I was very clear in my post that I was referring to specific people and specific instances.

 

[Nerevar]

I like doing development on Linux but I also understand that Winxp is a good OS that makes a lot of things easier on me. I don't have time to deal with bullshit like having to compile a media player before watching my teensnowballing video or figuring out why my flashdrive isn't being detected.

That is exactly the problem with linux. It's like a fucking green party convention. They have to please everyone who is way, way off the scale in terms of nuttiness, so you just get a lot of half-assed compromises. I mean, some people refuse to use some Linux products because they're released as RPMs and will only use gentoo, but I don't have the time to setup a gentoo setup and configure every little piece of my computer. That's why I used Red Hat / Fedora for a little while, but gave up because it was way to impractical to try and compile and link everything for it to work (I never really even got my graphics card working).

 

[gofreak]

I don't hate Gates, even if some of Microsoft's practises have been questionable. I certainly do recognise his charitable efforts - it's really great..he could be a prick like Buffet, but he's not, so much props to him.

edit - that said, it is VERY easy to be VERY generous when you are VERY rich..

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

It doesn't matter to me if he's donating a million bucks to a charity just for tax breaks or for good PR. That's a million bucks for that charity to use. That's worth much more than ten bucks donated from the heart or with love or whatever you want to use.

edit: Not to knock the ten dollar donation or anything. Donations to good causes are always great.

 

[LinesInTheSand]

If Gates was truly generous he would have given away at least 75% of his money by now. What he gives is a pittance...

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

If Gates was truly generous he would have given away at least 75% of his money by now. What he gives is a pittance...

But it's still a lot of money. Maybe not to him, but to those organizations it's a bundle of cash.

 

[Pochacco]

If Gates was truly generous he would have given away at least 75% of his money by now. What he gives is a pittance...

75% is a lot of money.
Would you donate 75% of your earnings to charity? Or even 5%?
I know I don't...

 

[MrAngryFace]

its easy to suggest when you're poor, but most responsible people know that going crazy with money is still going crazy even if its going to charity.

 

[Hcow]

If Gates was truly generous he would have given away at least 75% of his money by now. What he gives is a pittance...

*sigh*

Most of Mr. Gate's money is tied up in Microsoft stock. Stock is relatively liquid, but since he owns so much, he cannot possibly convert all of into money in any reasonable amount of time without crashing the price of the stock. Therefore, he isn't really as rich as his net worth makes it seem and he certainly does not have as much money to give to charity as you think.

 

[ShadowRed]

"Originally Posted by LinesInTheSand:
If Gates was truly generous he would have given away at least 75% of his money by now. What he gives is a pittance... "







I remember we already had this discussion on this board a long time ago, and me and a few others came to the conclusion that some people will not be happy until Bill Gates/rich people are lying in the gutter broke. No amount of money they give will stop the unfettered envy that some people have for Gates and people like him who are mega rich.

 

[Firest0rm]

Why would you hate Bill Gates? I don't hate him. I just don't like the way his business operates, and no one should. When their taking advantage of their monopoly and charging outrageous prices for their products.

 

[deadhorse32]

Bill Gates is the biggest donator but he until recently has *only* donate 54% of his net worth. (George Soros is placed third with $2.4 billion = 68% of his net worth).

He also promised to give 95% of his net worth to charity.

 

[MrAngryFace]

id be lucky to give 25% ;P

 

[cvkpaladin]

I'd be nowhere near the generosity of Bill Gates if I had his cash. Infact, I'd be more like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons.

 

[Tekky]

I think you can thank Melinda Gates for most of the generosity, not Bill.

(This is, of course, just my opinion.)

 

[Tenguman]

I think you can thank Melinda Gates for most of the generosity, not Bill.

Most likely. I don't remember him being so generous until a few years after he got married.

Still his money though, so yeah for him i guess.

 

[MrAngryFace]

BLOWJOBZ FOR CHARITY!

 

[deadhorse32]

Most likely. I don't remember him being so generous until a few years after he got married.

Still his money though, so yeah for him i guess.

Bill started to give money after the media pointed how stingy he was (note : compare to his wealth).

 

[Phoenix]

Doesn't he donate for tax purposes too..?

Yes. He and the Gates foundation have SO MUCH money that they must give away so many millions of dollars a year just to realize any form of tax benefit.

 

[Pimpwerx]

I think Gates' money is all tied up in MS. AFAIK, he lives and dies by MS. But I don't really know. Anyway, he does donate a lot, and although that's probably for a tax break, it still helps. I don't think he throws his money at politics, which is something I would frown on. So other than being a rich bitch, there's not much I hate about Bill Gates. He's at least passionate about what he does and seem to genuinely want to push technology. My only beef is that he hasn't hopped on the open-source bandwagon yet. When he does that, he'll be my hero. PEACE.

 

[LinesInTheSand]

"Originally Posted by LinesInTheSand:
If Gates was truly generous he would have given away at least 75% of his money by now. What he gives is a pittance... "







I remember we already had this discussion on this board a long time ago, and me and a few others came to the conclusion that some people will not be happy until Bill Gates/rich people are lying in the gutter broke. No amount of money they give will stop the unfettered envy that some people have for Gates and people like him who are mega rich.

? I respect Bill Gates and have no problem with him, I just think he could give more.

 

[Pochacco]

I'm amazed that he would give any money at all.
From a business point of view, he should be investing that money right back into Microsoft.

 

[Error Macro]

The hate for Gates is less as you move closer to him.

I think this theory is true. Look at the opposite side of the world; the Asian countries. The furthest you can be from Gates, and the hatred for him is intense! They have like a 99.9872423561% piracy rate!

 

[bobafett]

Gates is a nice guy: discreet, generous and intelligent. Stop the hate!

Let's hate Bush or Cheney.

 

[SKluck]

Shit, when you've got that much money, what else are you going to do with it?

Honestly, I would probably buy a shitload of islands somewhere rather than give to charities.

 

[Leon]

.

 

[Ecrofirt]

Tell me about it.

I'd like to see Mr. Lines over here give 75% of his money away.

 

[Fjord]

Hey those other two generously sponsor sailing.

 

[retardboy]

If I was rich, I wouldn't donate any of it. Screw that! I earned it, so I deserve it.

 

[maharg]

I'm amazed that he would give any money at all.
From a business point of view, he should be investing that money right back into Microsoft.

I'd say that'd result in diminishing returns. There's only so much he can expand the company at one time, and he has invested in a pure research division like bell labs of old (though not quite as free, I don't think) from which he may be getting some of his best ROI outside the cash cows of office and windows in the long run.

 

[teh_pwn]

"If I was rich, I wouldn't donate any of it. Screw that! I earned it, so I deserve it."

50 billion dollars? Hell, I'd donate with that much and I'm a selfish bastard.

 

[tedtropy]

I have to deal with a lot of Gates hate seeing as how I'm a CS major surrounded by Linux whoring dorks who swear that merely writing a text document on a Windows OS will make it crash before extolling the benefits of Linux. God, one of them can't even get his 128mb flash drive to work on Linux and another is unable to get his laptop to display Linux in 1280x800. At least know what the fuck you're doing before you come to me with "OMG Linux rocks it never crashes, XP blows!" That's great, now lets see the contents on your flash drive.

I think it's become trendy amongst the IT industry and students to proclaim that Linux is the answer to everything and Windows is 'teh suck'. Linux is great stuff, and has alot of great applications, but it's still not all that viable as an end-user OS. Even the most hardcore of my Linux buddies dual-boot Windows XP and use it most of the time at home. Granted, their web servers and everything else are running off a variant of Linux, but they still spend most of their time sitting in front of a Windows machine. If you want to use the more common apps or do any kind of gaming, you really can't get away from it.

As for Bill Gates, say what you will about his vision of technology, but the guy really cares about education and charity in general. In a world full of rich fucks concerned soley about getting richer (read: Ken Lay) that's pretty refreshing.

 

[Che]

Doesn't he donate for tax purposes too..?

Oh yeah.

 

[Prine]

Eh, i've hardly come across any Microsoft haters in person. Only the internet. Nobody cares

 

[bionic77]

Guy is the richest guy in the world, it is a no brainer that a ton of people would hate him. Windows probably isn't the best software, but Gates is a smart businessman and he took full advantage of the opportunites that were there and also of the mistakes other companies made (i.e. Apple).

 

[Uncle Dukey]

I respect the work he has done for charity.

 

[LinesInTheSand]

Tell me about it.

I'd like to see Mr. Lines over here give 75% of his money away.

If I gave away 75% of my money I wouldn't be able to live. If Bill did he'd have enough money to last him for 1000 lifetimes. Don't be an idiot.

 

[Ecrofirt]

No, you're the idiot. Case closed.