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submitted 2 days ago by Maerman@lemmy.world to c/opensource@lemmy.ml

So I just read Bill Gates' 1976 Open Letter To Hobbyists, in which he whines about not making more money from his software. You know, instead of being proud of making software that people wanted to use. And then the bastard went on and made proprietary licences for software the industry standard, holding back innovation and freedom for decades. What a douche canoe.

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[-] Juice@midwest.social 3 points 1 day ago

He's a total ideologue.

[-] Geobloke@aussie.zone 12 points 2 days ago

Cool, you're taking life lessons from a 21 year old...

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

Bill Gates spent a lot of his pro years running a bad company quite well, and exploiting a dominant position in the market that any soulless biz guy would love to have.

He seemed to get a conscience around the time he stopped running the show, and seems to be different while not regretting his behavior in that phase.

I think we can decide he was a bit of a cock back then, while still noting he's done some good work since. We are nuanced enough, right?

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[-] thefactremains@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

I think he genuinely believed it was the best thing for society. He, like so many, was (and likely still is) convinced that everyone thinks like he does. So he believes the only thing that drives people is money.

Now if that were the case, the only way to advance society and facilitate growth in software would be to offer smart people a lot of money.

In that flawed logic, he really thought it was for the best.

[-] Maerman@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

Fair point. It's not an excuse, but it does explain a lot. Nobody is the villain in their own story, after all.

[-] PhAzE@lemmy.ca -1 points 1 day ago

He's totally fine... when he has his billions and complete unlimited financial safety, and never has to have a worry about spending ever again. Take all that away and his monster comes back out.

J/k, once corrupted, always corrupted.

[-] cassandrafatigue@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

More of a total goatse of a man, an impressive gaping emptiness that consumes and gets ass all over everything while making us all look at it.

Except the wedding ring. He's too much of a pedophile to keep one of those.

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[-] Hikermick@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Can you imagine what Microsoft was like in 1976?

[-] Minimac@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

He have no life

[-] Mangoholic@lemmy.ml -1 points 1 day ago

A tale of greed ending with a despicable billionaire.

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this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2025
762 points (94.5% liked)

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