Have you ever wished to ask something to Bill Gates? If yes, then get ready with your query. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft has begun answering the questions on Reddit today at 10:45 PST (1.45 pm EST). Bill Gates is hosting a ‘AMA’ (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit. He will answer all the questions submitted by Reddit users.
Little early today, Bill Gates gave Reddit a head-up announcing the AMA at 12.40 pm EST. He posted a short video answering the popular Reddit questions. Bill Gates also posted his own photo holding his stick drawn figure with the Reddit Icon saying “Hi Reddit, this is Bill Gates”.
Gates started his AMA program with the answers of queries about open internet, SOPA, and Online Piracy Act . Here is a part of the the list posted by Mashable of popular Reddit questions answered by Bill Gates so far:
“The Internet has benefited from having lots of free stuff and lots of commercial software. It has been interesting see people inventing hybrid models. Even stuff that is pretty commercial often has free versions for some audiences. Even the most open stuff often have services people choose to pay for”.
“The second thing is the anonymous versus identified tension. This is another one where both will probably thrive since you want anonymity for some things and full identity for others. I am surprised how little progress has been made in the identity space but it will improve”.
Cheapest thing that gave him pleasure
“Kids. Cheap cheeseburgers. Open Course Ware courses…”
On where he gets the “cheap kids” from:
“The stork”
Microsoft project that got away:
“We had a rich database as the client/cloud store that was part of a Windows release that was before its time. This is an idea that will remerge since your cloud store will be rich with schema rather than just a bunch of files and the client will be a partial replica of it with rich schema understanding. (Gates also confirmed it was called WinFS.)”
Gates’ relationship with Steve Jobs:
“He and I respected each other. Our biggest joint project was the Mac where Microsoft had more people on the project than Apple did as we wrote a lot of applications. I saw Steve regularly over the years including spending an afternoon with him a few months before he tragically passed away…”
What emerging technology he sees as potentially disruptive as the PC:
“Robots, pervasive screens, speech interaction will all change the way we look at “computers”. Once seeing, hearing, and reading (including handwriting) work very well you will interact in new ways…”
Bing vs. Google search:
“Seriously Bing is the better product at this point. Try the challenge. I am biased but the work to make Bing better has been amazing.”
Why he left his children “only” $10 million:
“I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them. Warren Buffett was part of an article in Fortune talking about this in 1986 before I met him and it made me think about it and decide he was right. Some people disagree with this but Melinda and I feel good about it.”
The computer he’s using right now:
“I just got my Surface Pro a week ago and it is very nice. I am using a Perceptive Pixel display right now – huge Windows 8 touch whiteboard. These will come down in price over time and be pervasive…”
What people give him for his birthday:
“Free software. Just kidding. Books actually”.
His favorite book:
“My favorite of the last decade in Pinker’s Better Angels of our Nature. It is long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time. I review a lot of the books I read at gatesnotes.com (is that too self-promotional?)”
Whether he still jumps over chairs, which he once demonstrated he can do from a standing position:
“Less than I used to. It was part of exercise for snow skiing. I still ski but I am not as hard core..”.
What he would have done if Microsoft hadn’t worked out:
“If the microprocessor had NOT come along I am not sure what I would have done. Maybe medicine or theoretical math but it is hard to say.Most giving is done by the middle class so it is the backbone of generosity particularly in the United States. A key thing is to support government aid which is only 1% of the budget but helps poor countries in incredible ways.”
Did you ever own a Mac?
“Microsoft does a lot of software for the Mac. I mostly use Windows machines but from time to time I have tried all of Apple products.”
Other philanthropists:
“I have enjoyed meeting other philanthropists and talking about what they work on. I think there is a movement to do more, start sooner and be smarter about giving. Philanthropy is mostly about a broad set of people giving but it helps if the most wealthy set a strong example..”.
His favorite band:
Weezer…. Actually U2 is a favorite.. I keep waiting for Spinal Tap to go back on tour…
What he does for fun:
I love playing tennis. I am an avid bridge player (a card game if you have not heard of it – it was more popular in the past!). I like to tour interesting things with my kids like power plants, garbage dumps, the Large Hadron Collider, Antarctica, missile Silos (Arizona)… I read a lot and watch courses (online or the Learning Company)…
How he feels about his portrayal in Pirates of Silicon Valley:
That portrayal was reasonably accurate…
What’s left on his bucket list:
Don’t die…
Windows 7 vs. Windows 8:
Higher is better.
These were the questions answered by Bill Gates so far, if you have something in your mind, login to your Reddit account and leave your query.
I just left my questions there; let’s see what Mr. Gates has to say about it.
