The first and the major legacy by Bill Gates was the launching of Microsoft. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational software corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing (“Lavy” 2). Microsoft was established to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. In an article from newsweek written by Levy, reveals that:
He's not just Bill Gates, he's the Bill Gates," says Ballmer, the guy who will be holding the bag after Gates leaves the building. "If you were to say who are the five most famous guys on the planet today, he'd probably be on that list. He founded the company, he's accumulated this wealth, he's got this foundation, he's got this fame. That's irreplaceable. Also, Bill grew up with every one of the technologies in this company. He's got more capacity to remember things than anybody I've ever known. It's unlikely we'll have anybody again who has that breadth.(40) Again, Gates is trying his best to provide help and support for the new generation by adding advance programs with Microsoft. “The article focuses on the innovations in and the integration of microprocessors with field-programmable gate array FPGA. It notes that the combination is a natural way of blending programmability with high-performance computing. It adds that most of FPGA projects are already mixed with one or more hard-core or soft-core processors to meet the increasing demand for programmability and performance” (Wong 2). Likewise The International Business Machines Corporation, or IBM, established IBM Personal Computer commonly known as IBM PC, which is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. When IBM built their newest toolbox, they came to Microsoft for tools. In a magazine called PC Mag, the PC publisher David Bunnell answered a question and the writer explained that like this, “His Hunch was based on the fact that while several software companies were chosen by IBM to provide the initial software for the IBM Personal Computer, only Microsoft provided a complete range of software” (“The man” 16). With this in mind he begun to grow up to the higher levels of business. This growth led him to the path of philanthropy.
On top of his vast endeavors, Bill established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The philanthropist begun his enormous work for his society. An abstract from an article, “The article profiles philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, who were named two of the top global thinkers of 2012 for their work with their charity Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in providing medical care and improving access to contraceptives in developing countries” (“Bill”). Therefore they built a headquarters of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington designed by the architectural firm NBBJ. The foundation, based in Seattle, Washington, is controlled by its three trustees: Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Other principal officers include Co-Chair William H. Gates, Sr. and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Raikes. In an article named Architectural Record , the scribe Pearson,Clifford mentioned that:
A local firm with a global practice rethinks the headquarters for the world's largest charitable foundation. At a time when many people are questioning everything big--government, business, even philanthropy--the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation is settling into its big, new headquarters in Seattle. With more than
$33 billion in its asset trust endowment, the Gates Foundation is the wealthiest charitable entity in the world. But it wanted to send the right message with the architecture of its new home: bold but not arrogant, global but also a good neighbor. While the 640,000-square-foot complex designed by NBBJ and opened in June 2011 has its flaws, it hits most of the right chords in terms of sustainability, transparency, workplace quality, and image. (1)
Accordingly, The Gates Foundation provides financial and medical support to the poorest people, not only in the U.S. but also around the world. He begun to help the nation to work against polio, as a result of that, he provide an immense amount of money to accomplish polio vaccines. In 2010, the gates Foundation gave $2.5 billion in grants. But the World Health Organization, meanwhile, operates on less than $2 billion a year. A summary of an article entitled New Internationalist, says this “The article discusses motivations behind Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates' charitable giving to world health charities through his charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and labeling the process philanthro-capitalism. It addresses issues with large scale philanthropy, particularly focusing on issues of accountability and the interconnectedness of organizations. Other topics explored include creative capitalism, non-governmental organizations, and the impact of lobbying” (“Bowman”). He was eager to provide many free access for poor kids to learn and gain knowledge by implanting libraries. Consequently, Bill initiated free access to internet and other technologies in libraries. The former way of using those beneficial technologies were by paying money to the libraries and having only limited time of use. An article with the title ‘Opportunity for all: How the American public benefits from Internet access at U.S. libraries: A study from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.’ from National Civic Review, reports:
Public libraries throughout the country serve as vital community hubs that provide access to information and opportunities to all people—regardless of their age, ethnicity, income, or level of education. Today, they are a front-line provider of free, public access to computers and high-quality Internet for millions of
Americans. In a world where it is almost impossible to succeed without the
Internet, the public library is often the only place in a community where people can get online and receive the training they need to benefit from opportunities online. As a longtime supporter of public libraries, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation has always understood the critical role libraries play in supporting the economic, educational, and information needs of Americans, but we lacked quantitative evidence of the impact that access to technology was having on the lives of Americans. … We hope it will help policy makers and community leaders throughout the country understand the library’s role as a critical public access technology resource. (qtd. in Jill Nishi 36)
In fact, this generation is more likely tend to use internet as their daily need. Now a days all the important aspects of life is highly dependent on internet. Here comes the helping hands of the noble man Bill Gates. He helped libraries to speed up the connection of internet so that it would be helpful for the poor individuals and kids with no financial support from elsewhere. “ The article reports on a new pilot program by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that would help libraries in seven U.S. states bring their Internet connections up-to-speed. It is aimed at ensuring that low-income individuals have access to online job applications and other opportunities.
According to T. J. Bucholz, senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, they want to ensure that low-income people, who use the library as their primary source of the Internet, have access to high-speed Internet” (qtd in Greenwood 32). Due to this cooperation many commonality energized to go to free public libraries and it really helped them to reach up their goals as well. The article Library Journal, addresses: In libraries with newly installed public access computers, patron numbers grew by nearly 25 percent in 2000 and 2002, with many of them new to libraries. They include homeschoolers, travelers, and people from low-income families, who are much more likely to depend on library computers. This sampling of updated findings from the ongoing research on the U.S. Library Program of the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation indicates the breadth and depth of the impact of this extensive gift to public libraries. These recent findings, combined with the early results of the program ("New Computers Bring New Patrons," LJ 2/15/01, p. 134-138), demonstrate that the program's legacy is substantial” (qtd. in Gordon, Andrew C. , Gordon, Margaret T. , Moore, Elizabeth, Heuertz, Linda and Kenney, Brian 44). The Gates Foundation also supports the Pacific Friends of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which operates under the auspices of the UNSW Foundation.(Gordon, Andrew C., Gordon, Margaret T. , Moore, Elizabeth, Heuertz, Linda and Kenney, Brian 44)
In conclusion, the founder of Microsoft influences many people throughout the world. His helping mentality saved a big amount of lives all around the world. In addition his wealth was became a shelter for many people. A great amount of youth, poor and sick found a new beginning of life from Gate’s help. The outline is that he really made a significant impact on American society through the launching of Microsoft, establishment of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and providing technical, financial, and medical supports to the needy ones as well as for every individual. Bill Gates’ works exemplify the words of Mother Teresa “Give of your hands to serve, and your hearts to love.”
Works Cited
“Bill and Melinda Gates.” Foreign policy, Dec 2012, Issue 197, p 36-36, 2/3p.
Bowman, Andrew. “Big Bucks From Big Brother” New Internationalist, Issue 451, p44-47, 4p.
David Bunnell. “The Man Behind The Machine?” PC Mag, Feb-Mar 1982, vol. 1, No. 1 pg 16.
Gordon, Andrew C., Gordon, Margaret T. , Moore, Elizabeth, Heuertz, Linda and Kenney, Brian.
“The Gates Legacy” Library Journal, 3/1/2003, Vol. 128 Issue 4, p 44, 5p, 3 Charts.
Greenwood, Bill. “Bill & Melinda Foundation Targets Library Internet Speeds” Computers in
Libraries, Mar 2009, Vol. 29 Issue 3, p 32-32, 1/2p.
Levy, Steven. “Microsoft After Gates. (And Bill After Microsoft.).” Newsweek, 6/30/2008,
Vol.151 Issue 26, p 40-43, 4p, 1 Color Photograph.
Nishi, Jill. “Opportunity for all: How the American public benefits from Internet access at U.S. libraries: A study from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.” National Civic Review, Fall 2011, Vol. 100 Issue 3, p36-40, 5p.
Pearson, Clifford A. “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation” Architectural Record, Mar 2012, Vol.
200 Issue 3, p 102-102, 1p.
Wong, Bill. “Innovative Integration Mixes Micros With FRGAs.” Electronic Design, 9/22/2011,
Vol. 59 Issue 12, p 42-48, 7p, 1 Color Photograph, 1 Illustration, 4 Diagrams.
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