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To: damniseedemons who wrote (14373)	11/23/1997 10:24:00 PM
From: Keith Hankin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

I assumed you meant "egghead" to mean just someone of a technical background, as opposed to a "suit". But you call it a "mentality". Based upon this, I am not one. What I meant is just because someone is technical does not mean that they don't "get it" on the business side. They might not be the best to be the corporate leader. But these companies need technical leadership as well has business leadership, otherwise, they won't have the products to compete. Style can only win over substance for so long. After a while, you have to deliver. The only exception to this is companies such as MSFT that gain such a dominant mindshare that they can afford to lag technically... at least for a while. The rest can ill afford even one major mistake. While I think that MSFT has excellent marketing, I still think that they gained most of their success from riding IBM's coattails. Most of corporate America would not consider alternatives, except maybe Apple for desktop publishing, because MSFT did not even have a GUI to support desktop publishing. This success was primarily due to IBM. Remember how long it took for the PC clone market to take off in the Corporate Market? Even when IBM had the crappiest, slowest, most expensive hardware on the market, Corporate America steadfastly refused to buy anything else. Even when the clone market was accepted by Corporate America, usually the most adventurous they got was to buy from Compaq. >>> I also disagree with your opinion on Gates' "immortality." Bill Gates has quickly become among the most famous people in the world. The man is a cultural icon of legendary status, and will be remembered in the history books because he's not merely known in the techie circle, but in the general population (contrast Bill Gates to Gordon Moore, for instance). He is famous today. But will he be so in future generations? There were many industry titans that were very well known in their own time. Many from just a couple of generations ago have already slipped from memory. Ask most 20 somethings, and I'll bet most of them can't name any non-living industry titans. Of course, most would not be able to identify Germany on a map. Perhaps Gates will be one name that remains. Hard to tell right now.

To: damniseedemons who wrote (14373)	11/23/1997 11:39:00 PM
From: Daniel Schuh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

Bill Gates has quickly become among the most famous people in the world. The man is a cultural icon of legendary status, and will be remembered in the history books because he's not merely known in the techie circle, but in the general population (contrast Bill Gates to Gordon Moore, for instance). You know, Sal, there was an article a week or so back in the times about Uzbekistan, where Tamerlane was being rehabilitated as a "hero". Tamerlane, in case you don't know, was a Ghengis Khan type who built an empire in Central Asia, and is mostly known historically for building pyramids out of the skulls of the people he ran over, and other similar niceties. But in Uzbekistan, you take what you can get. Historically, most people don't put the Rockefellers and Watsons and Rothchilds of the world up there with the Lincolns and Roosevelts and Churchills. Everybody knows Alexander Graham Bell, who knows the name of the guy who built the Bell system? Of course, with Bill in control of all the media, he'll get to write his revisionist history where Microsoft invented the world wide web and the OS and who knows what else, and everybody refused to give him credit. The Robber Barons got the respect their money commanded, but nobody every liked them much, and for all I can see it's not much different with Bill. Except, of course, Microsoft is a public company so there's all kinds of shareholders to repeat the company line as the truth. Bill Gates is famous, sure. To make him into some kind of heroic figure, well, that's a matter of taste. Cheers, Dan.

To: damniseedemons who wrote (14373)	11/24/1997 12:08:00 AM
From: Columbo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

The man is a cultural icon of legendary status, and will be remembered in the history books because he's not merely known in the techie circle, but in the general population (contrast Bill Gates to Gordon Moore, for instance). You are truly scary, Sal. Such a young impressionable mind: techstocks.com MH #0

To: damniseedemons who wrote (14373)	11/24/1997 1:42:00 AM
From: Gerald R. Lampton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

>my point is that the company >(not the company employees) can't be successful with the egghead mentality. What, exactly, is the "egghead mentality"?

To: damniseedemons who wrote (14373)	11/24/1997 4:39:00 AM
From: Charles Hughes	Respond to of 24154

>>>Well, it's because Gary Kildall (CPM) had his head in the sand, putting his pride/nobility/innovativeness/superiority above making a prudent business decision with big bad/evil IBM. If only he didn't have that foolish mentality.<<< Kildall denied repeatedly that there was ever any such happening. Or any offer from IBM, etc etc. Anyway, if only what? Gary Kildall ended up with hundreds of millions of dollars, which he often stopped to enjoy in many ways, fortunate as he died young. After making Intel PCs the main contender. Chaz

To: damniseedemons who wrote (14373)	11/24/1997 8:03:00 AM
From: nommedeguerre	Respond to of 24154

Sal, >Oh, wait, eggheads do not understand the real world.. But Sal does? What do you expect to learn in the dog-eat-dog world of the collegiate teen-angst-land that will prepare you to tear out the throats of your competitors in a few years? It takes more than reading Sun-Tzu and PC-World to get the "big" picture. Why are you still in school when you should be out "taking charge" and "showing us how it is done"; seeing that it is so easy and all. Bill didn't need the safety net of a formal education, so why does Sal? I have a greater respect for the silent tiger running loose in Redmond than I do for a loud house-cat in some student lounge. Cheers, Norm P.S. Something sure has you agitated; is www.spank.com giving you that "URL not found" message again?

To: damniseedemons who wrote (14373)	11/25/1997 8:49:00 AM
From: Columbo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

is WHY did Microsoft get to use IBM? Well, it's because Gary Kildall (CPM) had his head in the sand, putting his pride/nobility/innovativeness/superiority above making a prudent business decision with big bad/evil IBM. If only he didn't have that foolish mentality.... That's why Bill Gates isn't an egghead; he didn't let personal matters interfere with his business. Come on, Sal. Didn't ja know DOS is really stolen code? All that stuff was passed around back then. Changed that A prompt to B no wait C. Bill just needed someone who knew how to program it. Daddy being a lawyer helped a bit. After all, that is the crux of their dismay--that with inferior imitations, Microsoft outmarketed their superior and innovative products. Sal, the big guy would not approve of this. And you call yourself a youth leader. Do you sleep with that arm band on? Doesn't the glare from the big "e" keep you up? MH #0