Gates on Gates: Proud Son Yields to Prouder Dad

Bill Gates Sr. joins famous son to promote book on family values

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates doesn’t have to deal with second billing too often, but he was happy to do so Wednesday since the person hundreds of people packed a New York auditorium to hear was someone he truly admired: His father.

“Needless to say, I am quite proud of the outcome of my family,” said Bill Gates Sr., 84, to a roar of laughter during an event at Manhattan's 92nd St. Y to promote his book, “Showing Up for Life,” which focuses on the value of family and hard work.

Gates Sr. said his position as co-chair of the charity founded by his famous son, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “is why I still get up and go to work every morning.”

“I had a lot of fun growing up,” said the younger Gates (William H. Gates III, to be precise) who famously took a pass on a Harvard education to found Microsoft. “I’m not sure if I made it fun,” he added with a smirk.

Gates Sr. had a bit to say about the value of a strong family, the poor condition of the American public education system and the damage extreme partisan politics has done to government at all levels. However his true focus was on his family, which includes two more children: daughters Kristianne and Libby.

He noted that he has a tradition of taking his grandchildren anywhere in the world they wanted to go when they turned ten years old. 

“By and large we were able to accommodate their wishes,” he said.

The last request came from one of his son’s children: Antarctica. They made it.

Gates Sr. was downright exuberant when he spoke of the 6,000 students a year who “go to school on Bill and Melinda’s dollar.”

During a question-and-answer session, the younger Gates said running Microsoft during its infancy “wasn’t that hard” and “didn’t seem like that big of deal” at the time.

He said Microsoft started on the premise that software, not hardware was the “key ingredient” in developing a usable computer. Unlike other companies that focused on a single product, like the old WordPerfect Corp., Microsoft sought to develop entire platforms of software products, he said.

“In all success stories there are significant elements of luck and timing,” he said. “You do have to be lucky enough, but you have to be fanatical enough to keep it going.”

In a week where Apple, buoyed by strong sales of its new iPad tablet, nudged ahead of Microsoft to become the world’s largest tech company in terms of market capitalization, the younger Gates actually eked out some praise for his competitor.

“Now Apple’s doing a good job with hardware,” he said as some in the audience tittered. “There’s room for more than one success story.”

So what did Gates Sr. aim to teach readers with his book?

“To get people to think about how we are all in this together,” he said. “We’re grossly interdependent.”

Photos and text Copyright 2010 Stadium Circle Features

Can The Kin Two Do HD Video? See For Yourself

 While none of the folks at the iPhone division of Apple will be losing sleep over the arrival of the new Kin One and Kin Two social networking cell phones from Microsoft, the phones do offer some useful features, including a nifty interface and quality digital cameras which double as camcorders.

  A key feature distinguishing the Kin One ($50 after rebate) from the Kin Two ($100 after rebate), is that the Kin Two (shown above) can record high-definition videos. So how well does it do HD? Compare these videos and judge for yourself.

  All were taken around New York City on May 4 in the hours after Microsoft and Verizon Wireless held a midtown press event to introduce the new phones, which will hit Verizon Wireless stores May 13.

Times Square in standard definition

Times Square in high definition.

Grand Central Station in standard definition.

Grand Central Station in high definition.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft and Verizon Wireless
Videos and text Copyright 2010 Stadium Circle Features

Google Chrome: Color it gold

When Google first announced it was introducing a new Web browser called Chrome, I thought the same thing you might have: Why bother?

After using it for three months, however, I can say this: It's now my default Web browser.

Why? Because it basically delivered on its promises. For example, a crash in one tabbed window doesn't bring down the whole browser -- just the misbehaving tab -- just as Google promised. 

On Thursday Google took Chrome out of "beta" status and declared it golden -- a finished product. 

To be sure, the early public beta product had its share of holes where bugs and gremlins could find safe refuge. For example, the earlier versions had problems with parts of Facebook.

I like the smooth way in which tabs can be grabbed and reordered in Chrome and I like the way you can drag a tab away and create a new window and then grab that new window and bring it back into your tab lineup. It seems fast enough, and, yes, stable enough for everyday use.

Of course it's not perfect. Other browsers do certain things better. For example, Firefox has a handy, one-step "Undo Close Tab" command which quickly brings back Web pages you may have closed by mistake. Yes, you can recover closed tabs in Chrome via the the "Recently Closed Tabs" listing that pops up when you open a new tab, but it takes a few extra clicks.

And of course there are those Web pages that absolutely, positively demand Microsoft Internet Explorer, so you'll always need to keep that handy on your computer.

One thing you may have a problem with is making Chrome your default browser through Chrome's options settings. When you open up the options in Chrome, you may find that the "Default Browser" setting is grayed out and can't be changed.

In that case, assuming that you're running Windows Vista, try this: Close Chrome. Instead of double-clicking on the Chrome icon on your desktop or elsewhere, click the right mouse button. In the dialog window that pops up, select "Run as Administrator."

Once Chrome reopens, go back to the options page and the "Default Browser" setting should be unlocked and clickable. 

No Chrome isn't perfect, but it's mighty good for a one-day-old browser.

What do you think?

Copyright 2008 Stadium Circle Features