How Bill Gates responded to Steve Jobs' claims of Windows being a rip-off - Polidicks

The Apple-Microsoft relationship, or more like the Bill Gates/Steve Jobs relationship has always been turbulent, these two big names of the personal computer era respected each other, but they had their conflicts from time to time. Jobs biography (written by Walter Isaacson) has gone in sale and here we have a rather funny, interesting snippet from it: [QUOTE]Their meeting was in Jobs’s conference room, where Gates found himself surrounded by ten Apple employees who were eager to watch their boss assail him. Jobs didn’t disappoint his troops. “You’re ripping us off!” he shouted. “I trusted you, and now you’re stealing from us!” Gates just sat there coolly, looking Steve in the eye, before hurling back, in his squeaky voice, what became a classic zinger. [B]“Well, Steve, I think there’s more than one way of looking at it. I think it’s more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.”[/B][/QUOTE] [IMG]http://microsoft-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/stevebill.jpg[/IMG] For those who do not know the full story, let's just say that the graphical UI every modern OS uses nowadays was actually invented by Xerox, not by Apple as some may believe. Apple took the concept and perfected it with the Apple Lisa, to later make it popular with the original Macintosh. Microsoft soon followed and released Windows, with its own graphical interface, to which Jobs claimed was a complete rip-off off the Mac. Wow, [B]zing.[/B]

Go Bill!

Going to buy that book now, sounds like an interesting read.

Wow that's the sort of call I could only think of a week later when it's completely useless. [i]"Fuck I wish I had said that at the time, I would have looked like such a champ".[/i]

i dream of a news section where every article isn't a steve jobbs/bill gates asshole quote

[QUOTE=Dokaman;32939620]Going to buy that book now, sounds like an interesting read.[/QUOTE] Gonna buy the book because it makes Steve Jobs look like a total asshole.

[QUOTE]“Well, Steve, I think there’s more than one way of looking at it. I think it’s more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.”[/QUOTE] Holy Zing Batman.

I remember this quote from the film Pirates of Silicon Valley. It was hilarious.

[QUOTE=DaCommie1;32939703]I remember this quote from the film Pirates of Silicon Valley. It was hilarious.[/QUOTE] I always wondered if that scene actually happened, I guess it happened.

That's right. While Apple released the first wide-spread [B]commercial[/B] product with a GUI, Xerox were the guys who invented it in the first place and used it for lots of business software.

That's fucking hilarious, nice one bill.

I loved that answer he gave. Good one Bill! Seriously, what the hell makes Apple think they are the alpha-male of the PC business?

[QUOTE=Solo Wing;32940383]Seriously, what the hell makes Apple think they are the alpha-male of the PC business?[/QUOTE] because right now they kind of are

I really think the only reason why Bill Gates was an asshole was because he had to make sure the dickhead didn't do something really shitty.

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;32940399]because right now they kind of are[/QUOTE] How come?

Zing indeed

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;32940399]because right now they kind of are[/QUOTE] not PC but mobile devices, their market share for computers is I think less then 10%

I thought the Microsoft UI was stolen off Acorn.

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;32940399]because right now they kind of are[/QUOTE] I don't think sales hovering around 10% makes them even close Despite them saying they are in all their marketing

[QUOTE=Hans-Gunther 3.;32940500]How come?[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.forbes.com/special-features/innovative-companies.html[/url] [url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7769263/Apple-overtakes-Microsoft-to-become-worlds-biggest-technology-company.html[/url]

What the hell was up with Jobs thinking that every computing idea ever belonged solely to him?

Why hasn't anyone just made a thread posting the whole damn biography instead of making a thread about every paragraph in it?

[QUOTE=Meller Yeller;32940574]I don't think sales hovering around 10% makes them even close Despite them saying they are in all their marketing[/QUOTE] They say "quickest growing" not largest in their marketing.

Apple is having a momentum, still doesn't make them the most important technology company in the world, which I think it's currently between Microsoft, Google and IBM.

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;32940623][url]http://www.forbes.com/special-features/innovative-companies.html[/url] [url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7769263/Apple-overtakes-Microsoft-to-become-worlds-biggest-technology-company.html[/url][/QUOTE] Growth != Greatness. For all we know Apple's income growth could dip sharply in the next few years (and is more likely to do so compared to Intel or MS due to their business structure). The figures that value Apple as the most valuable company in the world is also based on profit speculation.

It's like Steve passed on his "You stole my idea" to Apple pretty well before he died.

Zingdows.

I just find it annoyingly ironic that they guy who said in an interview "Good artist copy, great artist steal" did nothing but bitch and complain that Microsoft and Google were stealing from them. Don't worry Google / MS, it was just his was of saying you guys are great :)

[QUOTE=Solo Wing;32940383]I loved that answer he gave. Good one Bill! Seriously, what the hell makes Apple think they are the alpha-male of the PC business?[/QUOTE] I think Maverick is secretly in charge of Apple, because he is so alpha male.

Apple are such hypocrites, I plan on never buying a single one of their shoddy products.