I'm not judging Ellison at all. Bill could have done the same, but I think it's cool that he is choosing to oversee how that money is spent while he's still alive.
From a purely selfish point of view, if I was to choose one path or the other, Bill's seems more pleasant.
By spending the money on charity while alive, Bill is celebrated as a benefactor while he is alive and charities (and people) worldwide will mourn his death.
Larry, on the other hand, is not celebrated as a benefactor while alive, and charities will celebrate after he dies and they finally get the money.
And without pretending that he can fix the world. Which is fatuous and provides a cover for business to continue as usual. Ellison is satisfied with being destructive in one domain of affairs. Gates isn't happy with just screwing up computing. He has to poop other people's parties, too.
I don't believe the children who would have died from diseases the Western world doesn't even have anymore would call it "screwing up" their lives.
He's trying to eradicate disease and help people who don't have billions of dollars, or even millions...or even hundreds of dollars to their name.
Bill Gates didn't screw up computing. The Microsoft that exists today is an entirely different animal than it was when it was just a startup, just as Google and Apple are different.
This isn't cynicism about startups' growth trends; this is a point that Bill Gates has revolutionized the entire industry multiple times over. How he chooses to spend his wealth is what most people would call generous and altruistic.
Wow. That was amazingly insightful. However, comparing Microsoft to Linux or Macintoshes is like comparing Sushi to French Fries or Pork. Each one has its draws and vehement opponents. So yes, they are all different, even Microsoft today and Microsoft circa 1994.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, as I thought everything I said was pretty self-evident. But thank you.
Although I wasn't comparing the operating systems, I was comparing the pattern of the companies' growth and changing management over the years. That's why I included Google.
Definitely man, easily. It would be good to see these go to a serious collector or someone who will treat them right and keep them in pristine condition. A gaming museum would be the best choice.
I would highly encourage you to talk to your local small business association, as well as your city officials, before you conclude that it's "worth it".
I'm so sorry for all the small local businesses that can't get any customers from Yelp, internet advertising, advertising on the side of a bus, putting up flyers, having an enticing enough storefront, providing a good enough product/service to get word of mouth, setting up a daily deal, advertising on the radio, or hiring someone to stand by the side of the road with a sandwich board, and have to resort to the frankly sociopathic behavior of wasting valuable time and resources mailing me trash to throw away.
We could jack the price of a stamp to $5, it would still be a reasonable price, and nobody but the stingiest of cheap people could possibly complain. If mailing something isn't worth the price of a hamburger to you, then you shouldn't be mailing that something.
Wouldn't that affect, for instance, eBay sellers who need to ship their goods? You'd need to bump parcel mail up in cost in order to stop people using that instead. I've got small items from fricking China for less than $5 total including shipping!
Just set a 5 dollar rate for standard envelopes and slide everything else that was previously less that 5 dollars up a bit. Things that were previously 10 dollars or more would stay the same.
People who are running businesses that involve sending legitimate mail cheaply will just have to start collecting larger shipping fees. It needn't affect anyone shipping anything but small things.
That sounds like a good idea, but I'm afraid that you'd be left with credit card and insurance companies who could afford those high rates. Your local small mom-and-pop shops would be left out.
Number of people who own TVs, cars, refrigerators, air conditioning, dishwashers, microwaves, ovens, appliances, entertainment devices, mobile phones, copy machines, personal computers, laundry machines, among the plethora of several other consumable goods have gone up substantially. Try buying a personal computer in 1970, and see how much it'll cost you. Each device I've mentioned have also substantially improved.
