Whether it's Google or Apple or free software, we've got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes.
— Bill Gates
The U.S. couldn't even get rid of Saddam Hussein. And we all know that the EU is just a passing fad. They'll be killing each other again in less than a year. I'm sick to death of all these fascist lawsuits.
We've got to put a lot of money into changing behavior.
When the PC was launched, people knew it was important.
I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.
There are people who don't like capitalism, and people who don't like PCs. But there's no-one who likes the PC who doesn't like Microsoft.
Software innovation, like almost every other kind of innovation, requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down and talk with customers and get their feedback and understand their needs.
I am results-oriented.
The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don't really even notice it, so it's part of everyday life.
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.
Security is, I would say, our top priority because for all the exciting things you will be able to do with computers - organizing your lives, staying in touch with people, being creative - if we don't solve these security problems, then people will hold back.
People everywhere love Windows.
I actually thought that it would be a little confusing during the same period of your life to be in one meeting when you're trying to make money, and then go to another meeting where you're giving it away. I mean is it gonna erode your ability, you know, to make money? Are you gonna somehow get confused about what you're trying to do?
Like almost everyone who uses e-mail, I receive a ton of spam every day. Much of it offers to help me get out of debt or get rich quick. It would be funny if it weren't so exciting.
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
I'm sorry that we have to have a Washington presence. We thrived during our first 16 years without any of this. I never made a political visit to Washington and we had no people here. It wasn't on our radar screen. We were just making great software.
We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve.
If I'd had some set idea of a finish line, don't you think I would have crossed it years ago?
Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.
DOS is ugly and interferes with users' experience.
Microsoft is not about greed. It's about innovation and fairness.
When you want to do your homework, fill out your tax return, or see all the choices for a trip you want to take, you need a full-size screen.
Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other.
At Microsoft there are lots of brilliant ideas but the image is that they all come from the top - I'm afraid that's not quite right.
Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.
The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
We are not even close to finishing the basic dream of what the PC can be.
It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
