Entries from July 2008 ↓

At 51 years old he has had enough of running the world’s biggest software company, though he remains as it’s chairman. His Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen left in 2000.

Under Bill Gates Microsoft have a long history of winning, whether it be operating systems, spreadsheets or word processors. His biggest mistake was badly underestimating the internet. Microsoft caught up with web browsers but got left way behind in search engines, allowing Google to streak ahead to become the online powerhouse that it is today.

Microsoft have a long history in gaming from their famous Flight Simulator to the most played game in the world, Windows Solitaire. Xbox has been a great, if expensive, success. Now profitable it is vying for the top position in this console generation and in Xbox Live has a vastly superior online offering that will return rich dividends in the coming years. Zune is still under-performing but has the potential to be even bigger than Xbox.

Now Bill will be devoting more time to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF) which has $38 billion to spend, making it the largest private charitable institution in the world. The biggest problem in the world is over population and much of the B&MGF spending on things like health-care look like they will make things worse, not better. Yet, ironically, in the USA they give money to Planned Parenthood.

One thing is for sure, Bill is unlikely to build a monster yacht to cruise the word like Paul Allen has.

Inevitable really. The book Grand Theft Childhood, in doing proper research and coming out with sensible findings was bound to upset the anti game pseudo science industry. The authors say they welcome valid considered criticism but take exception at unsupported attacks.

So when Joanne Cantor, Ph.D published a scathing and factually deficient article (reported here at OpenEducation.net) on PsychCentral.com the authors of Grand Theft Childhood asked the editor of the website to take a closer look at the article. He did so, asking for the advice of two outside reviewers. The conclusion was that the Joanne Cantor article “was not up to the usual standards we look for in our editorial content. There were also questions about specific assertions and accusations.” So it was pulled from the site.

And quite right too. Our industry is continually attacked by self publicising politicians, journalists and academics whose claims have no basis in fact. Grand Theft Childhood dedicates a chapter to debunking what these people have said and the false myths that they seek to perpetuate for their own narrow and misguided ends.