Bill Gates Talk on Computing from 1989

Bill Gates Talk on Computing from 1989

Andareed on 24 March 2007 - 19:58 · 32 comments & 20299 views

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Bill Gates discusses the software and computer industry, and how Microsoft has contributed. Gates also discusses his views on the future of the computing industry. The talk was recorded in 1989 but was only recently digitized. Topics include:

Microsoft BASIC and the Altair 880 computer
640k memory barrier and 16-bit architectures
EGA graphics and WYSIWYG editors
The importance and future of the mouse
Object-oriented programming
MS-DOS and the importance of OS/2
Apple vs. Microsoft lawsuit regarding user interfaces
Microsoft Office on Macintosh
Gates' current role at Microsoft

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News Source: Waterloo Computer Science Club

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#1 +NeoFlux on 24 Mar 2007 - 20:07

I find it hard to pay attention to audio casts. I need video!

#2 s-t-e on 24 Mar 2007 - 20:13

downoadin...

(1 reply) #3 s-t-e on 24 Mar 2007 - 20:14

#3.1 guylaroche on 26 Mar 2007 - 02:16

^ Such a useful post :p.

#4 +Coldgunner on 24 Mar 2007 - 20:15

I listened to this the other night, quite interesting and much if ut still applies. bit of a history lesson here.

#5 nicholas-c on 24 Mar 2007 - 20:33

wow that picture makes him looks even geekier, i like the fact everyone is in groups and bill is by him self

(2 replies) #6 Ravensworth on 24 Mar 2007 - 20:36

"The talk was recorded in 1989 but was only recently digitized. Topics include:
"640k memory barrier and 16-bit architectures"

I haven't watched it yet but I really hope this proves or disproves that stupid 640k quote once and for all.

#6.1 seamer on 24 Mar 2007 - 23:40

The only stupid thing about the quote is the people who insist on forgetting about the context it was made in. Its really one of the most notoriously misquoted technolores I can think of.

#6.2 Andareed on 24 Mar 2007 - 23:49

Quote - (Ravensworth said @ #6)

The exact 640k quote from the talk:

"So that's a 1 MB address space. And in that original design I took the upper 340k and decided that a certain amount should be for video memory, a certain amount for the ROM and I/O, and that left 640k for general purpose memory. And that leads to today's situation where people talk about the 640k memory barrier; the limit of how much memory you can put to these machines. I have to say that in 1981, making those decisions, I felt like I was providing enough freedom for 10 years. <audience laughing>. That is, a move from 64k to 640k felt like something that would last a great deal of time. Well, it didn't - it took about only 6 years before people started to see that as a real problem."

Last edited by Andareed on 25 Mar 2007 - 00:18

(5 replies) #7 mko on 24 Mar 2007 - 20:45

.. and the important of OS/2? lol

#7.1 Ravensworth on 24 Mar 2007 - 20:58

This was 1989, and OS/2 was a whole lot better than the alternatives at that time.

#7.2 Slugbait on 25 Mar 2007 - 19:34

Of course it was important. The GUI for it had just recently been released at the time this talk was given.

Gates always speaks high praise for the operating systems that MS writes. OS/2 was no different.

With the eventual success of NT, the importance of OS/2 has a difference relevance now than it had back then, but still important nonetheless.

#7.3 HawkMan on 25 Mar 2007 - 21:30

NT is just the OS/2 branch that succeded though.

And that's much IBM's own fault, this was even before gaming and DirectX and all kinds of apps locked us into windows, and with OS/2 being relatively windows compatible anyway there's no technical reasons why it should have faded into nothing.

#7.4 Roger MS on 25 Mar 2007 - 23:46

Quote - (HawkMan said @ #7.3)

NT is just the OS/2 branch that succeded though.

Except that NT was a completely different architecture. It might be more accurate to say that NT is the result of an OS/2 branch that was disolved. The opinions are different, depending on who you talk to.

Quote -

And that's much IBM's own fault, this was even before gaming and DirectX and all kinds of apps locked us into windows, and with OS/2 being relatively windows compatible anyway there's no technical reasons why it should have faded into nothing.

Technologically, lack of hardware support can be fatal to a platform, and there were many devices for which OS/2 did not provide drivers. This, plus the sheer cost of purchasing OS/2, combined to cause potential customers to shy away.

Back then, the application usually depended on your platform. Microsoft took measures to make sure Windows was designed to be a preferred platform for developers, but it was still years later before desktop publishing and applications like Photoshop made their way into the Windows world.

Also, gaming locked us into DOS, not Windows...Windows was just along for the ride on most OEM machines until about 1997. DX3 got the ball rolling, but it was DX5 that the game developers embraced.

#7.5 lbmouse on 26 Mar 2007 - 12:35

Quote - (Roger MS said @ #7.4)

Wow! Deja vu. Vista anyone?

Seriously though, we still have a few system in production that use OS/2. They work fine so there is no reason to fix them.

(2 replies) #8 Croquant on 24 Mar 2007 - 21:53

When did this become neohistory.net?

#8.1 Ravensworth on 24 Mar 2007 - 22:06

Neowin is a technology site is it not? I don't recall any rule saying all articles have to be about breaking news. Anyway this is the first time that this has ever been available on the internet so in a way it is news, and personally I find it very interesting.

#8.2 NightmarE D on 24 Mar 2007 - 22:26

If you don't care for this kind of stuff then simply move along and ignore it. Nobody here says you have to go listen to it.

(1 reply) #9 zivan56 on 24 Mar 2007 - 22:35

Can anybody hear anything? I just hear a loud buzzing and someone faintly talking in the background.

#9.1 Ravensworth on 24 Mar 2007 - 22:39

There is a lot of background noise but I can understand him pretty clearly. I'm curious though why this is in so many formats though, especially the huge wav file. It's a low quality voice recording, mp3 is more than adequate.

#10 -Alex- on 25 Mar 2007 - 01:23

If you listen to this through iTunes, set the preset to 'small speakers'; it makes it MUCH easier to hear

#11 Jexel on 25 Mar 2007 - 01:28

its nice to hear his prediction on 32bit address space being correct

(8 replies) #12 Turbonium on 25 Mar 2007 - 04:25

hahaha look at all these geeks: http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/media/files...es-1989-big.jpg

I bet you half of them still haven't gotten laid to this day.

#12.1 Jexel on 25 Mar 2007 - 05:22

i think you should take your trolling elsewhere, this forum isn't for you.

#12.2 Coolme on 25 Mar 2007 - 05:33

^ I think you should learn to laugh once in a while. I hear that it's an effective cure for grumpiness, and you'll live longer.

#12.3 neowinrox on 25 Mar 2007 - 05:45

And I bet all of them have since made a fortune in IT and can now take a wad of Benjamin's, stick them up your @$$, light them, and not think twice about it.

#12.4 InsaneNutter on 25 Mar 2007 - 08:40

Well Bill Gates is a billionaire and is married with kids... so that kind of destroys that theory

if I had to be him or you I think I know who I would be...

#12.5 Omegatron on 25 Mar 2007 - 13:44

YAY I love Microsoft and hate Sony/Apple be my friend or enemy

#12.6 Jugalator on 25 Mar 2007 - 14:58

It's funny, but among the top 3 geeks there to me, look to be Bill Gates and he's married and among the world's richest men.

Of course, it doesn't help them either that the look of their glasses was modern back then, and uber geeky now.

#12.7 Turbonium on 25 Mar 2007 - 16:43

Quote - (Jexel said @ #12.1)

i think you should take your trolling elsewhere, this forum isn't for you.

As already mentioned, I think you need to learn to laugh. It was obviously a joke.

#12.8 whocares78 on 26 Mar 2007 - 01:03

Seems a few virgin geeks have had theie noses put out of joint a bit, why would anyone be so defensive about a clear geekiness in the photo. I think even Bill would admit he looked like a geek. Guys it's OK to be a geek and a virgin (in fact probably mosty common) you don't have to be so defensive.

#13 xbiox on 26 Mar 2007 - 13:59

the dark skinned man always gets the shaft.

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Bill Gates Talk on Computing from 1989

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