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Microsoft's co-founders hacked computer to meet girls while at school

In a new interview, Bill Gates discusses the 'Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation', Microsoft, and other aspects of his life. He also drops an anecdote about how himself and Paul Allen, Microsoft's co-founders, apparently hacked the computer at Lakeside School.

According to Gates, he and Allen hacked the computer for the mischievous purpose of enrolling Gates into classes, where he would be the only male student, giving him a chance to meet girls. The only drawback to this plan was that Gates was too "inept" to pluck up more than "a little bit" of courage - ending the venture in failure.

The pair managed to gain access to the computer thanks to their math skills. The teachers were having a tough time working out how to use the computer, which subsequently gave Gates and Allen access, to see whether they could work out how to use the machine. Once Gates and Allen had a good grasp of the computer, they gave programming lessons to some of the other students. Their knack for programming resulted in the two fixing software problems for various companies.

The interview originally aired on BBC 4 as part of Kirsty Young's castaway series. Having initially aired on Friday 5th, February, the episode has been recorded and can be heard on BBC's iPlayer Radio service.

Source: BBC via Business Insider UK

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