William Henry Gates III, better known as Bill Gates, has left the post of the president of Microsoft Corporation. The decision was no surprise, as it had been known two years before that in July 2008 Mr. Gates would retire, and at that moment he left the position of the main architect of software and only held the post of the president.     

Microsoft, of course, has had gross historic blunders, the most striking of which was that the company nearly missed the rapid growth of Internet. Windows Vista, released in 2006, is the fresh example of another slip. As usual, the company gambled at further growth of capacity of computers and it failed to forecast the growing popularity of mini-devices, like celebrated Asus Eee PC.

Along with its relatively poor computing capacity, this cheap and compact notebook is a full-fledged PC satisfying all everyday needs of the users. However, Microsoft failed to offer a new operational system of such a level and had to extend the term of support for Windows XP that was released as far back as 2001.  

Anyway, Microsoft has been reproached so much that one might want to ask a question: hasn’t this company had any merits? Is it just a good luck, the 90% coverage of the market of operational systems for PC? Is it just an ability of getting to the right place at the right time? Well, Bill Gates must be given his ability of conducting a business: having an “academic” appearnces, he got a reputation of one of the most tough and merciless entrepreneurs. But there is another thing to say here.  

It is thanks to Microsoft that the PC has entered our homes. Up to the mid-90’s, the time of the release of Windows 95, PCs were looked on as a purely business instrument, a good help for businessmen, accountants or journalists. No one could imagine then that the PC might become a common home appliance like micro-wave stove. And it is Bill Gates whom we all are obliged to with that revolution.  

There is another “minor” detail of 25 years ago, without which the whole development of the industry might have gone in a different direction. When in 1980 the IBM ordered an operational system to Microsoft for a new IBM PC, Gates gave his consent under condition, little cared about by many then: he retained his rights for MS DOS. Appearance of a huge number of imitators producing cheaper and more perfect devices was much of a consequence of that decision. Microsoft provided the newcomers with same operational system, which would not have happened in case all the rights for DOS came to IBM. That way another notorious monopoly was created, that of Microsoft, but still the users got a standardized system that works equally not depending on the origin.  

No doubt, something will change with Gates leaving. One may only guess what exactly. The Gates himself has always been poor on making forecasts; he only could catch brilliantly the moment and intercept innovation trends when the public was still unaware that this or that product is exactly what it wants. With that ability, Bill Gates has deserved the gratitude by next generations.