Bill Gates' Second Career

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Since several folks near and dear to my heart have commented on this momentous occasion, I'll point to their thoughts first before sharing my own. CRN's columnist tag team of Robert Faletra, who talks about why Gates' departure signals the end of a entrepreneurial era, and Barbara Darrow, who talks about the succession from the Ray Ozzie point of view.

I knew I could count on CRN Industry Hall of Famer Dan Bricklin for some insider thoughts on this one and he doesn't disappoint. After all, Dan moved in the same circles as Gates for some time.

So, here are my main two reflections.

First, from the Microsoft point of view, you could kinda think of this as a huge endorsement of open source. OK, maybe not literally, but think about it. Instead of appointing just one uber-technologist to pick up Bill Gates' rather weight mantle, they've essentially split up the responsibilities mainly between Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie, who were both CTOs. To me, this signals the potential for a more collaborative development approach and internal debate as to product direction.

Like it or not, the aura of Bill Gates probably was shading future development decisions that needed to break even more dramatically with the past.

Second, and probably more important, I sincerely believe Bill and his whip-smart wife Melinda (who was, by the way, the first Microsoft executive yours truly ever met as a cub tech reporter) will have just as much impact on the world in his new role as he has had during his amazing run with Microsoft.

I know this is saying a lot, and I'm sure many of you will debate me on this, but I believe our education system desperately needs the support of the private sector " both money and brain power and this power couple has serious quantities of both " in order to correct some serious shortcomings that bode ill for our future. With the focus that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has on world health and education issues, Gates' legacy may be less about a PC in every household and more about a household for every man, woman and child.

Here's hoping.