Because PC Magazinecharter issue(Opens in a new window) In early 1982, editor-in-chief and newly minted publisher David Bunnell flew to Seattle to interview Bill Gates, the 26-year-old, fresh-faced, president and co-founder of a small software company with The name is Microsoft. Bunnell’s goal with this exclusive interview was to understand what part Microsoft and its software played in the development of the groundbreaking IBM computer that came less than a year earlier. After all, that IBM computer was the name of Bunnell’s new publication.
During the interview, the two discussed how happy Bill and his team felt to contribute to the IBM project, how excited it was to be involved in the project, and how the IBM and Microsoft worked together to actually complete the project. They even talked about jokes back and forth through a form of email that was originally used for communication between the two teams. Besides recalling many insightful details about how software and hardware were developed together (it was a two-hour interview!), Gates speculated about the future of the PC and how it ended up. will become ubiquitous and change the way people work.
More than four decades later, the concept of a personal computer has evolved so far beyond that 16-bit beige box that it is barely recognizable.
Of course, he was right. More than four decades later, the personal computer concept has evolved far beyond the beige 16-bit box mainly for hobbyists it’s hard to spot. The world around it has also changed. PCs are just a small piece of technology that has changed not only the way we work but also the way we live.
In our 40 years here at PCMag, we haven’t strayed far from our name (though over time we have shortened the “magazine” section). But the world of what we embrace has become much larger. Phones, smartwatches, VR headsets, digital health and fitness devices, smart home devices and electric cars, just to name a few categories, are now a large part in our reports and reviews. (However, we test and evaluate over 200 PCs each year to help you find the right one for your particular existence.)
Bill Gates in the charter edition of PC Magazine (PCMag)
Four decades of technology, over 550 journals, more articles and reviews than you can count, and I’m the new editor-in-chief of PCMag, so I thought it would be fun to catch up with Bill Gates for get some new information about where we’ve been, where we’re going and what’s ahead. Here’s what he had to say.
Wendy Sheehan Donnell: When the IBM computer with the software you created was born more than 40 years ago, do you know what you did?
Bill Gates: The revolutionary concept of software as a great tool is the whole idea on which Paul Allen and I built our company. When Microsoft was founded in 1975, our dream was a computer on the desk and in every home. We know that the miraculous advances in chips and software that can be made possible by those miracle chips will make people want to use computers. Then we talked about the information at your fingertips. Of course, it has gone beyond the original dream with cell phones and sensors. But it still goes back to a lot of the important work that was originally driven by great chips and software.
Have you considered? buy PC Magazine(Opens in a new window) back in the day, and regret not making it. How did early computer magazines like ours become such an integral part of the birth of the PC industry?
Computers are now so ubiquitous and indispensable in our lives that a lot of people forget that the first users and those who really believed in personal computers back in the day were a relative group. Small dedicated enthusiasts and enthusiasts. There are various clubs such as the Home Computer Club, where groups get together and talk about the latest advancements. PC Magazine really helped bridge the gap between hobbyists and a large audience looking for computers that were easier to use and more accessible. PC MagazineTheir reviews and feedback are vital to propel the industry from niche to world-changing.
PC Magazine really helped bridge the gap between hobbyists and a much larger audience. PC Magazine reviews and feedback is a key factor in propelling the industry from niche to world-changing.
What page do you think we’ll be reading PCMag.com on in 2062? When do you think we’ll move into the Post-PC Age?
Today, the combination of chip and software comes in many forms. The most popular are mobile devices that fit into our pockets. But we also have that combination to power our TVs. We already have it in our car. It’s quite popular at the moment. Eventually, we’ll get glasses with widely adopted augmented reality, and we’ll have robots that don’t simply repeat tasks on a production line.
The sky really is the limit as these chips get more and more powerful, and as AI software algorithms finally figure out how to create personal agents that help us complete a variety of tasks like reading and writing. give advice on scientific discovery. The field still has a long way to go – it’s really exciting.
What will be the biggest technological challenge of the next 40 years and how will we overcome it?
There are many challenges ahead that require technology and innovation. Climate change is a big change. Political polarization is another big issue – how can we work in a common way across humanity and reduce war and violence. No single technological tool can solve that, but the way we connect and interact with each other is closely tied to the way information flows around the world.
Recommended by our editors
With AI, there is a lot of potential to do good in the world, but it is important to be cautious and ensure that it is being developed in the right way. Microsoft and OpenAI have a smart approach to that. The younger generation is more educated and more aware of social problems, and I am optimistic that they can contribute to solutions. It will take a lot of wisdom and great ideas.
You’ve done all the charity work; How difficult was it to leave Microsoft and a lifelong tech career?
While my daily focus shifts to philanthropy, I’m still heavily involved in technology because I regularly meet with teams at Microsoft and talk about their product plans. That’s what I really enjoyed. And my work at the foundation, where we’re exploring things like digital currency or empowering healthcare workers with digital tools, challenges me to understand the latest advancements and think about it. how we put them into usable forms that save lives.
In my charity work, I had to learn a lot of new fields like biology and climate science. Studying is one of my favorite things and I’m lucky that my job requires it. When digital progress and biological progress come together, we have a real opportunity to do things like cure HIV or ensure that healthcare workers have the tools they need to care for people. no matter where they are in the world.
Bill Gates in the charter edition of PC Magazine (PCMag)
What is your daily computer these days? How does it compare to the OG IBM PC?
I use a mix of devices depending on where I am and what I need. I have a mobile phone with large screen, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. When traveling, I use Surface Laptop 4, one of Microsoft’s products. And then on my desk at my office, I have an All-in-One Surface Studio 2 PC.
I tend to use a larger PC monitor than most people because I love sending long emails and reading long documents and research papers. I’m not as phone-focused as the younger generation, but the combination works well. I can get all my work done at the platform, even when I’m traveling. The tools continue to get better, but there is still a long way to go and a lot of potential.
I had to adapt the first program I wrote to 8k bytes of code, not 8 million or 8 billion.
The original IBM computer was not connected to the network, and its processing power and storage capacity were quite limited. It has basic word processing, basic spreadsheets, some games and the like. It’s a pretty good tool, but the fact that it’s not connected to a network and you can’t access large databases means that if someone were forced to go back in time and use it, they’d be pretty upset. disappointed. I had to adapt the first program I wrote to 8k bytes of code, not 8 million or 8 billion. Our devices are now thousands of times more powerful than the original IBM PC was capable of. We’re spoiled these days – our computers are unbelievable.
