Category Archives: Etc.

Etc.

Bill Gates minus Microsoft equal to?

The unthinkable has happened. Bill Gates decides to relinquish the day-to-day control of the company he co-founded in the 80s. He plans to spend most of his time now spending his wealth through his Foundation.

“Just as Microsoft took off in ways I never expected, so has the work of the Foundation, and it’s growing rapidly,” Gates, 50, said in a press conference announcing the news. “With the early successes comes the challenge of scaling up and delivering these new approaches to everyone who can benefit.” Gates says he plans to remain Microsoft’s chairman indefinitely.

Related Links at Businessweek Online
  Bill Gates’s Long Goodbye
  Gates Glorified Qualified Legacy
  The Vacancy fit for a King
  What Ozzie can do for Microsoft?

Digital ET, Etc.

Adobe’s Flash

When Adobe Chief Executive Bruce Chizen picked up Flash developer Macromedia (nasdaq: MACR – news – people ) for $3.4 billion in stock last year, its latest version–Flash 8–was just launching. The update pledged much-higher-quality video than previous editions, thanks to a new movie-compression method from a small company called On2. What followed was a deluge of interest, pushing Flash ahead of video-streaming pioneers RealNetworks (nasdaq: RNWK – news – people ) and QuickTime-developer Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL – news – people ).

Does it mean Flash has a head start in the growing online video market, which is estimated to be a US $1.7 billion by 2010.  Forbesonline has more on Adobe’s new acquisition–Flash.