I was there

Yes, I was there and well involved with trying to program applications. As such I can tell you that, though Microsoft made it possible to do so, they seldom made it easy. And little of what they did was from actual in house innovation. The majority of it came from buying into, or outright bullying, anything useful or potentially competitive. As such I have never been a big fan of Mr. Gates. I do give him credit for knowing how to make money, but little else. So many opportunities missed, and mistakes made and yet they still did manage to make a lot of money.

In any case, though, it is a much better company now that Gates is no longer so intimately involved. Still flawed of course but not nearly so much as in the early days. Older now, and at least a tiny bit wiser, I can only wish the people involved their now well and hope they find it in their hearts to do more for assisting young people in getting involved with tech.

Windows turns 30: a visual history