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Тема 5. BILL GATES AND MICROSOFT CORPORATION
1. Make sure you are familiar with these words and phrases: freshman, distribute, employee, headquarters, release, portable, poverty, opportunity, successor, dedicate.
2.Before you read the text below, discuss these questions:
1. What is Bill Gates famous for?
2. What traits made Bill Gates successful?
3. Is Bill Gates interested in charitable activities?
Now read the text and check some of your answers.
Bill Gates and Microsoft Corporation
“Ultimately, the PC will be a window to everything people are interested in-and everything we need to know.”-Bill Gates
William (Bill) Henry Gates is a chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. Gates` foresight and his vision for personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry.
Born on October 28, 1955, Bill Gates grew up in Seattle, Washington, in a socially prominent family with a well-connected firm in the city. His mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, active in charity work. Gates attended public elementary school and the private Lakeside School. There, he discovered his interest in software and begin programming computers at the age of 13. “He was the computer nerd before the term was invented,” as one of his teachers described Gates at the time.
In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, now Miscrsoft`s chief executive officer. While at Harvard, in 1975, together with his childhood friend Paul Allen, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer – the MITS Altair 8800.
Gates and Allen approached MITS with their creation, and the company agreed to distribute it as 'Altair BASIC'. Paul Allen was hired into MITS, and Gates took a leave of absence from Harvard to work with him in Albuquerque in November 1975. They officially established Microsoft on 4 April 1975, with Gates as the CEO. Gates never returned to Harvard.
That time no one could imagine that this tiny company with a staff of three people would become the world's largest software maker. Allen came up with the original name of Micro-Soft – a portmanteau of microcomputer and software, hyphenated in its early incarnations. The company was registered under that name with the Secretary of State of New Mexico on November, 26, 1976. The company`s first international office was founded on November 1, 1978, in Japan.
During Microsoft`s early years, Gates oversaw the business details, but continued to write code as well. In the first five years, he personally reviewed every line of code and often rewrote parts of it.
Microsoft became independent of MITS in late 1976, but continued to develop programming language software for various systems. The company moved from Albuquerque to Bellevue, Washington, on 1 January 1979.
Between 1978 and 1981, Microsoft's growth exploded, and staff increased from 25 to 128. Revenue also shot up from $4 million to $16 million. In mid-1981 Gates and Allen incorporated Microsoft, and Gates was appointed president and chairman of the board. Allen was named executive vice-president.
Microsoft launched the first version of its Windows operating system on 20 November 1985, and in August, the company struck a deal with IBM to develop a separate operating system called OS/2. Microsoft moved its headquarters to Redmond in February 1986, and on March 13 the company went public.
Creative differences caused the partnership between Microsoft and IBM to deteriorate in 1991. By then, Microsoft had introduced its Office suite, which bundled applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, as well as Windows 3.0. Both Office and Windows became dominant in their respective areas.
Gates was married on January 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf and bridge.
In 1999, Gates wrote Business & the Speed of Thought, a book that shows how computer technology can solve business problems in fundamentally new ways. The book was published in 25 languages and is available in more than 60 countries. Gates’ previous book, The Road Ahead, published in 1995, held the №1 spot on the New York Times’ bestseller list for seven weeks.
Following Gates's internal 'Internet Tidal Wave' in May 1995, Microsoft began to redefine its offerings and expand its product line into computer networking and the World Wide Web. The company released Windows 95 in August 1995, featuring pre-emptive multitasking and a completely new user interface with a novel start button.
Gates handed over the CEO position in 2000, to Steve Ballmer, an old college friend and employee of the company since 1980. Allen resigned after a long-term illness, while Gates became 'chief software architect' and chairman of the board.
Microsoft went on to release Windows XP in 2001, followed by Windows Vista in 2007, Windows 7 in 2009 and Windows 8 in 2011. It entered the game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo, launching the first Xbox in 2001, and has begun to take on Apple in the smartphone market with the launch of Windows Phone in 2011, and the purchase of Nokia in 2013.
Meanwhile, Gates announced in June 2006 that he would begin transitioning out of his day-to-day role to dedicate more time to philanthropy. He divided his responsibilities between two successors, placing Ray Ozzie in charge of day-to-day management and Craig Mundie in charge of long-term product strategy.
He finally retired as chief software architect in June 2008, but retained his role as chairman, in addition to being an advisor for the company on key projects.
Since then, Gates has dedicated the majority of his time to philanthropy, through the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. The primary aims of the foundation are, globally, to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty, and in America, to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology. As of 16 May 2013, Bill Gates had donated $28 billion to the foundation
Gates was the world's highest-earning billionaire in 2013, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a fortune of $78.5 billion. He still owns about 4.5 percent of Microsoft and is its largest individual shareholder. He and his wife plan to eventually donate 95 per cent of their wealth to charity.
Nowadays Microsoft Corporation is a leading developer of personal-computer software systems and applications. The company also publishes books and multimedia titles, offers e-mail services, and sells electronic gamesystems, computer peripherals (input/output devices), and portable media players. It has sales offices throughout the world. In addition to its main research and development centre at its corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington, U.S., Microsoft has opened research labs in Cambridge, England (1997); Beijing, China (1998); Aachen, Germany (2003); Sadashivnagar, Bangalore, India (2005); Cairo, Egypt (2006); Cambridge, Massachusetts (2008); Herzliyya, Israel (2011); and New York, New York (2012).
Study the vocabulary list:
ultimately adv- в конечном счете
chairman n- председатель
foresight n- предвидение
nerd n– ботаник, умник
freshman n- первокурсник
portmanteau n– комбинация; соединение
hyphenated adj- написанный через дефис
incarnation n– воплощение, олицетворение
oversee v– наблюдать, надзирать
shootup v- быстро расти, взлетать
headquarters n– главное управление, штаб-квартира
suite n– набор, серия, комплект
deteriorate v– ухудшаться, портиться
bundle v– связывать
enhance v– усилить, увеличивать
novel adj- оригинальный
healthcare n- здравоохранение
reduce v– уменьшать, снижать
expand v- расширять
donate v– жертвовать, дарить
handover v– передавать другому
1. Practice reading the following words and collocations.
a) Ultimately, foresight, chairman, architect, hyphenated, incarnations, deteriorate, console, philanthropy, revenue, purchase, redefine, resign, peripherals, enhance.
b) Harvard, Altair, Albuquerque, Bellevue, Beijing, Aachen, Sadashivnagar, Bangalore, Herzliyya, Israel.
c) Charity work; tiny company; various systems; bundled applications; avid reader; long-term illness; respective areas; corporate headquarters; key projects.
d) Socially prominent family; chief executive officer; portmanteau of microcomputer and software; fundamentally new ways; reduce extreme poverty; world`s highest-earning billionaire; portable media players; in charge of day-to-day management.
2. Find in the text English equivalents for the following:
Исполнительный вице-президент; мировой лидер; друг детства; ключ к успеху; крошечная компания; посвящать больше времени; по ключевым проектам; главный исследовательский центр; с состоянием в; заключила сделку; пересматривать свои предложения; после продолжительной болезни; основные цели.
3. Give the most suitable Russian equivalents for the following expressions:
Attended public elementary school; computer nerd; took a leave of absence; registered under the name; in its early incarnations; moved its headquarters; respective areas; handed over; throughout the world; to enhance healthcare; retained his role.
4.Match the following words and phrases to make complete expressions from the text:
A
|
original programming smartphones corporate computer electronic educational pre-emptive start |
language market peripherals systems opportunities name multitasking button headquarters |
B
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chief socially a portmanteau of the largest portable long-term the first |
media international product software prominent microcomputer and international |
office strategy family shareholder players architect software |
5.Match the following words with their synonyms in the brackets: nerd, donate, foresight, distribute, purchase, deal, incarnation, advisor, divide
(vision, endow, fan, counsellor, contract, embodiment, spread, acquisition, share )
6.Consult your dictionary and give the Russian equivalents for the following:
Language: language interpreter, language translation, command language, graphic language, high-level language, low-level language, programming language, language support environment, assembly language
Employee: former employee, government employee, temporary employee, employee handbook, employee benefit, company employee, employee training, bank employee, fellow employee, federal employee
Strategy: marketing strategy, corporate strategy, exit strategy, competitive strategy, product strategy, advertising strategy, sales strategy.
7. Match the following words and phrases with the correct definition from the list below:
staff, invent, Microsoft, websites, philanthropy, vision,
launch, expand
1. the largest developer and publisher of software for the PC and Macintosh.
2. special computer pages of companies and other organizations and individuals.
3. become or make larger or more extensive.
4. all the people employed by a particular organization.
5. create or design something that has not existed before.
6. the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.
7. an experience of seeing someone or something in a dream or trance, or as a supernatural apparition.
8. start or set in motion (an activity or enterprise).
8.Complete the sentences with the words from the box.
software, computer technology, an upgraded operating system, information technology, net worth, innovative, foresight, business problems, computer nerd, , forward-thinking, executive officer, demand, Internet technologies
1. Bill Gates is chairman and chief ___________ of Microsoft Corporation.
2. Microsoft Corporation is the worldwide leader in software services and __________ for personal and business computing.
3. Customers queued up outside computer stores to purchase Windows 95, __________ for IBM and IBM-compatible personal computers.
4. Microsoft Corporation spared no expense in exciting the ____________ for its new product, namely Windows 95.
5. Bill Gates was a __________ before the term was invented: he devoted all his energies to developing __________ for personal computers.
6. The introduction of Windows 95 mirrored the rapid changes in the __________ and marked a new crucial point for Bill Gates.
7. Gates’ ability to anticipate developments in __________ had given him in 1996 a __________ of $18 billion.
8. Bill Gates’ role in the personal computer revolution had turned him into an icon of __________ .
9. In 1999, Gates wrote a book that shows how computer technology can solve __________ in fundamentally new ways.
10. Being an __________ and __________ entrepreneur bill Gates found ways to force the rest of the industry to follow his lead.
9.Translate into Russian.
1. Bill Gates`role in the personal computer revolution had given him a net worth estimated in the summer of 1996 at $18 billion, and had turned him into an icon of information technology. 2. Few American businessmen have ever occupied such a niche in the popular imagination. Just as John D. Rockefeller created order from chaos in the most important new industry of the late nineteenth century, Gates and his company did the same in the most crucial industry of the late twentieth century: computers. 3. And, like Rockefeller, Gates found ways to force the rest of the industry to follow his lead. 4. Though an innovative and forward-thinking entrepreneur, Bill Gates didn’t invent crucial technology. 5. Rather, he shrewdly adapted and improved products first made by others. He recognized the coming of the personal computer (PC) long before others did, and deduced that operating systems and applications (software) would be at least as important to the PC business as the hardware. 6. Part of the reason for Microsoft’s dominance in the field lies precisely in Gates’s ability to anticipate developments in computer technology and to judge when the public will be ready for them. 7. Another part of Microsoft’s success lies in Gates’s unwavering confidence in his own ideas. 8. Gates and Allen were not typical entrepreneurs. They had no business plan, no venture capital, no bankers or Small Business Administration loans. 9.But they had the most important tools needed for software developmant: brains and computers, and they had everything necessary for entry into the porous computer industry of the time: they had product, programming expertise, and most importantly, a vision of greater possibilities. 10. Under Gates’ leadership, Microsoft’s mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers
10. Answer the questions:
1. What is Bill Gates?
2. What happened in August 1995?
3. What was the educational background of Bill Gates?
4. Why did he leave Harvard?
5. Why weren’t Gates and Allen typical entrepreneurs?
6. How did Gates become an icon of information technology?
7. What are his personal interests?
8. What are the reasons for Microsoft’s dominance in the software field?
9. What his books were a great success?
10. What charitable projects do Bill Gates and his wife support?
11.Say if the statements are true or false.
1.Bill Gates` family was poor.
2.He began programming at school.
3.Gates graduated from Harward in 1975.
4.The first international office of Microsoft was founded in Mexico.
5.Windows was released in 1995.
6.In 2000 Bill Gates handed over the CEO position to his colleague Paul Allen.
7.After leaving the CEO position Gates de4dicated the majority of his time to philanthropy.
12.Say what you have learnt from the text about
1. Bill Gates` background
2. Bill Gates`s path to success
3. Foundation and developing of Microsoft
13.Read the dialogue and practice it with your partner:
Interviewer:
If you were to write your own job description at Microsoft, how would it read?
Bill Gates:
I’m the СЕО, so my responsibility is not precisely defined. When the company has to change, the one who has to lead that change.
Interviewer:
Do you go against the opinions of your colleagues? If you are completely alone, do you stick to your guns?
Bill Gates:
If it's а technical question or а strategy problem, then yes. However, if it's а business type decision, rarely is my conviction enough to go it alone. Usually I’d take the time to get people to explain their views more clearly.
Interviewer:
Would you say you are а good manager?
Bill Gates:
Yes, I would. I make the right decisions. People are only interested in the quality of your decisions. If you are doing а good job, you should tell them so. Equally if they are not, you should still tell them. Employees need to feel that you are sharing what they are trying to achieve and that you are constant in your decision making.
Interviewer:
How do you feel if you have to fire someone? Is it easy? Do you have а strategy?
Bill Gates:
No, it's always very hard. I don't hire total bozos, so it's generally а question of the individual not meeting the demands of the job. I certainly don't have а method. I suppose if I have to describe one, I tell them verbally.
Interviewer:
If you had been on the IВМ board of directors, would you have put as much software power in the hands of Microsoft as they gave you?
Bill Gates:
You know, when we offered to sell part of the company to them, I would have taken up the offer if I had been in their shoes. I would have really tried to develop software efficiently, not just to license it. I would have learned more about the economics of software too.
Interviewer:
Could you have matched your success in this business with equal success in another field, do you think?
Bill Gates:
No. And I certainly didn't wake up one morning and ask myself, "What shall I do to be successful today?" I certainly never expected this success in terms of size of economics.
14. Translate into English:
1. Гейтс является председателем и главным разработчиком структуры системы программного обеспечения корпорации Майкрософт. 2. В конечном итоге, ПК станет окном ко всему, что интересует людей, - и ко всему, что мы должны знать. 3. Успех «Майкрософт» состоит в непоколебимой убежденности Гейтса в своих собственных идеях. 4. Еще в школе Гейтс заинтересовался программным обеспечением и начал программировать компьютеры в 13 лет. 5. Гейтс разработал версию языка программирования BASIC для первого микрокомпьютера. 6. У Гейтса были самые важные инструменты, необходимые для разработки программного обеспечения: мозги и компьютер. 7. У Гейтса было все необходимое для компьютерной промышленности: продукт, опыт программирования и предвидения еще больших возможностей. 8. Книга, написанная Гейтсом в 1999 году, показывает как можно решать бизнес проблемы абсолютно новыми способами. 9. Гейтс пожертвовал гонорар, полученный за обе книги, общественным организациям. 10. Веря, что компьютер станет ценным инструментом в каждом офисе и доме, Гейтс и Аллен начали разрабатывать программное обеспечение для персональных компьютеров. 11. Гейтс и его жена, Мелинда, создали фонд на сумму более чем 24 миллиарда долларов для поддержки инициатив в здравоохранении и образовании во всем мире. 12. Название «Apple» говорит о том, что компьютеры, производимые компанией, экологически чистые. Apple - первая компания в компьютерной промышленности, которая решила перерабатывать старые комплектующие. 13. «Macintosh» - сорт яблок, продававшийся в США — любимый сорт яблок Раскина, который был руководителем и разработчиком проекта Macintosh перед тем, как эту должность занял Стив Джобс.
15.Work in two groups.
Our century is said to be the information communications revolution era.
Interview as many people as you can to find out the answers to the following questions:
• How will Microsoft be involved in this area?
• What will the role of Microsoft be?
16.Writing
Write an essay: “How is really Bill Gates? A saint, a devil or a plain human?”