Friday, January 08, 2010
How to Prevent Cancer
Dr. David Servan-Schreiber discusses integrative medicine in preventing cancer.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Saturday, January 02, 2010
This is Part 1 of 7 for Flash Developers, Using Unity 3d.
DESCRIPTION
This is Part 1 of 7 for Flash Developers, Using Unity 3d.
http://waterxbread.blogspot.com/2009/06/unit3d.html
1) Capabilities
2) Basic Scripting
3) Prefabs
4) Mouse Interaction
5) Tutorial 5
6) Basic Physics
7) Basic Collision Detection
推薦一個不錯的Unity教學網站Unity Tutorials，裡面有七篇寫給Flash開發者的教學影片，有興趣的朋友可以看看
Capabilities http://www.unitytutorials.com/video/54/r-h--1-of-7
Basic Scripting http://www.unitytutorials.com/video/60/r-h--2-of-7
Prefabs http://www.unitytutorials.com/video/59/r-h--3-of-7
Mouse Interaction http://www.unitytutorials.com/video/58/r-h--4-of-7
Tutorial 5 http://www.unitytutorials.com/video/57/r-h--5-of-7
Basic Physics http://www.unitytutorials.com/video/56/r-h--6-of-7
Basic Collision Detection http://www.unitytutorials.com/video/55/r-h--7-of-7
Thank You Richard
The crash can happen again Pt4
The crash can happen again Pt4
Robert Johnson: Nothing in current financial reform legislation will stop another crash
Russia's Leaders In Red Square Dance
This is kind of Russian folk musik called "Chastushki". They consist of small quatrains with 4 short lines in each.
1st:
Medvedev:
It became a fashion
To resume the year
Putin:
So we will take a turn
And resume it.
2nd:
P: I was driving Jak Rogg in (president of International olympic commettee) in Sochi (Russian city- host of winter olympic games of 2014)
In Niva (Russian car- implied that it is not safe to drive)
M: And his desire to find faults dissapeared.
Russian TV viewers get a surprise with a cartoon duet from their President and Prime Minister immediately after Dmitiri Medvedev's official New Year's Eve address.
Russia's Ruling Pair Dance Cartoon TV Duet
4:07pm UK, Friday January 01, 2010
Julian March, Sky News Online
Russian TV viewers were treated to a surprise cartoon duet from their President and Prime Minister immediately after the latter's official New Year's Eve address.
In the two-and-a-half-minute animation, caricatures of President Dmitri Medvedev and his sidekick Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reviewed their year in a jaunty ditty while playing the accordion and tambourine on Red Square.
The ruling pair take turns to sing lines in the song, and when one of the men embellishes his performance with a flourish, he is immediately congratulated by his partner.
At one point the judo black belt Putin slaps his own bottom with his tambourine.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a cartoon duet reviewing 2009
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in an unusual guise. Pic from 'Mult Lichnosti'
Russians are more used to seeing him hunting with a gun or sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet.
When President Medvedev wishes the Russian people "A Happy New Year for the second time", his predecessor gently reminds him that "one of us has done that nine times already".
There's an indication that this comedic appearance was not just a one-off.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a cartoon duet reviewing 2009
Putin & Medvedev indulge in a bit of cossack dancing. Pic from 'Mult Lichnosti'
The pair have been added to the cast of Mult Lichnosti, a twice-weekly show poking fun at political figures which runs on Russia's state-owned Channel One.
The station's director, Konstantin Ernst, said that he was not obliged to consult the Kremlin before developing his latest characters.
"We have to be careful," he told the New York Times.
"One shouldn't do anything insulting.
"In any case, our authors have no desire to insult them."
Friday, January 01, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
How Saint Nick Met a Space Alien
An out of this world story about Santa Claus's bizarre encounter in the sky.
Friday, December 18, 2009
About 360 Cities
in szeged
We're dedicated to:
Promoting geo-referenced, interactive panoramic photography and its best practitioners around the world. Check out our World panorama map and Photographer map
Hosting virtual tours of hotels, restaurants and tourist resorts and enabling members to create new tours from their panoramas. More on Virtual Tours
Instroducing the world high-resolution, immersive imagery to an even wider audience of visitors through our content layers on Google Earth
Providing the best-anywhere platform for publishing panoramic photography for our unique and talented network of the world's best panoramic photographers. Why join 360 Cities?
Taking you to new places in surprising ways. See for yourself.
李安：勇敢面對自己
http://video.cw.com.tw/pages/public/movie/player/tv_player.jspx?id=40288ae71addaf66011ade11b88001f7
李安，台灣人的驕傲。從推手到色戒，李安為什麼始終對自己的電影充滿自信？面對人生的挑戰時，李安用什麼來對抗內心的脆弱？對李安來說，成長是什麼？人生最重要的部份又是什麼？（採訪：蘇育琪）
李安，台灣人的驕傲。從推手到色戒，李安為什麼始終對自己的電影充滿自信？面對人生的挑戰時，李安用什麼來對抗內心的脆弱？對李安來說，成長是什麼？人生最重要的部份又是什麼？（採訪：蘇育琪）
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Talks Rory Bremner's one-man world summit
About this talk
Scottish funnyman Rory Bremner convenes a historic council on the TEDGlobal stage -- as he lampoons Gordon Brown, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and a cast of other world leaders with his hilarious impressions and biting commentary. See if you can catch a few sharp TED in-jokes.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
China phone rental and travel assistance
斯坦福大學國際管理學院斯隆 (Sloan) 項目成員來華期間使用 YOYOOR 智能 GPS 手機
杭州2008年7月17日電 /新華美通/ -- 久負盛名的斯坦福大學國際管理學院斯隆 (Sloan) 項目成員日前來到了中國，開始他們為期兩周的中國內地-越南-香港之行。這些企業管理學員首先到訪了北京和上海，參觀了一些國內重要企業，包括聯想、康明斯和寶鋼總部。在此期間，擔當“陪同”任務的是全新的 YOYOOR 智能 GPS 手機。
對處理斯坦福大學學員們繁忙的行程， YOYOOR 租賃手機 ( http://www.yoyoor.com ) 遊刃有餘 -- 該手機擁有強大的數據信息支持繫統和全面的城市指南，使用者可以便捷地找到關於交通、購物、旅遊、餐飲等各方面的資訊。實惠的本地通話費取代了國際漫遊的高昂成本，大大節省了通話費。而讓學員們感到最安心的是，YOYOOR 呼叫中心為他們提供了中英文雙語的專業客戶服務，使得完全不會中文的他們隨時可以獲得翻譯服務，克服了文化、語言上的障礙，真正做到了“一機在手，溝通暢通無阻”，YOYOOR GPS 定位服務更保障了學員們出行的安全便利。
其中一位學員評價說，“手機很棒，客戶服務尤其出色，下次來中國還會考慮租用。”學員的導遊則發現手機的群組管理很有用，他說，“我在整個行程中一直使用 YOYOOR 手機和成員們保持聯繫，發布重要信息，保證每個人都知道行程中的一些臨時的變化。”
隨著奧運會的日益臨近，YOYOOR 希望能為大量湧入國內的海外遊客提供高質量的、快捷周到的服務，同時也希望能成為國內各會議組織者和外事機構的合作伙伴，提高其客戶滿意度和業界的國際形像。
YOYOOR 公司成立於2007年，總部在美國舊金山，目前在中國各大城市設有分支機構。它專為海外來華人士提供智能移動電話租賃及配套服務，它提供的服務包括：智能手機租賃，用實惠的本地通話費取代高昂的國際漫遊費用，為客戶節約大量話費。YOYOOR 手機上裝有 YOYOOR 自主開發的高科技軟件，能為客戶提供全面的城市指南和 GPS 定位服務，更重要的是它有一個功能強大的呼叫中心，中心的服務人員使用標准的英語全年為客戶提供各種服務，以滿足他們在中國的交通、住宿、旅遊、餐飲、購物，資訊等方面的需求。
Mobile Tourism
In China, the world’s largest mobile-phone market by users, the usefulness of your handset goes far beyond making and receiving calls.
Text the name of a restaurant to a listings magazine and you’ll receive the address. Buy an air ticket and the confirmation number and flight times will be sent to your phone. Don’t speak Chinese? Text the phrase you want to know and services such as Moka.com will reply with a translation.
And the market is diversifying. In March 2008, CIB reported on i-Vision (尚视互动), pioneers of mobile TV in China, and in the October issue on the battle being fought among the developers of mobile phone operating systems (OS), which may well see its most significant action on Chinese soil.
But the incompatibility of networks and OS means many US cell phones don’t work in China, presenting an often unexpected challenge to travelers, while opening up a niche for companies offering mobile phone-based services for foreigners faced with the particularly obstructive language barrier and challenges in everyday communication. The speed of technological advancement, however, means that these firms face a challenge keeping up with the latest equipment, as well as the wants and needs of users.
SMART IDEA
Yoyoor, a Hangzhou-based startup founded in 2007 by Cybernaut (China) Capital (塞伯乐中国投资), is taking full advantage of the incompatibility issue and the language barrier by offering Nokia smartphone rental to visitors. Each handset features a GPS positioning and navigation system, a comprehensive in-phone listings guide covering several cities, a hotline to a 24-hour English-language call center for help and orientation, and international direct dialing. It also doubles as a high-resolution digital camera.
Consulting the locals also becomes a more plausible possibility thanks to the phone’s integrated Chinese phrasebook and dictionary which, though limited, contain useful phrases that appear in Chinese characters and can be played back, avoiding the embarrassment of not being understood at the second or third attempt.
Such services, says Yoyoor’s vice-president of marketing and business development, Ray Zhu, are designed to make traveling in China as painless an experience as possible. “We called the company Yoyoor because the phone is like a yo-yo — you carry it in your hand, it is magic and fun — but it also makes your life easier and safer as a traveler,” he explains.
Certainly, Yoyoor’s services may embolden travelers to pursue a more scenic route not planned in their hotel room the night before, safe in the knowledge that they can consult the GPS or dial the call center if they get lost. Those who have tried to unfold a map on a windy street corner, or who are reluctant to use a guidebook for fear of appearing conspicuously new to a city, will also no doubt prefer the convenience and even the street- credibility of consulting a smartphone.
Not all of its services are as user-friendly as they seem, however. In navigation mode, the phone’s GPS system shows the user’s present location, as well as a list of restaurants, bars, banks and attractions close by. Doing this returns a long list of businesses – performing such a search at a random intersection in Beijing, for example, produced 2,000 listings. Another downside is the lack of insurance. Lose your Yoyoor phone or have it stolen and you are liable to pay for a replacement, which is likely to set you back almost USD 600.
REVENUE STREAMS
As well as phone rental and international calls — Yoyoor offers different packages, from a daily USD 12 rental fee with free outgoing local calls to pay-as-you-go packages — the company’s main revenue source comes from advertising, in the form of messages sent to the user promoting local restaurants or bars, as well as commission on flights booked or restaurant reservations made via the call center.
Strategic partnerships have already been signed with network operator China Mobile (中国移动), which offers Yoyoor lower airtime rates and volume discounts, and Air China (中国国际航空), which has given Yoyoor booths at Beijing Capital Airport. China-bound passengers flying from New York’s JFK, San Francisco and Los Angeles also receive a Yoyoor boarding-pass holder to enhance awareness of the service.
Since its launch in June 2008, Yoyoor has achieved moderate success, and now attracts more than 300 phone rentals a month. However, CEO Joss Shen is keen to broaden the company’s service offering. Its next project is Yofone, “a basic handset that is free to use for local calls but international call will be charged to your [hotel] room,” Shen explains. “Hotels will then decide whether they want to sell advertising to target their clients in the form of SMS, the revenue from which will be shared with Yoyoor.”
The service will be launched in Hangzhou in the coming months and will expand to Shanghai later in the year. In the long-term, Shen hopes to roll it out across China, and eventually overseas, as well as offering a similar service for Chinese travelers abroad.
DOWNLOAD DILEMMA
However, with Chinese networks poised to roll out 3G technology and working on compatibility with US handsets, and with an increasing number of mobile users now owning sophisticated smartphones — sales totaled 36.5 million units worldwide in Q3 2008, an 11.5% year-on-year increase according to IT research and advisory firm Gartner — the market for handset rentals seems set to diminish.
Zhu is aware that the company’s long-term future may well lie in offering its software and services as a downloadable package, rather than forcing users to rent a separate handset while they are in China. “People’s phones are dear to them, they like to use them and hang on to them, so we have to make all of our software compatible with all the different operating systems,” Zhu adds.
WHO YA GONNA CALL?
One firm that has a head-start in terms of offering services to existing phone owners is One2Call, a Dutch-owned company headquartered in Singapore, which offers telephone-based interpretation, personal-assistant and concierge services to foreigners in China.
One2Call owns and maintains a database covering 15 major cities in China and listings for more than 20,000 merchants, from bars and restaurants to shops and airlines. Included in the many details are the longitude and latitude, to allow for detailed proximity-based searches for export to handheld GPS devices, particularly useful for smartphone users.
According to managing director Harm Hindriks, “This is a very exciting time − 2008 was boom-time for us and I think 2009 will be even better.” He adds that the service is aimed not only at visitors, but also at “longer-term expatriates who have been here some time but who, without being disrespectful, have not learned the language sufficiently, like myself. I often use the service in fact.”
At a time of corporate downsizing and expenditure cuts, Hindriks also identifies the cost-saving aspect for companies with foreign staff in China, which are then able to dispense with the services of a full-time interpreter.
The call center is manned by a full-time staff of 34 and 100 part-timers, all of whom undergo three-months’ training before starting work. “You can ask our people absolutely anything and they will be able to help you,” Hindriks claims. “Out of every 100 people we train, only 10 make it through the three-month course. We deal with VIPs who are used to having problems solved and we have to be able to guarantee a high level of service at all times.”
With China likely to become an increasingly important destination for both business and leisure travelers, and with sales of smartphones soaring worldwide, the market for location-based, mobile tourism services appears set to grow. The challenge for contenders such as Yoyoor and One2Call is to find the right business model, both for advertisers and, more importantly, for customers.
杭州2008年7月17日電 /新華美通/ -- 久負盛名的斯坦福大學國際管理學院斯隆 (Sloan) 項目成員日前來到了中國，開始他們為期兩周的中國內地-越南-香港之行。這些企業管理學員首先到訪了北京和上海，參觀了一些國內重要企業，包括聯想、康明斯和寶鋼總部。在此期間，擔當“陪同”任務的是全新的 YOYOOR 智能 GPS 手機。
對處理斯坦福大學學員們繁忙的行程， YOYOOR 租賃手機 ( http://www.yoyoor.com ) 遊刃有餘 -- 該手機擁有強大的數據信息支持繫統和全面的城市指南，使用者可以便捷地找到關於交通、購物、旅遊、餐飲等各方面的資訊。實惠的本地通話費取代了國際漫遊的高昂成本，大大節省了通話費。而讓學員們感到最安心的是，YOYOOR 呼叫中心為他們提供了中英文雙語的專業客戶服務，使得完全不會中文的他們隨時可以獲得翻譯服務，克服了文化、語言上的障礙，真正做到了“一機在手，溝通暢通無阻”，YOYOOR GPS 定位服務更保障了學員們出行的安全便利。
其中一位學員評價說，“手機很棒，客戶服務尤其出色，下次來中國還會考慮租用。”學員的導遊則發現手機的群組管理很有用，他說，“我在整個行程中一直使用 YOYOOR 手機和成員們保持聯繫，發布重要信息，保證每個人都知道行程中的一些臨時的變化。”
隨著奧運會的日益臨近，YOYOOR 希望能為大量湧入國內的海外遊客提供高質量的、快捷周到的服務，同時也希望能成為國內各會議組織者和外事機構的合作伙伴，提高其客戶滿意度和業界的國際形像。
YOYOOR 公司成立於2007年，總部在美國舊金山，目前在中國各大城市設有分支機構。它專為海外來華人士提供智能移動電話租賃及配套服務，它提供的服務包括：智能手機租賃，用實惠的本地通話費取代高昂的國際漫遊費用，為客戶節約大量話費。YOYOOR 手機上裝有 YOYOOR 自主開發的高科技軟件，能為客戶提供全面的城市指南和 GPS 定位服務，更重要的是它有一個功能強大的呼叫中心，中心的服務人員使用標准的英語全年為客戶提供各種服務，以滿足他們在中國的交通、住宿、旅遊、餐飲、購物，資訊等方面的需求。
Mobile Tourism
In China, the world’s largest mobile-phone market by users, the usefulness of your handset goes far beyond making and receiving calls.
Text the name of a restaurant to a listings magazine and you’ll receive the address. Buy an air ticket and the confirmation number and flight times will be sent to your phone. Don’t speak Chinese? Text the phrase you want to know and services such as Moka.com will reply with a translation.
And the market is diversifying. In March 2008, CIB reported on i-Vision (尚视互动), pioneers of mobile TV in China, and in the October issue on the battle being fought among the developers of mobile phone operating systems (OS), which may well see its most significant action on Chinese soil.
But the incompatibility of networks and OS means many US cell phones don’t work in China, presenting an often unexpected challenge to travelers, while opening up a niche for companies offering mobile phone-based services for foreigners faced with the particularly obstructive language barrier and challenges in everyday communication. The speed of technological advancement, however, means that these firms face a challenge keeping up with the latest equipment, as well as the wants and needs of users.
SMART IDEA
Yoyoor, a Hangzhou-based startup founded in 2007 by Cybernaut (China) Capital (塞伯乐中国投资), is taking full advantage of the incompatibility issue and the language barrier by offering Nokia smartphone rental to visitors. Each handset features a GPS positioning and navigation system, a comprehensive in-phone listings guide covering several cities, a hotline to a 24-hour English-language call center for help and orientation, and international direct dialing. It also doubles as a high-resolution digital camera.
Consulting the locals also becomes a more plausible possibility thanks to the phone’s integrated Chinese phrasebook and dictionary which, though limited, contain useful phrases that appear in Chinese characters and can be played back, avoiding the embarrassment of not being understood at the second or third attempt.
Such services, says Yoyoor’s vice-president of marketing and business development, Ray Zhu, are designed to make traveling in China as painless an experience as possible. “We called the company Yoyoor because the phone is like a yo-yo — you carry it in your hand, it is magic and fun — but it also makes your life easier and safer as a traveler,” he explains.
Certainly, Yoyoor’s services may embolden travelers to pursue a more scenic route not planned in their hotel room the night before, safe in the knowledge that they can consult the GPS or dial the call center if they get lost. Those who have tried to unfold a map on a windy street corner, or who are reluctant to use a guidebook for fear of appearing conspicuously new to a city, will also no doubt prefer the convenience and even the street- credibility of consulting a smartphone.
Not all of its services are as user-friendly as they seem, however. In navigation mode, the phone’s GPS system shows the user’s present location, as well as a list of restaurants, bars, banks and attractions close by. Doing this returns a long list of businesses – performing such a search at a random intersection in Beijing, for example, produced 2,000 listings. Another downside is the lack of insurance. Lose your Yoyoor phone or have it stolen and you are liable to pay for a replacement, which is likely to set you back almost USD 600.
REVENUE STREAMS
As well as phone rental and international calls — Yoyoor offers different packages, from a daily USD 12 rental fee with free outgoing local calls to pay-as-you-go packages — the company’s main revenue source comes from advertising, in the form of messages sent to the user promoting local restaurants or bars, as well as commission on flights booked or restaurant reservations made via the call center.
Strategic partnerships have already been signed with network operator China Mobile (中国移动), which offers Yoyoor lower airtime rates and volume discounts, and Air China (中国国际航空), which has given Yoyoor booths at Beijing Capital Airport. China-bound passengers flying from New York’s JFK, San Francisco and Los Angeles also receive a Yoyoor boarding-pass holder to enhance awareness of the service.
Since its launch in June 2008, Yoyoor has achieved moderate success, and now attracts more than 300 phone rentals a month. However, CEO Joss Shen is keen to broaden the company’s service offering. Its next project is Yofone, “a basic handset that is free to use for local calls but international call will be charged to your [hotel] room,” Shen explains. “Hotels will then decide whether they want to sell advertising to target their clients in the form of SMS, the revenue from which will be shared with Yoyoor.”
The service will be launched in Hangzhou in the coming months and will expand to Shanghai later in the year. In the long-term, Shen hopes to roll it out across China, and eventually overseas, as well as offering a similar service for Chinese travelers abroad.
DOWNLOAD DILEMMA
However, with Chinese networks poised to roll out 3G technology and working on compatibility with US handsets, and with an increasing number of mobile users now owning sophisticated smartphones — sales totaled 36.5 million units worldwide in Q3 2008, an 11.5% year-on-year increase according to IT research and advisory firm Gartner — the market for handset rentals seems set to diminish.
Zhu is aware that the company’s long-term future may well lie in offering its software and services as a downloadable package, rather than forcing users to rent a separate handset while they are in China. “People’s phones are dear to them, they like to use them and hang on to them, so we have to make all of our software compatible with all the different operating systems,” Zhu adds.
WHO YA GONNA CALL?
One firm that has a head-start in terms of offering services to existing phone owners is One2Call, a Dutch-owned company headquartered in Singapore, which offers telephone-based interpretation, personal-assistant and concierge services to foreigners in China.
One2Call owns and maintains a database covering 15 major cities in China and listings for more than 20,000 merchants, from bars and restaurants to shops and airlines. Included in the many details are the longitude and latitude, to allow for detailed proximity-based searches for export to handheld GPS devices, particularly useful for smartphone users.
According to managing director Harm Hindriks, “This is a very exciting time − 2008 was boom-time for us and I think 2009 will be even better.” He adds that the service is aimed not only at visitors, but also at “longer-term expatriates who have been here some time but who, without being disrespectful, have not learned the language sufficiently, like myself. I often use the service in fact.”
At a time of corporate downsizing and expenditure cuts, Hindriks also identifies the cost-saving aspect for companies with foreign staff in China, which are then able to dispense with the services of a full-time interpreter.
The call center is manned by a full-time staff of 34 and 100 part-timers, all of whom undergo three-months’ training before starting work. “You can ask our people absolutely anything and they will be able to help you,” Hindriks claims. “Out of every 100 people we train, only 10 make it through the three-month course. We deal with VIPs who are used to having problems solved and we have to be able to guarantee a high level of service at all times.”
With China likely to become an increasingly important destination for both business and leisure travelers, and with sales of smartphones soaring worldwide, the market for location-based, mobile tourism services appears set to grow. The challenge for contenders such as Yoyoor and One2Call is to find the right business model, both for advertisers and, more importantly, for customers.
Shopper's Market: 12/7: Skateboarder Tony Hawk changes the 'game'
Shopper's Market: 12/7: Skateboarder Tony Hawk changes the 'game'
Stopping Heel Pain: Q&A with Dr. Manny: I have plantar fasciitis, how can I stop the pain in my heels?
Stopping Heel Pain: Q&A with Dr. Manny: I have plantar fasciitis, how can I stop the pain in my heels?
A conversation with William Gates Sr. and Bill Gates Jr.
A conversation with William Gates Sr. and Bill Gates Jr. about the book "Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime"
CHARLIE ROSE: Bill Gates and his father, William Gates Sr. are here.
Together, they have had a productive and lifelong collaboration. The elder
Gates is one of his son’s closest advisers and confidantes. He’s a former
lawyer and civic leader in Seattle. He now serves as co-chair of the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation. He’s also the author of a new book called
"Showing Up For Life." It relays the wisdom of a life spent practicing
law, serving the community, and helping raise three successful children.
Joining me now, father and son, Bill Gates Sr. and Bill Gates. I’m
pleased to have them both at this table. Welcome.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Glad to be here.
CHARLIE ROSE: Good to see you again.
BILL GATES JR.: Thank you.
CHARLIE ROSE: Your son knows this table.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Yes, I know he does. It’s new to me.
CHARLIE ROSE: Let me just start with this. I mean, this is a story
about a family. Only two of them are here. There is your late wife and
his mother, and two siblings.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Right.
CHARLIE ROSE: Why did you want to write this book at this time?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Well, it started off -- you know, I’m 83 years
old. I have had a lot of experiences and had a lot of things that I
believe in, and I was going to write a memoir for my grandchildren and
future generations, because I didn’t have anything like that from my
predecessors. And as we got working on and I had some help with it, people
said, well, we should -- this is better than -- this is more important
thing to get out than to just give to your family and friends. We should
see if it might attract a wider audience, and so that’s the phenomena that
occurred is that people encouraged me to do this.
CHARLIE ROSE: How many grandchildren now?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Eight at this point.
CHARLIE ROSE: My goodness. You said, Dad, the next time somebody
asks you if you’re the real Bill Gates, I hope you’ll say yes, I hope
you’ll tell them that you’re all the things the other one strives to be.
What is that? What is it the other one strives to be?
BILL GATES JR.: Well, my dad has set an example by what he does, you
know, whether it was at the university, speaking out on tough political
issues or going to war, or being a great lawyer. You know, he’s the one
who really got the foundation going, encouraged me to give early, got us
involved in some very key causes and helped us build what is now a strong
group of people that I -- I get to work with full-time. So my dad is
somebody I aspire to live up to what he’s done.
CHARLIE ROSE: To know you, and you and I have done interviews for a
while now, is to know of this insane curiosity. To read this book is to
know it started very early.
BILL GATES JR.: That’s right. A love of reading. A desire to ask
questions. And when parents made it fair game to talk to them about my
dad’s lawsuits or my mom’s charitable activities, you know, the questions,
were they doing things the right way. And so, we had great dinner-table
conversations and we had a comfort with talking to adults and knowing what
adults were up to.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: You have to understand that he had a point of view
about whether we were doing it the right way or not.
(LAUGHTER)
CHARLIE ROSE: What do you mean?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Well, he matured early.
CHARLIE ROSE: Now, this -- your bedroom was in the basement at some
point?
BILL GATES JR.: That’s right.
CHARLIE ROSE: And he was in the basement, and his mother called down
and said -- you pick up the story.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: And said -- well, we were all standing around, the
two girls and Mary and I were standing around upstairs, waiting to get into
the car and go somewhere. And said, “Bill, what are you doing?” He said,
“I’m thinking, Mother. Don’t you ever think?”
And mother and I...
CHARLIE ROSE: You don’t say that to your mother.
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Well, Mother and I looked at each other on that
question, and looked at each other rather carefully and said, “You know,
I’m not sure we do.”
CHARLIE ROSE: There is also this, which is alluded to here. There
was a point in which somebody in the family thought it might be a good idea
if he had some counseling, yes? And after the counseling, the counselor or
whatever he was -- psychologist, psychiatrist.
BILL GATES JR.: Yes, psychiatrist.
CHARLIE ROSE: Said to your parents, give up?
(LAUGHTER)
BILL GATES JR.: Well, yes. He actually told me that, you know, my
parents were on my side, and it was a pretty important insight, that, you
know, fighting with your parents over things is just -- you know, that’s
really not where things are. And that happened early. So as I grew older,
I -- my parents were helping me, and I focussing my energy on the world at
large.
CHARLIE ROSE: Let me just give a different interpretation, if I may,
even though I wasn’t there.
BILL GATES JR.: OK, good, good.
CHARLIE ROSE: It was that he said to your parents, stop arguing with
him. He’ll never stop arguing, and he’ll always win in the end. Does that
ring true to you?
BILL GATES JR.: Well, yes, he said that I had this unfair advantage,
that, you know, they really cared about me and, you know, didn’t really
prove anything. I shouldn’t think of myself as benefiting from winning
some argument. And he really brought me around.
CHARLIE ROSE: Oh, so you changed?
BILL GATES JR.: I did change. I was a little bit nicer.
(LAUGHTER)
CHARLIE ROSE: A little bit nicer.
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Right on.
CHARLIE ROSE: Do you remember that moment, when he was a little bit
nicer?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Well, I really do remember the advice from the
counselor, which was quite profound.
CHARLIE ROSE: What do you two disagree about?
BILL GATES JR.: I think my dad might give more sooner. You know, he
encouraged me to start the foundation while I was still working full-time
and, you know, for a few years I wasn’t sure that was right, but then with
him offering to help out, I absolutely did that, which I’m very glad I did.
And you know, he empathizes with the needs out there, and so it’s been a
very positive influence to push me to think with more humility and to do
more rapidly.
CHARLIE ROSE: It is often said that parents learn by watching -- that
children learn by watching their parents. But you say here, parents learn
by watching their children.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: I do say that, and I absolutely believe it. I
experienced it and I -- there are things about their mother and certainly
some things about me which I have learned from watching them. Our oldest
daughter is, for example, just meticulously confident about things. And
her...
CHARLIE ROSE: She’s the accountant?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Pardon me?
CHARLIE ROSE: Is she the accountant?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: She’s the accountant, yes, yes. And it all fits.
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAM GATES SR.: And she’s a terrific example of, you know, you
think about that when you’re confronted with choices, and you say, well, if
Christy were here, I guess that’s what I’m going to do.
CHARLIE ROSE: His mother had a passion for community service. Served
on the board of regents of the University of Washington.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Yes.
CHARLIE ROSE: And United Way. What was that about?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Well, to start with, it was genuine. I mean, she
believed in the value of community activity, and in addition to which,
which is just sort of tangential, she was also very good at it. So little
wonder that it was a very significant part -- significant part of her life.
It started from a very serious motivation about working on things that
could be made better.
CHARLIE ROSE: Do you remember when he first got interested in
computers?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: At this high school where Bill went to school,
there was this very, very beginning kind of computer, keyboard and a
teletype sort of a thing, but it was fascinating to him and some of his
classmates, and they spent hours fiddling with that thing and learning
about it, and ultimately, while he was still in high school, running
programs. He and those boys who he was in cohorts with actually did the
programming for the high school. They assigned teachers to classes and
kids to classes, and did the whole schedule for the high school, and in the
course of that, arranged which girls would be in the classes they would be
in, as a matter of fact -- as a matter of choice.
CHARLIE ROSE: There’s merit in that, isn’t there?
(CROSSTALK)
CHARLIE ROSE: Reflect on that for a moment. Because you -- Gladwell
writes about it. I think Paul Allen shared the passion with you at the
time and you two went off to do something important.
BILL GATES JR.: Yes, the school bought this device, and the teachers
found it a bit confusing, and lots of students clustered around. I was a
lot younger than most, but I had done well on some national math exams, so
people kind of challenged me to figure it out.
CHARLIE ROSE: Go ahead.
BILL GATES JR.: And after a few months, it winnowed down. Paul
Allen, who was two grades ahead of me, myself, and just a few others really
stuck with it, and we got basically addicted and kept learning more. So it
was a phenomenal opportunity. And then of course Paul later, you know, we
stick together, do a lot of things, and then he founds Microsoft with me.
CHARLIE ROSE: Addiction may be a mild term, might it not? I mean,
you once said to me you...
BILL GATES JR.: That’s true.
(LAUGHTER)
CHARLIE ROSE: It was maniacal. Is that the word?
BILL GATES JR.: No, if you’re engaged...
(CROSSTALK)
BILL GATES JR.: ... in something like that, you really learn a lot.
And we wanted to know how it worked and how to write software.
CHARLIE ROSE: You went to Harvard?
BILL GATES JR.: Briefly.
CHARLIE ROSE: Briefly.
BILL GATES JR.: Not long enough to get a degree, but it was nice
while I was there.
CHARLIE ROSE: Well, you promised your father you’ll eventually get
it, and in fact you did later. But let me just stay -- so you go to
Harvard, but you’re still maniacal about the computer and its
possibilities. Paul is in Albuquerque or somewhere by then, is he not?
BILL GATES JR.: Not yet.
CHARLIE ROSE: Not yet. OK, help me out.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Paul was actually in Massachusetts as well,
working for...
BILL GATES JR.: Honeywell.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: ... Honeywell?
BILL GATES JR.: Yeah.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: And actually, it was there that the article came
out in “Popular Mechanics” about this company in Albuquerque, which had a -
- it actually was a kit for a desktop computer. And that Paul came running
over, as I understand the story, to Bill’s dormitory and said here it is,
here it is, Bill, here we go.
CHARLIE ROSE: What did he mean?
BILL GATES JR.: Well, Paul had spotted this computer on a chip, the
microprocessor, and we’d been talking about that for several years. And he
had encouraged me, hey, let’s start a company, let’s start a company.
Well, I was under some pressure to go to school and do -- you know, be
semi-normal. So he came back to Boston to keep convincing me we should do
it.
So actually when that computer showed up, we were excited, but we also
thought, wow, this is happening without us, because Paul and I had seen
that the combination of these chips and software could do something
amazing, and that’s why we immediately wrote some software and called up
that company, and they became our first customer.
CHARLIE ROSE: And then you ended up with Microsoft and Intel, and
then you were off to the races.
BILL GATES JR.: That’s right. When we did the first Basic, there was
no looking back. Even though I was on leave there, I did not return.
CHARLIE ROSE: All right. Remember that period for me, because here’s
your son who’s gone off to Harvard, and you thought he would at least
finish four years.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Yes.
CHARLIE ROSE: You and Mrs. Gates...
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Mary. Yes.
CHARLIE ROSE: ... had high hopes for Bill.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Yes.
CHARLIE ROSE: And he’s going to leave after one year.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Well, actually, it wasn’t quite that. He was
taking a semester off, so we weren’t confronting the ultimate demise of
college education there. We -- he was going to take a semester off and go
to Albuquerque and help Paul work there, and then he would go back. And in
fact, he did take a semester off and go back. The second time after he was
back for a semester, I have got to go back to Albuquerque. Now we started
to get...
CHARLIE ROSE: Nervous.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: ... a little bit concerned, and he never did go
back.
CHARLIE ROSE: And how was Mrs. Gates handling that?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: I would characterize her as being more concerned
than I. She just -- she had a stronger view in her mind of this is one of
my children. My children graduate from college. My children graduate from
college. My boy is not going to graduate from college? Oh, my word!
CHARLIE ROSE: She died of breast cancer and did not get to see this
movement in which you’re asked to come back, deliver the commencement
speech and get an honorary degree. As you go up to the podium, you look to
your father and say? What did you say to your father?
BILL GATES JR.: I said...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL GATES JR.: Dad, I always told you I’d come back and get my
degree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILL GATES JR.: And that was a fun moment.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Yes, it was. It was.
CHARLIE ROSE: If you look at that as a fun moment, suggest to me in
this relationship and in this business career, moving into philanthropy,
that had been sort of the signal moments for you and for the family.
BILL GATES JR.: Well, as the business got bigger, I got advice from
my dad. Going public was a key milestone that we sat around the living
room and talked a lot about. And I...
CHARLIE ROSE: Now, were you the lawyer for the firm, for Microsoft?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: The law firm in which I was a partner -- actually,
the managing partner -- was the law firm that represented him in this
offering.
CHARLIE ROSE: Right.
WILLIAM GATES SR.: I felt like it was wise for me to step back and
let others be the hands-on lawyers for the project.
CHARLIE ROSE: Just thought it was not a smart idea for father to be
representing son?
WILLIAM GATES SR.: Precisely. Precisely.
CHARLIE ROSE: OK, so going public is one idea.
BILL GATES JR.: That was a big, big milestone. You know, the
contract with IBM, then the break with IBM, and getting to be quite large,
deciding to step down as CEO. These are all things that I had a chance to
talk to my dad about before I decided, and then just now, a little less
than a year ago, actually moving to the foundation full-time.
And during all that, my dad’s encouraging me, hey, what about the
giving? When -- can you start sooner and do more? And as early as about
2000, my dad volunteered, and so we started a new relationship, which was
he was looking at the letters and helping gather the team that became the
foundation.
CHARLIE ROSE: I want to come back to the foundation, but I want to
stay with the idea of this relationship within this family.
This has to do with Warren Buffett. Mrs. Gates and you are having a
dinner party in Seattle.
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