Bill Gates Steps Aside at Microsoft

Bill Gates Steps Aside at Microsoft
He leaves at a time of major changes in the computer industry. But over 90 percent of the world's one billion personal computers still use the Windows operating system. Transcript of radio broadcast:
03 July 2008
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
Last week, Bill Gates retired from full-time work at the world's biggest computer software company, Microsoft. He will remain chairman of the company he established with Paul Allen in nineteen seventy-five.


Mister Gates leaves Microsoft at a time of change in the computing industry. Microsoft grew at a time when personal computers, or PCs, were replacing big mainframe computers as the main computing tools. He showed that huge profits could be made in software as PCs increasingly were found "on every desk and in every home."
Early on, Microsoft understood the importance of the "network effect." That is, software is the kind of product that increases in value as more people buy and use it.

Now, free Internet software threatens to replace PC-based software. Devices like "smart phones" connect people to the Internet. Google has become a leader in Internet Web searching and advertising. Microsoft has struggled to change with the new computer environment. Its efforts to sell music and its latest operating system, Vista, have not been big successes. And an attempt this year to buy Yahoo for over forty-seven billion dollars failed.

In the last several years, Bill Gates has slowly given control of Microsoft to others. In two thousand, he gave the job of chief executive officer to Steve Ballmer, a friend of his since their years at Harvard University. Mister Ballmer has been with Microsoft since nineteen eighty.

Still, it is hard to overestimate the influence of Bill Gates on computing. He developed the business model that put the Windows operating system on about ninety percent of the world's one billion PCs. Microsoft now has almost ninety thousand employees.

At fifty-two years old, Bill Gates is currently the third richest man in the world. He is worth about fifty-eight billion dollars. He remains Microsoft's biggest shareholder.

Mister Gates will now spend most of his time working at his charity organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation is the world's largest charity with over thirty-seven billion dollars. It provides money for health, education and other projects, mostly in developing countries.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts and archives of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

----------------------------Google Translate

比尔盖茨的步骤，撇在一边，微软
在他离开的时候，重大变化，在计算机行业。但在90 ％以上的世界十亿个人电脑仍然使用Windows作业系统。全文电台广播：
2008年7月3日
这是美国之音特别英语经济学报告。
上周，比尔盖茨退出全职的工作在世界上最大的计算机软件公司，微软。他将继续担任该公司的成立，他与保罗艾伦在1975年。


米斯特塞盖茨离开微软，在一个充满变化的时期，在电脑产业。微软增长的时候，个人电脑，或个人电脑，取代大电脑主机作为主要的计算工具。他表明，丰厚的利润可以作出在软件的PC越来越多被发现“对每一个服务台和在每一个家庭” 。
年初，微软理解的重要性， “网络效应” 。这是，软件是种产品，增加价值录得升幅随着越来越多的人购买和使用它。

现在，免费上网软件的威胁，以取代基于PC的软件。设备，如“智能电话”连接人到网际网路。 Google已经成为一个领先的互联网搜索和广告。 Microsoft已经奋斗改变与新的计算机环境。其努力来出售音乐和其最新的操作系统， Vista中，没有大的成就。并企图在今年购买雅虎超过470.0亿美元，失败了。

在过去的几年中，比尔盖茨已经慢慢给予控制的Microsoft给他人。在2000 ，他给了工作，行政长官主任史蒂夫鲍尔默，有一位朋友，他自年在哈佛大学。米斯特塞鲍尔默已与微软自1980年。

仍然，是很难高估的影响，比尔盖茨计算。他发展了商业模式，把Windows作业系统的约90 ％的世界十亿电脑。微软现在已差不多9.0万雇员。

在52年岁，比尔盖茨目前是第三首富，在世界上。他是价值约580.00亿美元。他仍然是微软的最大股东。

米斯特塞盖茨将现在花在他的大部分时间工作在他的慈善组织，比尔和梅林达盖茨基金会。该基金会是世界上最大的慈善机构超过370.0亿美元。它提供了金钱，健康，教育和其他项目，大多数在发展中国家。

这是该美国之音特别英语经济学的报告，书面，由马里奥里特尔。誊本和档案的程式，我们正处于voaspecialenglish.com 。我史蒂夫ember 。