Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates participated in an Ask Me Anything session a few hours ago and answered a variety of topics including philanthropy, technology, and politics.
One of the most interesting topics covered by Bill Gates is the eternal feud between Microsoft and Apple over which of the two giants copied the way their systems work.
Bill Gates explained in a typical way that essentially the graphical interface was created by Xerox, so both companies copied this standard.
"The 'copying' was essentially that both companies benefited from Xerox Parc's work and while we added our own elements, the main work belongs to them," Bill Gates said characteristically.
Bill Gates stressed that technology has evolved a lot in recent years and he expects companies like Google and Microsoft to join forces to address a number of problems such as the lack of vaccines for certain diseases.
"The big milestone right now is computers that can read and understand information just like humans. Of course, a lot of work needs to be done to fully develop them. Another area that needs development is that of vaccines. We need a vaccine for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis as soon as possible."
In case you're wondering, Bill Gates didn't specifically mention Microsoft during the Ask Me Anything session, choosing instead to focus on philanthropy, technology, and politics.
