Pondering on Bill Gates' Legacy

this employee isn't just any staff member; he is Bill Gates. Although he will remain chairman, his day-to-day role with the company is over. How do you sum up 33 years spent building the world's largest software company? What accomplishments do you highlight? What topics are best avoided for the sake of politeness?

In Gates's case, sometimes it's hard to tell

Ultimately, Gates' successes vastly outweigh his failures. Microsoft Bob is remembered as a joke, but it in no way diminished Windows. WebTV was a costly mistake, but would seem like genius now. Zune is no iPod, but a million units sold in a global market place is a nice start. Vista? Well, as I've said, Vista's not the note Bill wanted to go out on, but with his weekly visits to Microsoft, he'll have ample opportunity to put his finger prints all over Windows 7.

So thank you, Bill Gates. Thanks for Windows and Word, PowerPoint and Excel, even Internet Explorer. Thanks for pushing the market to do better and keeping Steve Jobs on his toes. Thanks for making the industry more interesting with your presence. We'll miss you, but it's not like you're gone for good. Your legacy, after all, is always only a keystroke away.