It is impossible to conceive of the current technological industry without the intervention of Steve Jobs neither Bill Gates. Both subjects were entities of great relevance for the course of history in this sector. They marked a before and after with their companies and creations.
But the truth is that it is impossible to coincide on the same terrain, being competitors, without having their strong clashes and confrontations. Ultimately, both were shaping the future at a speed inconceivable at the time.
That is how Steve Jobs with Apple and Bill Gates They maintained a cordial relationship with Microsoft but also one of relative enmity, where harsh criticism in both directions was never lacking.
Now, with the passing of the decades and the absence of Jobs, the general popular shape and conception of both figures has undergone some changes. In the specific case of the co-founder of Apple, his legend has been mythologized.
While with Gates we find ourselves with a subject who today handles more the profile of a philanthropist who also has the acuity to predict the near future of our society.
But there was a time when both were rather “thieves”.
Xerox: the bone of contention for Bill Gates and Steve Jobs
The matter of the dispute between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates It was born directly with the creation of the first human-computer visual interface. Both had seen the active projects and the prototype of Xerox that engendered the essence of the computer of the future: a device with an integrated mouse.
When Jobs realized that Gates was also working on an Operating System to use this type of accessory, he confronted him and the duel between the two began there. It was not for less the anger of the owner of Apple, he witnessed the birth of Windows under his nose.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in their own words
From that disagreement both characters spent the following decades criticizing each other, always in a tone referring to their work, nothing directly personal or intimate.
As shown, a couple of statements by Steve Jobs about Bill Gates and Microsoft are enough, one at the beginning of his stardom in the sector and the second said towards the end of the life of the Apple co-founder:
“Bill has no imagination and has never invented anything, which is why I think he is more comfortable doing philanthropy than technology. […]. He has simply stolen other people’s ideas.”
“The only problem with Microsoft is that they just don’t have taste. They do not put any passion. And I don’t mean something in particular, but in general, in a big way, in the sense that they don’t think of original ideas, and they don’t include culture in their products”
For his part, Bill Gates always remained a little more even-tempered about what he said about Jobs and his work at the helm of Apple. Emphasizing his shortcomings, but admiring his achievements:
“[Steve Jobs] he’s never known much about technology, but he had an excellent instinct about what worked.”
“Steve was acting in Pied Piper mode, proclaiming how the Mac will change the world and overloading people with more and more work, incredible stresses and complex personal relationships.”
The quote where Bill Gates admitted that the way Jobs did things was “just different, magical” is famous.
After Steve’s death, Bill admitted that they used to throw things at each other’s faces, but that they had always enjoyed talking about each other.