14 DAY TRIAL // Right, before you ask... the sick-looking Wolverine in the adjacent image is in fact Bill Gates... Well, it was bound to happen, and the fact of the matter is that it will happen in 2008. More precisely after June 2008, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will completely retire from his day-to-day role with the Redmond company. Gates has been in a two-year transition period, since June 2006 , as he passed his responsibilities over to Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Craig Mundie, and Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie.
While the day when Gates will actually leave Microsoft is still half a year away, his transition is in its final stages, and the video embedded at the bottom of this article offers a tongue-in-cheek perspective over the Chairman's last hours in Redmond. The video was an integer part of Gates' last keynote address at CES, delivered on January 6th, 2008, and features not only himself, but also an impressive list of who's who in politics and entertainment, as well as a selection of top Microsoft executives. Gates revealed that it was fun to put together.
"I really don't think it's an accurate representation of what's likely to happen, but it was fun to put together. The transition, in fact, has been going very well, with Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie stepping up to take over my full-time responsibilities. Of course, after the transition I'll have a few projects that I pick, that are still about the magic of software, including things like how software can advance education, and how software can advance healthcare around the world", Gates stated.
You will be able to see Gates driving a mundane 2008 Ford Focus 2-door to work, on his last day at Microsoft. Theoretically, Gates is leaving the company he co-founded to focus on his philanthropic work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But at the same time, he is searching for a new beginning, seeking to align himself with the projects of some of his friends.
"In the middle of this year, in July, that I'll move from being a full-time employee at Microsoft to working full-time at the foundation, as you heard. So this will be the first time since I was 17 that I won't have my full-time Microsoft job. And I'm not really sure what that last day is going to be like. It could be a bit strange, you know - what do you do on your last day? So I have some friends to help me prepare for that. So we got together and did a little video", Gates added.
The video also stars Brian Williams, Steve Ballmer, Ray Ozzie, Craig Mundie, Matthew Mcconaughey, Robbie Bach, Jay-Z, Bono, Steven Spielberg, George Clooney, Jon Stewart, Kevin Turner, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Al Gore. And it is nothing short of hilarious. Enjoy!