Gates, the richest man on the planet, and today, the most familiar and well known identity in the computing world. Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955 to Mary and William Gates. Bill was accepted into Harvard University in autumn, 1973. In his second year, he dropped out of college and started Microsoft with Paul Allen, a friend from the Lakeside private school he attended as a youngster. They set up their company in Albuquerque, NM in 1975. It was located near the manufacturer of a new computer kit, called the Altair 8800. It was basically the first inexpensive "computer kit" sold to the public.
             Intel introduced a new microprocessor chip in 1975, the 8080. It contained about 2,700 more transistors than the chip launched in the previous year, and its successor, the 8088, was used in the first PCs (personal computers) made. Bill and Paul instantly recognised that if chips could be so small and more powerful than a room full of computer a decade before, computers would soon become even smaller and yet more powerful. Other companies didn't see it this way. But Bill was right. Now, practically all computers use a microprocessors.
             One of the first programs they created was Altair BASIC. This is a program that allows other people to more easily program the Altair. In 1978, a man named Kazuhiko Nishi called Bill. He read about Microsoft and was interested in its software. A few months later, he went to Microsoft where the two made a deal. Nishi paid $150M mainly for exclusive rights to license MS-BASIC in Asia. They remained business partners for 8 years, providing Microsoft with a link to Japan.
             In 1979, Microsoft moved to Redmond, WA where it is today. By this time, Microsoft had grown in popularity. In order for Microsoft to get to the top, they had to have a very good business strategy. Their strategy is to sell software at low prices, until people are hooked. Then, slowly, raise them up. If a competitor comes along, th...