Read Online Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire by Erickson wallace - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Erickson wallace
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loved politics as much as computers, Gates went to Washington, D.C., as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives. His parents had gotten him the job through Brock Adams, who was now a congressional representative. Gates quickly showed his talent for making business deals. He bought 5,000 McGovern-Eagleton buttons for a nickel each—$250 worth. When George McGovern dropped Thomas Eagleton from the presidential ticket, Gates sold the scarce buttons as collector s items for $25 each, making several thousand dollars in profit.
When Congress adjourned for the summer recess, Gates returned to Seattle to help Allen with the class-scheduling work. They wrote their program using the free computer time they had accrued from Information Sciences Inc. Lakeside paid them for that computer time as well, and they made a couple thousand dollars in spending money. The scheduling program they designed is still used at Lakeside, although it has been refined over the years.
The schedule proved a big hit with students that fall, particularly to some members of the senior class who—thanks to Gates and some creative scheduling—didn’t have any classes on Tuesday afternoon. The group of seniors wore silk-screen T- shirts, with “Tuesday Club” printed on the shirts over the outline of a keg of beer.
Girls had been admitted to Lakeside at the start of Gates’ junior year, when Lakeside merged with St. Nicholas, an all girls school. Gates signed up for a drama class during his senior year that included some of the first female students to attend Lakeside. As a result, Gates landed leading roles in two school plays, The Night the Bed Fell, by James Thurber, and Black Comedy, by English playwright Peter Shaffer. The Thurber play required that Gates memorize a three-page monologue. Gates, with a nearly photographic memory, merely glanced at the pages for a few seconds and had the material memorized.
“I thought to myself,” recalled Anne Stephens, who directed Gates in both plays, “how’s this gawky guy going to carry this off? It’s a very dry piece. But he did a delightful job in the play. He was absolutely charming.”
With the success of the class-scheduling project, Gates continued to look for money-making opportunities during his senior year. He sent letters to area schools, offering to computerize their schedule. He offered a system that he said was 95 percent conflict-free.
“We use a unique scheduling service developed by Lakeside,” his letter said. “We would like to provide scheduling for your school as well. A good job at a reasonable cost—$2 to $2.50 per student. We would appreciate opportunities to discuss this with you.”
Gates was able to land a job writing the first computer program for class registration at what was known as the Experi mental College at the University of Washington. The school was staffed by UW students and provided alternative courses at affordable fees. It was run not by the university but by the university’s student government association.
Gates was hired for the programming job by the association. One problem arose, however, and it did not have to do with the program he wrote. His sister Kristi, a student at the University of Washington at the time, was an officer on the student government association. When the campus paper learned her brother had received the scheduling contract, it accused the association of nepotism. In the end, Gates made very little money from the project, about $500.
As he entered the second trimester of his senior year, Gates was still looking for a way to use his computer experiences to earn “real” money. He didn’t have to wait long.
One day Gates received a call from a man from TRW, the giant defense contractor. Moments later, Gates was on the phone to Washington State University in Pullman, trying to reach Paul Allen with the news.
TRW, Gates hurriedly explained to Allen, wanted the two of them to go down to Vancouver for a job interview as soon
When Congress adjourned for the summer recess, Gates returned to Seattle to help Allen with the class-scheduling work. They wrote their program using the free computer time they had accrued from Information Sciences Inc. Lakeside paid them for that computer time as well, and they made a couple thousand dollars in spending money. The scheduling program they designed is still used at Lakeside, although it has been refined over the years.
The schedule proved a big hit with students that fall, particularly to some members of the senior class who—thanks to Gates and some creative scheduling—didn’t have any classes on Tuesday afternoon. The group of seniors wore silk-screen T- shirts, with “Tuesday Club” printed on the shirts over the outline of a keg of beer.
Girls had been admitted to Lakeside at the start of Gates’ junior year, when Lakeside merged with St. Nicholas, an all girls school. Gates signed up for a drama class during his senior year that included some of the first female students to attend Lakeside. As a result, Gates landed leading roles in two school plays, The Night the Bed Fell, by James Thurber, and Black Comedy, by English playwright Peter Shaffer. The Thurber play required that Gates memorize a three-page monologue. Gates, with a nearly photographic memory, merely glanced at the pages for a few seconds and had the material memorized.
“I thought to myself,” recalled Anne Stephens, who directed Gates in both plays, “how’s this gawky guy going to carry this off? It’s a very dry piece. But he did a delightful job in the play. He was absolutely charming.”
With the success of the class-scheduling project, Gates continued to look for money-making opportunities during his senior year. He sent letters to area schools, offering to computerize their schedule. He offered a system that he said was 95 percent conflict-free.
“We use a unique scheduling service developed by Lakeside,” his letter said. “We would like to provide scheduling for your school as well. A good job at a reasonable cost—$2 to $2.50 per student. We would appreciate opportunities to discuss this with you.”
Gates was able to land a job writing the first computer program for class registration at what was known as the Experi mental College at the University of Washington. The school was staffed by UW students and provided alternative courses at affordable fees. It was run not by the university but by the university’s student government association.
Gates was hired for the programming job by the association. One problem arose, however, and it did not have to do with the program he wrote. His sister Kristi, a student at the University of Washington at the time, was an officer on the student government association. When the campus paper learned her brother had received the scheduling contract, it accused the association of nepotism. In the end, Gates made very little money from the project, about $500.
As he entered the second trimester of his senior year, Gates was still looking for a way to use his computer experiences to earn “real” money. He didn’t have to wait long.
One day Gates received a call from a man from TRW, the giant defense contractor. Moments later, Gates was on the phone to Washington State University in Pullman, trying to reach Paul Allen with the news.
TRW, Gates hurriedly explained to Allen, wanted the two of them to go down to Vancouver for a job interview as soon
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