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- Bill Gates was active in his teenage years.
- He and his friend developed disk operating system.
- Bill Gates foresaw the significance of computers in the future.
- Binary number system has only two digits.
- Bill Gates’ predictions came true.
Bill Gates, The Software King
Most of the computers in the world use software invented by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft Inc. of Redmond, Wash. Software is the set of programs that make computers – whether business or personal – perform various tasks.
Gates was born in Seattle, Wash., in 1955. As a boy, he was bright and curious. He was active in Scouting, reaching Life Scout rank in Troop 186. He especially loved hiking, camping and other outdoor adventures.
But Gates was obsessed with computers. While a student at Harvard University in 1975, Gates and a friend, Paul Allen, developed a computer language for an early version of the personal computer. Microsoft was born. Gates went on to develop operating systems, such as MS-DOS, and software programs.
Thanks to Microsoft, Gates is now one of the richest men in America. He is worth more than $8 billion.
A technical wizard and a fierce business competitor, Gates sees great things ahead for computers. He says they «are really going to change a lot of things in the world – the way we work, the way we play and entertain ourselves and even the way we are educated».
The Binary Number System
Early digital computers inspired by Howard Aiken’s Mark 1 were huge, sometimes filling an entire room. That was because thousands of switches were needed to compute his binary number system.
In the binary number system, only two digits are recognized by the computer: 0 when a switch is off, and 1 when the switch is on. Different combinations of those two digits can represent thousands of letters and numbers.
The binary number system is still used in today’s computers. The difference is that the thousands of electrical switches have been replaced by one tiny, solid-state chip that does the translations electronically. That’s why your computer only fills up part of your desk, not your whole bedroom.
Computers in your Future
Microsoft’s Bill Gates and other computer experts saw great things ahead. They said that in the next few years, you would be able to sit at your computer and see high-quality video sent from any place on earth.
They predicted you would also have a wallet-size personal computer. With it you would be able to store photographs, pay bills, get the news, send messages, see movies and open locks with digital keys.
At home on your TV-size PC you would be able to see and talk with friends in other states, get medical advice, check magazine articles and pictures in a far-off library and order a pizza.
A computerized control system at home would regulate your lighting, temperature and security system.
Big dreams? Are these dreams or facts? Perhaps. But engineers have done a lot to make it reality.