Geek Death Match: Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs - Rounds 3 through 5
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Round 3 – Presentation
Everyone knows that to be successful in business you need to be able to sell your product, or you'll be out of a job quickly. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates both had to sell their products to companies that weren't sure of a PC at the time. Both succeeded, but they have very different styles of presenting.
We all have seen Steve Jobs give a presentation. He wears a St. Croix mock turtleneck, Levi's 501 jeans and New Balance 991 shoes. He's got that unshaven look; his facial hair is as long as his head hair. Bill Gates has a more professional appearance. He typically wears khakis and a blue dress shirt. Overall, I think I'll give Bill the heads up this time.
Still, presentation isn't all about looks; it has to do with your body movement. Steve Jobs uses his hands very well, and Bill Gates's hands are all over the place. Typically you see him putting his hands together in an evil Mr. Burns-like manor. It creeps me out to see him do that, so I'm going to give this part to Steve.
The last part of the presentation is the slides you use. Steve uses his slides to help tell a story. Rarely are there complete sentences, if he uses words on the slides at all. I like to think of these slides almost like a picture book. If you don't listen to him talk, it is really had to figure out what he is talking about.
Bill Gates, on the other hand, has oodles of information in these presentations. I don't even have to be there to know what he is talking about; his presentation will tell you all. This way might be better for someone trying to understand it from the slides, but it is more boring if you have to be there to hear him. This round was close, but I have to give Steve Jobs this nod.
Bill: 2
Steve: 1
Round 4 - Biggest Blunder
The best way to learn is from your mistakes, isn't it? It's time to take a look at who has made the biggest single mess. Both companies have had highs and lows and products that were pure gold, and some that were complete trash. Steve Jobs seems to be able to sell anything and everything he gets his hands on: the iPod, iPhone, iMACs, name it, it sells.
This wasn't always the case. Apple's biggest blunder was kicking Steve Jobs to the curb for a few years, which made the company tank. You can't blame Steve for getting let go. So Steve's biggest blunder would probably be showing Bill Gates and company the Macintosh computer before it was released. This happened in his early years when he was more about the product than the business. Just think about what could have been if Microsoft never got their hands on the GUI!
Now it's time to look at Bill Gates. There have been a few products that have really flopped, like Windows ME and the Smart Display, but I think his biggest blunder came with the U.S. government. The Department of Justice came after Microsoft, and Bill dodged as much as he could. He "didn't remember" or was "not sure" on most of the questions asked. Though not proven, many think that he was lying when he said that IE and WMP could not be removed from the current Windows without breaking it.
I'm not sure if this is true or not; I'm guessing it would be pretty simple to remove, but who knows. This battle of Microsoft vs. U.S. government went on for years and it looks like Microsoft won, but Bill could have been facing some serious time for lying if they could prove it; just ask Berry Bonds. Sure you could delete the icon, but IE was still there and in the end you didn't change anything.
Now it's time to dish out the points this round. It comes down to Steve Jobs letting the Macintosh out of the box early for Microsoft to see, or Bill Gates getting into legal trouble. I think that going to jail is worse than losing profits. So Bill Gates wins this round, but the biggest blunder round results in a -1 to the score.
Bill: 1
Steve: 1
Round 5 - Education
I'm sure we have all herd the fact that Bill Gates never finished school, but neither did Steve Jobs. Steve dropped out after a semester, but did sit in on a few classes. Bill Gates famously left Harvard University to go on to found Microsoft. Bill made it through two years before dropping out his junior year. While both of these people did very well without a college education, that is not always the case. Bill did receive an honorary degree years later from Harvard. I don't really think either of them deserves a point, but Bill did make it longer than Steve, so point for him.
Bill: 2
Steve: 1
Next: Rounds 6 through 8 >>
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