Bill Gates will not like this — it's the "other" version of Windows — and it's free. An unexpected cat fight is about to happen in the tech world. You've got this huge guy — Bill Gates — who for years has dominated the face of computers with his Windows operating system.

I have so much to thank Bill Gates for: introducing me to the baffling joys of consumer computing with Windows 95; teaching me the meaning of fear and dread with Windows 98; leading me to the sunlit uplands of Windows XP; getting me out of Microsoft altogether with the arrival of Vista. I hardly know where to start.

Microsoft is beset with competition from all sides, unlike any it has seen in decades, and Bill Gates, who co-founded the company 32 years ago, still intends to step away next year as planned. But so far, Mr. Gates, Microsoft’s 51-year-old chairman, shows no sign of fading away.

"Hear what Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates had to say during his last official visit to the UK before he 'retires' later this year. IT PRO attended the special event hosted by the Institute of Directors (IoD) and, after Gates had done his thing there was a Q&A session with the billionaire and industry figurehead." And also note how some of his answers match up rather nicely with F/OSS.

This is the year I kiss Windows good-bye. Well, maybe not entirely, but the writing is on the wall for Microsoft's flagship operating system, and all other desktop bloatware: The future of PC software is open source. (I'll add that the future of PC applications is on the Web, which I'll cover once we've got Ubuntu in place.)

A blistering criticism of Windows' quality and Microsoft's strategy, from a long time Windows (and MAC) user who has now got fed up! This is in a UK major top rank newspaper:

"One of these operating systems is free. The less impressive one lines Bill Gates' pockets with gold." Great video to show your eye-candy-loving-still-using-windows mates

Bill Gates was interviewed by the BBC’s Money Programme...Reading between the lines, Gates is essentially confessing that he would not have progressed had he and Paul Allen not found the source code.

Who's left standing at the altar?