I find this tidbit, gleaned from coverage of SES, fascinating. Apparently Bill Gates is still engaged at Microsoft, at least on one issue: Search. From a piece covering the integration of Powerset into Microsoft’s search index:
However the news isn’t all bleak, as Microsoft believes strongly in the potential advantages provided by Powerset. And they’ve got another ally, too: Bill Gate[s]. Scott Prevost, Powerset’s general manager, was quoted as saying that “Bill has definitely not retired for us”. Gates, who has stepped down from day to day operations, has said that he planned to continue to work on search.
I wonder why this is so. Is it simply that Gates hates losing to the Google duo? Is it a legacy thing?