_airh

Where did you get this information from? What tools / services did you use? Strange for HN, but I am not being argumentative; I would just like to use similar tools myself. :-)

It is strange that the same country which cherishes its 'right to bear arms' on the grounds that it gives them a level of protection that the government is unable to provide is 'happy' to build the infrastructure which allows the same government to peek into their lives.

On the one hand, we don't trust the government with the basics (physical security). On the other, we trust them with information we don't want our parents to see (facebook profiles, etc). ...strange.

Edit: When I say 'the country' I mean the people in aggregate. Obviously, some people are outraged about this issue, just as some people were outraged when a gunman killed 30 children. Techies seem to be particularly concerned about this issue but, on the whole, most people are indifferent.

I don't think PG is arguing that Gates is rich because of IBM's failure. I think he is arguing that Gates is fantastically rich because of IBM's failure. PG states in the essay that someone like Gates who is smart and hard working will be successful. ...but being successful and being a multi-billionaire are two different things. Being a multi-billionaire requires luck.

And, yeah, it’s pretty clear that IBM dropped the ball on this one. There was a good 10 - 15 year period where IBM could have easilly crushed (or bought) Microsoft.