Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Supposedly 'Soft' Bill Gates Interrogated About What Was Called His “Jihad”

Recent: Reminder: Bill Gates Called for “Jihad” (His Word) Both Before and After Being Grilled for Crimes | Bill Gates Deposition: Gates Keeps Referring to His Attacks on Competitors (Linux Included) as “Jihad” and Still Lies About Illegal Contracts

Oxford dictionary on “Jihad”
From Oxford dictionary



Summary: We revisit the odd choice of words (repeatedly used by Mr. Gates internally), suggestive of some divine call for war/arms in the business context

THE FOLLOWING passages are from the full transcript of the Bill Gates deposition (fourth part of the transcripts). For those who forgot, Gates repeatedly used the word "Jihad" (odd choice of words for a Christian) and after this deposition he continued using this term in his "holy war" against GNU/Linux, as noted in 2019 and in 2009.






13 Q. Were you told in or about March of 1997
14 that people within Microsoft believed that browser
15 share needed to remain a key priority for your field
16 and marketing efforts?
17 A. I don't remember being told that, but I
18 wouldn't be surprised to hear that people were saying
19 that.
20 Q. Immediately before that sentence there
21 is a statement that Microsoft needs to continue its
22 jihad next year. Do you see that?
23 A. No.
24 Q. The sentence that says "Browser share
25 needs to remain a key priority for our field and
605
BARNEY, UNGERMANN & ASSOCIATES 888-326-5900





1 marketing efforts," the sentence right before that
2 says "we need to continue our jihad next year."
3 That's the way it ends. Do you see that?
4 A. Now I see -- it doesn't say Microsoft.
5 Q. Well, when it says "we" there, do you
6 understand that means something other than Microsoft,
7 sir?
8 A. It could mean Brad Chase's group.
9 Q. Well, this is a message from Brad Chase
10 to you, Brad Silverberg, Paul Maritz and Steve
11 Ballmer; correct?
12 A. As I say, it's strange that this -- if
13 this was a normal piece of e-mail, it wouldn't print
14 like that. I'm not aware of any way -- maybe there
15 is some way -- that e-mail ends up looking like this
16 when you print it out.
17 Q. I wasn't the one that was asserting it
18 was an e-mail. I don't know whether it is an e-mail
19 or memo or what it is. All I know is it was produced
20 to us by Microsoft. And the first line of it says
21 "To" and the first name there is "Bradsi." Do you
22 see that?
23 A. Uh-huh.
24 Q. Does that refer to Brad Silverberg?
25 A. Usually you can use that shorthand in
606
BARNEY, UNGERMANN & ASSOCIATES 888-326-5900





1 typing in someone's name, but when you print out
2 e-mail, it doesn't come out that way.
3 Q. Do you believe that the reference here
4 to "Bradsi" is a reference to Brad Silverberg, sir?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. The next addressee is "Paulma." Do you
7 believe that that is Paul Maritz?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And the next addressee is "Steveb". Do
10 you believe that that is Steve Ballmer?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. The next addressee is "Billg" and do
13 you believe that that is yourself?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. And it says it's from "Bradc" and do
16 you believe that is Brad Chase?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Now, when Brad Chase writes to you and
19 the others "we need to continue our jihad next year,"
20 do you understand that he is referring to Microsoft
21 when he uses the word "we"?
22 A. No.
23 Q. What do you think he means when he uses
24 the word "we"?
25 A. I'm not sure.
607
BARNEY, UNGERMANN & ASSOCIATES 888-326-5900





1 Q. Do you know what he means by jihad?
2 A. I think he is referring to our vigorous
3 efforts to make a superior product and to market that
4 product.
5 Q. Now, what he says in the next sentence
6 is, "Browser share needs to remain a key priority for
7 our field and marketing efforts;" is that correct?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. The field and marketing efforts were
10 not involved in product design or making an improved
11 browser, were they, sir?
12 A. No.




Does Gates have a megalomania issue/God complex? Is this business or religion? Remember that Microsoft likes to portray GNU and Linux folks as religious fanatics... (even if many are atheistic and you'd never see GNU/Linux users calling for a "Jihad")

Recent Techrights' Posts

Wikipedia - Funded by Slop-pushing Companies and 'Broligarchs' - Gave Benefit of the Doubt to Slop, Then Regretted It
Wikipedia sucks. Without slop it'll suck a little less.
Passage of Wealth Upwards, Blaming the Victims
Tim Sweeney's net worth is 5.1 billion USD according to Forbes
EPO Strike Begins Today and It's the Longest One Yet (Can Last a Year)
Where's the media?
People Discuss Rumours of Mass Layoffs at IBM Becoming Public in 1-2 Weeks
IBM is killing its brand or its "goodwill"
 
Did IBM Pay thestreet.com for Puff Pieces? (Like It Did With Forbes)
If so, there is no disclosure
Payoffs of Lifelong Commitments
"The Lifelong Activist"
Links 30/03/2026: "We Can’t Income-Tax Ultra-Elites"; "The Pirate Bay’s Oldest Torrent Turned 22"
Links for the day
Today, Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) Goes on Strike That Can Last Until 2027. Nobody in the Media Covers This!
"We stand with the protesters"
When the Cost (or Time) of Maintenance Exceeds the Value
In recent years it seems like more people learn to remove things from their lives, not add more things
More Media Needs to Tell the Public Slop is a Giant Bubble, It Should Stop Taking "Sponsorship" Money to Inflate This Bubble
If enough of (what's left of) the media changes its tune and quits being a parrot of GAFAM, then we can debate slop like grown-ups
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 29, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, March 29, 2026
Trying to Hide One's Abuses by Imposing Silence on Critics ("My Profile Was Private")
With enough daylight, sooner or later everyone knows you are a vampire
Fedora Badges System Shows the Demise of Fedora Under IBM
IBM isn't good at keeping what it buys
IBM is Sunsetting Red Hat, It Only Uses the Brand and the Shell
IBM buys or spins off companies as containers for "toxic assets" and debt
Cisco Systems is a Still Weak Spot With Bug Doors
nothing to offer except storytelling
Gemini Links 30/03/2026: Approaching April and Arvelie Calendar
Links for the day
No Daylight Saved
Is there still any practical reason for this ritual?
Microsoft Azure Does Not Have "Hiring Freezes", It Has Had Mass Layoffs Every Year Since 2020
Things are always a lot worse than Microsoft formally or publicly acknowledges
SLAPP Censorship - Part 27 Out of 200: Using the Tor Network to Hide From Consequences
Only 1-2 weeks after the countersuit the Canadian attempted to deplatform several Web sites
The Limits of Inclusion
Inclusion with caution isn't "opinionated"; it's a defence mechanism, sometimes a survival instinct
Almost 20 Years After Microsoft/Novell
The mission has not changed, but the priorities evolve all the time
LLM Slop Kills Sites, as Sites That Adopt Slop Are Doomed
People won't subscribe to such sites and visit them if they recognise it's just slop
Links 29/03/2026: Indonesia Cracks Down on Social Control Media Addiction, China Becomes World’s Scientific Superpower
Links for the day
Fedora at the Mercy of Microsoft Because of Back-Doored Kick-Switch Boot
We'll soon revisit the defamation attacks on Torvalds
Links 29/03/2026: Water Shortages and No Kings Rallies
Links for the day
The Old Days
In the early days of this site (2006) it was mostly just a couple of people, plus comments
Gemini Links 29/03/2026: Return to Gopherspace, "Zen of Marking Playing Cards"
Links for the day
The Real XBox is Dead, So Microsoft is Calling Everything "XBox" Now
It even wanted to run a campaign to convince everybody that XBox is not actually a console
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 28, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, March 28, 2026
Open Web Destroyed by Centibillionaires, Says Anil Dash of Blogging Fame
Blogging was going through its 'prime years' about 20 years ago
"Linux" Slop Going Away, Microsoft et al Pay 'Linux' Foundation to Promote Slop
It's a timely reminder that the Linux Foundation exists to promote whoever pays the Linux Foundation, even pedophiles and companies that attack the GPL
Links 28/03/2026: Microsoft's LinkedIn a National Security Risk, Microsoft's Slop "Ambitions Face Investor Scrutiny Amid Soaring Costs"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/03/2026: "Finding My Base Tone", "Astrobotany", and BugoutBack/OFFLFIRSOCH
Links for the day
Links 28/03/2026: More Worldwide Bans on Social Control Media (Harms to Adolescents), Protests in US Against Dictatorship
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 26 Out of 200: Asking for Documents and Information You Already Have, Even Letters and E-mails That You Yourself Sent!
barristers are expensive
Gemini Links 28/03/2026: Echo Delay and 0x0.st
Links for the day
Rumours of More IBM Mass Layoffs at Beginning of April
IBM is not doing well
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 27, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, March 27, 2026