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

How We Do Techrights (and What's Changing Next Week)
Many former news sites no longer yield much non-meaningless news (not anymore); there's a gap to be filled
Links 12/07/2026: Palantir Unrest and Wireshark 4.6.7
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2026: New Instrument Time and PalmOS Experiences in 2026
Links for the day
Red Hat Staff Says IBM Policy Has Stigmatised Him as a Tool and a Slopper With Plagiarism Tools
IBM is killing Red Hat with slop
Freedom of Choice or Freedom Versus Choice (or When All Choices Are Incompatible With Freedom)
When some business asserts that it gives people different options, then it can rightly argue that it offers some choices, but that is not the same as freedom
Techrights IRC Turns 5 Without a “Code of Conduct”, “Code of Conduct Committee”, and All Those Bureaucratic Nightmares
18+ years if one counts our time in Freenode as well
Why U No Use AI???
Many hype waves come and go
There Are Still Slopfarms in Google News
Google is trying to participate in if not lead this pyramid scheme
The Cyber Show Explains How Slop and Promotion of Slop is About Taking Control Away From Computer Users
"On making a trustworthy machine"
Keeping Available the Site at All Times
Informal arrangements and crowdfunding keep our work available despite resistance (including from people who break the law)
What If "Era of AI" and "AI Revolution" (Fake News) Never Happened?
So how much longer before the bust (or bubble-burst)?
GNU/Linux Approaches 5% in Australia
5% by year's end?
Europe/EU is Moving Towards Independence, Fast to Adopt Free Software
More and more states (governments, public sector) in Germany are dumping Microsoft
GNU/Linux Grows at the Expense of Windows
People who want to get work done already left Windows
Tux Machines Growing as a Volunteers-Run Site
Historically the site did not have many original stories, but this changed as the audience grew and the site gained more recognition
Links 12/07/2026: European Commission Versus ‘Addictive Design’, "Google Loses Final Appeal Over $4.7 Billion EU Android Antitrust Fine"
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Market Share Increases Some More Today, statCounter Measures It at 7.3%
Will more such thresholds and records be broken?
Gemini Links 12/07/2026: Studying Languages and 2026 Old Computer Challenge (OCC)
Links for the day
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XIII - At the EPO, Cocaine Addicts and Their Friends Are "Protected Class"
What does that tell us about the EPO?
Increasing Output by Focusing on Originals
It's probably more important to carry on with these than it is to keep abreast of non-crucial news
Amid Strikes and Industrial Actions, Young Professionals at the European Patent Office (EPO) Kept on 'Short Leash', According to the Local Staff Committee The Hague
Issues affecting Young Professionals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 11, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 11, 2026
Blogs May be Making a Comeback (They're Not Fediverse, They Are Joined by RSS Feeds)
Don't fake expansion where none existed
ChromeOS and GNU/Linux in the United Kingdom Reach 11%
the UK shows signs of digital maturity
Corporate Media: Blame the People Who Enter the Abandoned IBM Buildings, Not IBM for Abandoning Workers in Pursuit of IT Sweatshops
When the media spreads falsehoods stocks can go up (a lot higher), but at whose expense and how long for?
Canonical is Selling Microsoft, It Pays The Register MS to Sell Microsoft
It's all about money to them. And they call this journalism.
When Red Hat's HR Becomes the Same as IBM's HR (Bluewashing)
Red Hat keeps sacking very experienced engineers and adding temporary interns
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia
Assuming this is more or less accurate, we could use a plausible explanation
SUEPO Munich Report on the Recent EPO Demonstration and Rolling Strikes That Continue to Grow
"increasing registrations for the 'rolling strikes' running until autumn"
Over a Week After Microsoft Discontinued Some XBox Models It Apparently Exits Some Markets Altogether
We seem to be witnessing the end of XBox
Gemini Links 11/07/2026: Old Computer challenge, Poems, Antenna, and More
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2026: "Trademark wars of Influencer Culture", Xinuos Uses Copyrights Versus UNIX
Links for the day
North America: GNU/Linux Measured at 10%
To better understand what contributes to the gains
Following Corrections and Adjustments statCounter Sees GNU/Linux at 7.1%, an All-Time High
There is a lot of layoffs at Microsoft this month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 10, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 10, 2026
Links 11/07/2026: Wednesday-Saturday News Catch-up
Links for the day
Prioritising High-Importance News
In order to fully catch up with news we'll not publish many new articles until next week