Bonum Certa Men Certa

BBC: Bill Gates a “Famous Thief”?



Summary: The network behind the constant grooming of Bill Gates discovers that some of the public still knows the truth about Microsoft's co-founder

BILL GATES' well-documented crimes are no better than Steve Ballmer's. In a just system, they would both be sentenced to prison, but the existing legal system offers nepotism to the affluent class, which it often glorifies and romanticises instead. Attempts to portray villains as heroes using heavy-duty PR operations is not the subject of this post though. One of our British readers pointed out that, according to the BBC, few people in the UK still think correctly of Bill Gates. To quote the BBC:



Microsoft boss Bill Gates was the most well-known but 5% of the group thought he was a comedian or a famous thief.


He actually is a famous thief. He is famous (or infamous) and he has stolen many things. Gates himself once said, "just because you broke into Xerox’s store before I did and took the TV doesn’t mean I can’t go in later and steal the stereo." Gary Kildall said about Gates: "He has taken much from me and the industry." A lot of people may not know about the dawn of Microsoft which involved dumpster-diving (literally) and taking other people's code. Microsoft would not even deny it. There are many other examples in Microsoft's darker past, but again, this is not the purpose of this post. Entire books could be written on the subject almost exhaustively.

When Bill Gates moved to lobbying in 2008 [1, 2, 3, 4] the BBC did some shameful things to rewrite history and 'correct' the image of Bill Gates. Here are some links on the subject:



Last month, the BBC was slammed for excluding Free software users, which once again brings to mind the iPlayer fiasco. We wrote about this in:



OpenBytes has this new post which shows that the iPlayer fiasco carries on:

It is reported that talks between the BBC and Microsoft have hit a stalemate with sources close to the BBC reporting that:
Microsoft only wants to offer its users access to platforms it can charge for as this is the model it is pursuing. It wants to ensure that only those paying for Xbox Live Gold accounts can access its additional content services and even then there is usually a charge on top to get access to those. For example, to access the Sky Player on Xbox, you have to pay for a Gold subscription as well as a Sky subscription
Do it our way or not at all? It certainly seems that way to me and whilst Nintendo and Sony users are apparently enjoying the benefits of the service, Microsoft customers are not so lucky as it appears Microsoft want to make a buck. We had covered this before, but when looking at the Xbox 360 its hardware failures, the reports on build quality many have submitted on the net and add into that Microsoft putting its eggs into the HDDVD format (instead of Bluray) one has to wonder what its users make of it now?


Xbox is a disaster. There is no reason why the BBC should ever prioritise it, but it does. There is too much Microsoft staff inside the BBC [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] and therefore conflicts of interests.

Recent Techrights' Posts

SLAPP Censorship - Part 32 Out of 200: Garrett Made Spurious Requests (Later Withdrawn) the Same Week Someone He Later Spoke to by E-mail Sent Threats to Our Webhost
The "plot thickens" because there's a multi-party tag-team act, as confirmed by Garrett after he had sworn on the Bible
 
Links 04/04/2026: Social Control Media Verdict and Bans, Whistleblower (Axel Rietschin) Explains How "Microsoft Vaporized a Trillion Dollars"
Links for the day
Reaching the End/Event Horizon of LLM Slop
Are we moving towards a post-LLMs world?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 03, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, April 03, 2026
Gemini Links 04/04/2026: STXGE and Computer Relationships
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 33 Out of 200: Garrett Sued by My Wife and I, Then His Microsoft Acquaintance Files Another Lawsuit and Our Webhost Receives Legal Threats Too
Today we also show how our solicitor Mark Lewis responded to it
Good Friday, Leaving IBM for Good
Even on holidays
Links 03/04/2026: Rejection of More Software Patents and Social Control Media in Several Continents
Links for the day
Malware in Proprietary Software - Latest Additions by Rob Musial
Original published yesterday in gnu.org
Visual Evidence/Documentation of IBM Dying Like the Dinosaurs
IBM has many of these giant white elephants lying around, with some getting demolished
Links 03/04/2026: USPTO’s Latest Greenwashing and Internet Blackouts Impact Journalists in War Zones
Links for the day
IBM is a Dying Company, Nowadays It Kills Red Hat With Slop
when your last day is a national holiday in IBM's country
"Independence Drives" and Community-Run Sites
Independence in reporting is a much-valued trait
When Charlatans Are Only Good at Losing Money and Storytelling (e.g. About Investment in Them)
Wait till a a barrel of oil costs $300
What Apple Fans Are Missing
Apple is a bad company
The "Pale Blue Dot" Moment Had Returned
To many people, the "bitter-sweet" observation of how small we are
Saudi Arabia Does Not Rely Much on Microsoft/Windows
Putting aside politics, this is good for Free software
Almost 12 Years of Exposing Corruption in Europe's Second-Largest Institution
The "unready" President is now an abandoned President
Easter Moon Mission and Its Reminder of IBM's Demise
A lot of NASA operations now rely on GNU/Linux
When Power is Scarce and GNU/Linux Has Power
In Cuba, GNU/Linux has long enjoyed high adoption rates
Don't Totally Dismiss the 'Survivalists'
'Survivalists' or similar terms are used to describe a particular mindset of people who prepare for some really awful scenarios
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 02, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, April 02, 2026
A Much Better Use of Fuel Than Slop
Something positive for a change
Hoping for Peace
There are still many things to be enjoyed, including nature and kind people
Gemini Links 03/04/2026: "Slide Rule Triple Multiplication" and End of "Picture Pages"
Links for the day
Rumours of Microsoft Layoffs This Season
Just how much trouble is Microsoft in at this point?
GNU/Linux Measured at All-Time High in Sweden
Can 'influencers' have played a role
SLAPP Censorship - Part 31 Out of 200: Speaking About 20+ Years of Alleged Harassment/Defamation and High-Profile 'Targets' of Garrett
attempts were made to settle (in effect end the case) by the person who started the case almost half a dozen times along the way
In Asia, Windows is in Its Teens (Below 20%)
On a global scale, Windows is down to about 26%
GNU/Linux Becoming More Universal
It seems likely the end of Vista 10 coinciding with a sharp rise in memory prices (and now energy prices) will benefit GNU/Linux and therefore give us more to write about
Low Morale at IBM and Perception of Destructive Management
IBM is going nowhere, fast
Gemini Links 02/04/2026: Super Mario Galaxy Movie and New Antenna Instance
Links for the day
It Seems Like Google News Cracked Down on (Omitted, Delisted) a Lot of Slopfarms
There's no justification/point in spending so much energy just to plagiarise things poorly
Can Economies Like the American One Hang On?
The coming weeks will be "interesting" unless wars end
Steam Survey for Last Month Says 5.33% Use GNU/Linux
big leap for GNU/Linux
Links 02/04/2026: Science News, Energy Scarcity, Oil Sold in Yuan
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2026: Apple Turns 50, Efforts To Ban VPNs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2026: Kubernetes With FreeBSD, OFFLFIRSOCH, and Great Circle Distance
Links for the day
Dr. Andy Farnell on Microsoft Silencing or Deplatforming Opposition in the UK and Elsewhere
Microsoft as a king or a kind of "religion" one cannot question
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 01, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 01, 2026