Interview with Bill Gates in 1986 about programming

Remarkable how relevant everything he said in 1986 remains today. The big thing he didn't foresee, though, were WANs and cellular networks obviating CDROMs.

His disdain of feature creep is spot on.

> Features are kind of crummy ... and features are only beneficial if people take the time to use them, whereas speed–that’s worth an incredible amount. If you can give the users a few simple commands [to compose into more complex actions] then you’re much better off.

This "kumbaya" sentiment is horseshit. Gates only said it to appease non-technicals, and should have stopped at the first sentence.

> Some of the great programmers can’t work on teams; they just like to work on their own. But I think there’s an element of greatness that comes in learning how to work with other people and teach them. I really get satisfaction from somebody else on the team becoming a great programmer.