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Return of the ’70s Weirdos

Jun. 22, 2008 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Classic! Everyone has seen that awful 1970's era Microsoft photo, well, Newsweek has got everyone from that picture to come back for a new group shot. Predictably, they're a lot less ... um ... unattractive than they used to be. :)

That photo of 11 weirdos in '70s clothes you may have seen on the Internet really is the original Microsoft team, snapped Dec. 7, 1978, on the eve of the company's move from Albuquerque, N.M., to Seattle. Almost 30 years later, a few weeks before Bill Gates's departure from Microsoft, the group (looking better) reconvened.

LOL. Wow.

Discuss this Article 18

Anna_T
on Jun 22, 2008
Am i blind? I see 3 women in the second pic but only 2 in the first. And yes, thanks god for the new look! lol.
Joshu4
on Jun 22, 2008
Lol, thats awsome
Anthony Cook
on Jun 22, 2008
Lol Funky Dudes! This was featured in the BBC documentary Bill Gates: How a Geek Changed the World on last Thursday night.If you missed it you can watch it again on BBC iPlayer, I learnt quite a lot about Bill just by watching this :) http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/b00c6sdc.shtml?q=bill+gates&start... 4 days left due to DRM.
dreimanis
on Jun 22, 2008
yeah, what about the women-count-thing?
Joshu4
on Jun 22, 2008
the bbc video wont work in canada :( Darn DRM
weedmonk
on Jun 22, 2008
@Joshua Checkout Mininova or your favourite tracker for a copy. The BBC Money program on Gates. Having them all come together and reminisce was very cool. High recommend Paul to check it out.
Anthony Cook
on Jun 22, 2008
I didn’t know DRM blocks regions, that sucks! Here in Britain we have to pay for a TV license it’s about £140 a year i think, part of this fee should be that the iPlayer is not restricted. i mean what harm are will it do....get them more viewers? Lol
lotsamystuff
on Jun 23, 2008
"yeah, what about the women-count-thing?" RTFA: "Present for the reunion was office manager Miriam Lubow (center of new picture), who missed the original sitting due to a snowstorm. (When Lubow, now retired, first met Gates, she couldn't believe that disheveled kid was the president.) Absent for the reshoot was Bob Wallace (top center), who died in 2002; after leaving Microsoft in 1983, he pioneered the idea of shareware."
lotsamystuff
on Jun 23, 2008
Steve Wozniak's comments re: Bill Gates and the early years of Microsoft are quite interesting here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7464704.stm
Waethorn
on Jun 23, 2008
@Paul, Re: "weirdos" That was the casual style in the 70's. I'm sure in 30 years people will be saying "GAWD! What the hell is he wearing?? A collared shirt and sweater?!?" If you're completely oblivious, almost everyone in the latter picture is wearing blue (or close-enough shades), aside from the 2 women front-and-center. By contrast, more than half of the people in the previous pic are wearing orange and brown. @lotsa, Re: the Woz. I like the fact that he points out that when Jobs came back, he was all about cooperating with Microsoft (1997*). WTF is HE smokin'? It doesn't matter what century he's in, he'll always be a weirdo. *WHAT is Jobs wearing at the Macworld 97 SF meet? Did he roll a naval officer for his uniform or something?
subzerohitman721
on Jun 23, 2008
I ain't gonna hate on their fashion sense. As wack as it may seem today, it might become retro a few decades down the line. These guys forged one of the greatest software companies and the greatest fortune in the modern history of the world. I respect them all even those not with us. These guys and gals helped changed the world and I am forever greatful. Because of their efforts, I got some of my best jobs, met friends, and entertainment.
lotsamystuff
on Jun 23, 2008
Waethorn: "It doesn't matter what century he's in, he'll always be a weirdo." Did you mean decade? And were you talking about this weirdo? http://tinyurl.com/4bthrk
Waethorn
on Jun 23, 2008
"Did you mean decade?" He introduced the Apple in the 20th century. Now it's the 21st. I thought I was clear on that. What century are you living in? "And were you talking about this weirdo?" http://tinyurl.com/yvyuf6 ....separated at birth? :P
Joshu4
on Jun 23, 2008
They look like hippies! but Bill Gates just looks like a nerd, lol.
Nickelgreen
on Jun 26, 2008
The hair of Gates in the 70s shot are... well... weird. :-D
Nickelgreen
on Jun 26, 2008
<> Paul, do you know about someone of them who changed his sex turning into a beautiful granma? :-P
anonymous
on Jul 19, 2008
ASPX:
anonymous
on Jul 19, 2008
ASPX:

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