THE BEHREND BEACON ANUARY 21 2000 PAGE '
WORLD NEWS
Bill Gates exits as Microsoft CEO
by Andrew Zajac
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
January 14, 2000
Bill Gates, who dropped out of col
lege, co-founded Microsoft Corp.,
and built it into the world's biggest
software company, announced
Thursday, January 13, 2000, that he
is stepping aside as CEO and ap
pointing his longtime friend, com
pany president Steve Ballmer, to re
place him.
Gates will remain chairman and
assume a new title chief software
architect to focus on the task of
improving Microsoft's products for
the exploding Internet market.
The surprise announcement came
only one day after state and federal
government lawyers, pressing a land
mark antitrust case against Microsoft,
reportedly had reached a consensus
that the company should be' broken
up. Gates' decision could prepare
Microsoft for such a breakup.
But, in one of his first declarations
as chief executive, Ballmer affirmed
a rigid company line on the subject.
think it would be absolutely reck
less and irresponsible for anyone to
try to break up this company," he
said. "It would be reckless beyond
belief."
Ballmer, 43, has been increasingly
in charge of Microsoft's day-to-day
operations for most of the past two
years. He will retain his title of presi
dent and will be added to the
Microsoft board on Jan. 27.
Microsoft has made Gates the
world's richest man, with a fortune
estimated in excess of $BO billion.
The company's lavish profits and
stock market value of roughly $550
billion have made it the darling of a
generation of investors enamored
with technology stocks.
Thin and pale with an unkempt
mop of hair, Gates, 44, frequently has
been lampooned as the archetypal
computer nerd. But the unassuming
exterior masks a ferociously corn
petitive drive that has allowed
Microsoft's Windows operating sys
G.O.P.
by Carl P. Leubsdorf
Knight-Ridder Tribune
January 17, 2000
DES MOINES, lowa Gov.
George W. Bush said Sunday that,
if elected President, he would take
a hands-on role on some aspects of
Middle East peace negotiations and
leave other details to his secretary
of state.
"That's a very good question,"
Bush said when asked on CNN's
Late Edition whether he would fol
low President Clinton's example.
think both, depending on the
state of the negotiations."
He also said that one of his first
acts as President would be to "start
the process" of moving the U.S.
Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem, though he acknowl
edged that might disrupt peace talks
by angering the Palestinians.
"I think part of the President's job
is to make it clear that's my inten
tion," Bush said. "That's exactly
what campaigns are meant to be.
PAPA JOHN'S VALUE MENU
tern to elbow aside rivals and become
the basic instruction set for about 90
percent of all desktop computers.
The take-no-prisoners attitude
flowing from the CEO's office has
drawn the attention of outraged com
petitors and antitrust regulators for
years.
In the current antitrust suit, brought
by the Justice Department and 19
states, including Illinois, a federal
judge in a preliminary ruling in No
vember said Microsoft was a preda
Steve Ballmer, left, talks about taking over the CEO title at Microsoft
as Bill Gates, right, steps out of that position to focus more on
developing technology. Gates will retain his chairman of the board
status and much of the control of the company.
tory monopolist. This judge is set to
issue a final ruling in the next couple
of months, but in the meantime has
appointed Richard Posner, chief judge
of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chi
cago, to mediate talks aimed at carv
ing out a settlement.
It is amid those talks that reports
surfaced that government lawyers
have reached a consensus about
breaking up Microsoft. A govern
ment spokeswoman said the account
was not entirely accurate, but did not
dismiss it. Meanwhile, a report by
International Data Corp. on Wednes
day, Jan. 12, concluded that breaking
up the company would be best for
consumers and for Microsoft.
Some observers do not see any
candidates express views in lowa
I've sent a clear signal. That's what
I intend to do. What I wouldn't do
is ... impose the United States' will
on the peace negotiations."
The Texas governor answered
questions on a variety of foreign
and domestic-policy issues during
the 40-minute interview taped Fri
day in lowa, where the Presidential
nominating process formally begins
with precinct caucuses on Jan. 24.
He sidestepped a couple of ques
tions about whether he backs spe
cific portions of the 1996 Republi
can platform that detail the GOP's
opposition to abortion rights. For
example, when asked about a pro
vision that calls for appointment of
judges who respect the "sanctity of
life," he replied by citing his own
standards for judicial appointments.
And when asked about a provi
sion in which the GOP talks about
applying the 14th Amendment's
equal protection under the law to
unborn chiliar with what that part
of the plank is all about." But he
said he favors "protecting unborn
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preparation for breakup in Gates'
stepping out of the CEO's office, nor
do they see any dramatic change in
the corporate course.
"I think Gates is still the guy in
charge," said Jeff Maxick, who
tracks Microsoft for Madison Secu
rities in Chicago. "The direction of
the company is going to remain the
same."
The stock market apparently
agreed: Microsoft shares rose in af
ter-hours trading following Gates'
announcement
If Gates' decision is being driven
by the antitrust case, 'it's just not ob
vious to me," said Herb Hovenkamp,
a professor of antitrust law at the
University of lowa. "We don't know
if there is going to be a breakup and
where the fault lines are going to be."
In stepping aside, Gates said at a
news conference that he will concen
trate on improving Microsoft's next
generation operating systems, in
cluding the much delayed Windows
2000, and on serving as a technol-
ogy soothsayer.
"I'm returning to what I love most
focusing on technologies of the
future," Gates said. "Steve's promo
tion will allow me to dedicate my-
children by law."
For the most part, Bush reiter
ated positions that he has taken in
speeches, campaign appearances,
seven televised debates and prior
interviews. He renewed the criti
cism he has expressed about rival
John McCain's tax-cut plan, de
claring that an ad in which the Ari
zona senator opposes using the
entire surplus on tax cuts sounded
like it could have come from
Democratic candidates Al Gore or
Bill Bradley.
"That sounds like the talk of
people in Washington, D.C., who
want to keep the money in Wash
ington and not pass it back to the
taxpayers," Bush said.
McCain, who appeared earlier
on NBC's Meet the Press, denied
that he was adopting any Demo
cratic ideas. "It's a matter of pri-
orities," he said.
McCain, asked whether he had
to win the Feb. 1 New Hampshire
primary to have a chance for the
nomination, said, "I don't know
self to my passion, building great
software and strategizing on the fu
ture."
Gates said he has decided to in
volve himself more heavily in
Internet product development,
prompted largely by the competition
his company faces from Oracle
Corp., IBM Corp.. Sun
Microsystems Inc., and the recent
megamerger of America Online Inc.
and Time Warner Inc., as well as ri
val technologies such as Linux.
That's the same competitive pres
sure Microsoft lawyers have pointed
to repeatedly in the antitrust case as
a justification for hard-nosed busi
ness tactics, hut with little apparent
effect so far on the trial judge.
But legal issues aside, it's the kind
of hyper-vigilance that breeds suc
cess in the marketplace, said G.
Patrick Dunkerley, of Securities
Corp./lowa of Cedar Rapids.
"They act like they don't know
where their next meal is coming
from, — Dunkerley said. "That's a
good way to he in technology."
Ballmer has been a friend of Gates'
since their days as Harvard Univer
sity undergraduates in the early
19705. Gates dropped out to co
found Microsoft in 1975 with Paul
Allen.
Ballmer, the son of Swiss immi
grants, graduated with a degree in ap
plied math and joined Gates at
Microsoft in 1980 after a stint at con
sumer products giant, Procter &
Gamble.
Loud and gregarious, Balimer is an
energetic counterpoint to Gates. He
may have a better tolerance for the
acid bath of criticism enveloping
Microsoft as a corporate behemoth,
which is now saddled with harsh
court opinions, according to Charles
Rutstein, an analyst with Forrester
Research in Cambridge, Mass.
Said Rutstein: "If you're the rich
est guy in the world embroiled in this
for so long, you may just throw up
your hands and say, 'Why am I tak
ing this? Why don't I do what I
love?"
what the definition of a win is, hut
clearly we have to do very well."
Meanwhile, Bush's top strategist,
Karl Rove, echoed comments made
by the governor last week in lowa
that set a very low target for suc
cess in lowa.
"We win by coming in first, in
our opinion," Rove said on ABC's
This Week With Sam Donaldson
and Cokie Roberts. "Our hope is
to meet the highest percentage that
anyone has ever gotten in a Repub
lican caucus, 37 percent." Recent
polls have shown Bush in the mid
to high 40s with more than double
the support of his closest chal
lenger, publisher Steve Forbes.
Forbes, appearing on the same
show, declined to say how well he
hoped to do in lowa, but said that
"it will be apparent on the night of
the [Jan.] 24th that we made a very
strong showing, that this is not go
ing to be a coronation, that it's a
real contest."
The other three GOP candidates,
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, Gary Bauer
rrnlia CNIFILIPWIEWV AND
"The fact that there are 20 tons of co
caine not on our streets in the past year]
is because of that increased cooperation,"
Davidow said, referring to two big co
caine busts on the Pacific Ocean by the
Mexican navy in 1999 operations
guided by U.S. counter-narcotics intelli
gence.
The cocaine seizures were among the
biggest in recent Mexican law enforce
ment history, touted by officials in both
countries as evidence that new police
forces and sophisticated intelligence
e. ipment put to work in 1999 by
Gary Bauer waves as the candidates for the Republican nomina
tion for President pose for photos before a debate Saturday. From
left are Steve Forbes, Bauer, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, and
Sen. John McCain.
and Alan Keyes, all appeared on
Fox News Sunday.
Hatch, who has been in last place
in lowa polls, said: "If I can finish
in the top four, I'd be doing very
12==
Albright praises Mexico as good ally
by Ricardo Sandoval
Knight-Ridder Tribune
January 17, 2(XX)
OAXACA, Mexico U.S. Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright Sunday praised
the Mexican government for recent ef
forts to fight illegal drug trafficking a
strong sign that the Clinton Administra
tion will once again push for certifica
tion of Mexico as a good ally in the war
on drugs, according to American offi
cials.
Certification would head off potential
U.S. economic sanctions against Mexico
but would be sure to anger some U.S.
law enforcement officials and their allies
in Congress, who believe that Mexico's
anti-drug agencies are riddled with cor
ruption and are largely ineffective.
Calling her meeting with Mexican
Foreign Secretary Rosario Green "a turn
ing point" in U.S.-Mexico relations,
Albright lauded Mexican efforts to
strengthen its anti-drug agencies. She and
Green said both governments were co
operating well in the effort to keep drugs
from reaching American cities.
Any criticism Albright had was aimed
at unnamed people who she said "wish
to undermine" the cooperative drug ef
fort led by Clinton and Mexican Presi
dent Ernesto Zedillo.
Each year, as the President and Con
gress start grading countries on their work
against illegal drugs, sources within U.S.
law enforcement agencies and Congress
tell reporters of spectacular failures
due to corruption and ineptness within
Mexico's anti-drug agencies.
This spring may bring more of the
same, said U.S. Ambassador to Mexico
Jeffrey Davidow, but it won't obscure
improvement in cooperative drug police
work in the last year between the two
countries.
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Mexico are paying off.
Analysts say Mexico supplies at least
3(X) tons of cocaine each year to Ameri
can users, must of it produced in Colom
bia. Drugs make their way through the
country, guided by Mexican crime bosses
who have grown rich and who have
spread the wealth via bribes to countless
Mexican police, military officials and
high-ranking members of Mexico's gov
ernment.
Such trafficking and corruption irk
some American legislators who want to
block Clinton's drug certification of
Mexico
Albright would not predict Mexico's
certification status this year, but said that
Mexico's recognition of the serious drug
threat supports the country's standing.
Countries - de-certified" by Congress
can lose U.S. financial aid and tlice trade
sanctions
"Me iCO Nees !drugs] as its principal
threat to national seetiritv. - Green said,
assuring Albright that Mexicans shared
the American i/oal of a "continent free
of drugs. We'll do whatever it takes to
eliminate this crime.''
Albrighes talks with Green in this co
lonial city, 280 miles southeast of Mexico
City, wrapped up a three-day swing
through Latin America that started in
Colombia and included a daylong meet
ing with Panamanian President Mil eya
Moscoso.
Sunday's talks got oft to a good start,
American officials said, perhaps because
of a morning tour of Monte Alban, a huge
archeological site that overlooks pictur
esque Oaxaca. Scientists and clear skies
that afforded a stunning view of the ag
ricultural valley that surrounds the old
city greeted the two secretaries at the pre-
Colombian center of Mexico's ancient
Zapotec Indian tribes.
Albright and Green discussed hut did
not resolve some knotty issues between
the United States and Mexico. The sec-
retaries said controversy over reluctance
by both countries to alloy, commercial
trucks deep into each other's territory will
be settled by a panel of officials convened
under rules of the North American Free
Trade Agreement I NAFIA). And rank
ing diplomats of each nation said offi
cials continue to work on ways to pre
vent the deaths of undocumented fvlexi-
can immigrants who try to cross into the
United States through rugged deserts.
well. If not, well have to look at
Knight-Ridder stuff writer G. Rob
ert Hillman contributed to this re-
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