Quotes from Bill Gates

Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.

The cruel injustice is that even though the world's poor are doing essentially nothing to cause climate change, they're going to suffer the most from it.

If you can't make it good,at least make it look good.

Like almost everyone who uses e-mail, I receive a ton of spam every day. Much of it offers to help me get out of debt or get rich quick. It would be funny if it weren't so exciting.

To sum up: We need to accomplish something gigantic we have never done before, much faster than we have ever done anything similar.

Making things (cement, steel, plastic) 31% Plugging in (electricity) 27% Growing things (plants, animals) 19% Getting around (planes, trucks, cargo ships) 16% Keeping warm and cool (heating, cooling, refrigeration) 7%

The point is that when we focus on all three things at once—technology, policies, and markets—we can encourage innovation, spark new companies, and get new products into the market fast.

There's no magic line between an application and an operating system that some bureaucrat in Washington should draw. It's like saying that as of 1932, cars didn't have radios in them, so they should never have radios in them.

Security is, I would say, our top priority because for all the exciting things you will be able to do with computers - organizing your lives, staying in touch with people, being creative - if we don't solve these security problems, then people will hold back.

The PC has improved the world in just about every area you can think of. Amazing developments in communications, collaboration and efficiencies. New kinds of entertainment and social media. Access to information and the ability to give a voice people who would never have been heard.

A lot of people assume that creating software is purely a solitary activity where you sit in an office with the door closed all day and write lots of code.

Being flooded with information doesn't mean we have the right information or that we're in touch with the right people.

The world has been very careful to pick very few diseases for eradication, because it is very tough.

The Wright Brothers created the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing. The airplane became the first World Wide Web, bringing people, languages, ideas, and values together.

I love building the products, seeing people use the products but you know along with success comes the need for a dialogue with the government.

Investing for the poor requires participation from the entire community.

The quality of research in the U.S. is absolutely the best.

Even with cameras being very cheap, one thing that researchers noticed was that you look really bad in a videoconference image because the lighting is bad and you get shadows and things.

The most amazing philanthropists are people who are actually making a significant sacrifice.

Although I don't have a prescription for what others should do, I know I have been very fortunate and feel a responsibility to give back to society in a very significant way.

Energy innovation is not a nationalistic game.

Innovation is a good thing. The human condition - put aside bioterrorism and a few footnotes - is improving because of innovation.

The future of advertising is the Internet.

If you count E-mail, I'm on the Internet all day, every day.