Bill Gates announces that he stepping down in 2 years

I’m watching the web conference now. Bill began by saying, “Today I work full time for Microsoft and part time for the Gates foundation”, and you just knew. He is going full time with the foundation in 2 years time.

Ray Ozzie become Chief Software Architect, and there is a ripple effect .

More soon ... but this will be on other blogs

Update #1, the ripple to other people is going to take while to digest. But just had a lovely vignette of live in the Gates household. Bill said he hold Melinda that this was what he wanted to do, and he’d come home from the office and she’d ask him “So did you tell Steve yet” and he’d answer, “Well I didn’t find a way to bring it up today”.

Update #2, I’m surprised listening to the journalists questions, there have been several which have referred to employee opinions – this information is coming from blogs, some from malcontents, some from people like me who feel that our bit of Microsoft is the best it has been for several years. Bill was at pains to point out that there is more to Microsoft than him. As Scoble quoted in a post I read earlier
"individuals are now in charge" of what's important in the world. I heard a story earlier this evening about how some management get blogs , and some don’t. My hope is with Vista and Outlook 2007 hitting desks all over the company more and more of them will