Topic: Bill Gates

Facebook IPO? Flat. Facebook future? Bright.

Facebook IPO generated no big stock gains on its first day of trading. But Facebook has many of the traits that made Apple, Microsoft, and Google great in the long run.  

Mark Zuckerberg's IPO challenge: A company that can 'friend' the 99 percent

Will the new publicly traded Facebook cater singularly to its wealthy shareholders? Mark Zuckerberg must strive to include ‘we the users,’ who made such a megabillion dollar concept possible, in his corporate model. He can start by offering a free share to each Facebook user.

The financial industry's growth is stunting everything else

The financial industry was 2.5 percent of the economy when World War II ended. Now, it is 8.5 percent.  How did it get so big, and what are the costs?

Ashton Kutcher to play Steve Jobs in new biopic

'Two and a Half Men' star Ashton Kutcher will portray former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in an upcoming indie film, TheWrap reported Monday. Is director Joshua Michael Stern taking a chance on Hollywood's favorite prankster?

It's a nerd's world

A child is stung by the resentment of his peers – until he learns he's in good company.

Rethinking Carbon Dioxide (CO2): from a pollutant to a moneymaker

Three startup companies led by prominent scientists are working on new technologies to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The scientific community is skeptical, but these entrepreneurs believe removing CO2 can eventually be profitable and help cool the planet.

Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think

Hoping for a better world – quickly? "Abundance" promises to take you there.

Downton Abbey and the kinder, gentler 1 percent

Downton Abbey's Lord Grantham is a kind father figure to his large working class staff. Should we introduce legislation to encourage the upper class to behave as they do in Downton Abbey?

Robert Harris's "The Fear Index" makes a thriller out of a man sitting at a computer

Robert Harris, the author of 'The Ghost,' discusses his new financial page-turner "The Fear Index" and his predilection for writing about ancient Rome.

Steve Jobs FBI file: four humanizing revelations

Steve Jobs' FBI file shows a man motivated by power and the desire to achieve great things. The Steve Jobs FBI file also produced surprising details that humanize a great visionary.

Young Internet entrepreneurs embrace philanthropy

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter's Biz Stone, Craigslist's Craig Newmark, and many others have turned their entrepreneurial skills to solving the world's social problems.

Warren Buffett sings in the Chinese New Year (+ video)

State-run TV marked Chinese New Year with a video of US billionaire Warren Buffett singing and playing a ukulele. 

'Most admired' list: Gingrich up, Palin down; Obama, Clinton still No. 1

For two years running, President Obama is the man Americans most admire, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is again the most-admired woman, a new Gallup survey shows. But the public’s views of other politicians shifted noticeably in 2011.

Paul Allen plans to replace space shuttle program

Paul Allen is planning on building the world's largest plane intended to offer space travel to paying customers and possibly to the international space station.

Will airborne launch pads replace the Space Shuttle program?

Stratolaunch Systems, founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is planning to build a huge carrier aircraft that will launch unmanned rockets into space.  

China In Ten Words

How do you best define a country? Chinese author Yu Hua summarizes his homeland in 10 words.

Can the GOP be tough on the rich? How about no food stamps?

The White House on Thursday rejected as insubstantial a GOP proposal to curtail unemployment insurance and food stamps for the rich as an offset for extending the payroll tax cut.

German economic model – American style

The debt crisis is shaking Europe – and now Germany, too. But no Western country weathered the storm of the Great Recession as well as Germany. America can't copy the German model, but it can learn much from its small-business exporters.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs: the genius rebel who saw the world – computers included – differently from the rest of us.

How higher education is leading us astray

Despite a skyrocketing price tag, higher education is not benefiting our young people any more than when it was affordable

Five surprising facts from the new Steve Jobs biography

Steve Jobs, the man who put the "i" in technology, was a fascinating character who continues to inspire and confound. Why the black turtlenecks? How did he foresee (create?) the iPhone revolution? What was the secret to his presentation style?

Walter Isaacson's new book "Steve Jobs," which just hit stores, attempts to answer these questions. The 571-page biography released on Oct. 24 to glowing reviews. The author conducted more than 100 interviews for the book – including more than 40 with the Apple CEO himself.

Here are five of key excerpts.

Climate study, funded in part by conservative group, confirms global warming

The latest global warming results confirm those from earlier, independent studies by scientists at NASA and elsewhere that came under fire from skeptics in an episode known as 'climategate.'

99% Wall Street protesters boo CEOs, but mourn Steve Jobs

99% Wall Street protesters took time out to mourn the passing of billionaire Steve Jobs. Is 99% Wall Street movement inconsistent?

America could use another Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs will be rightfully remembered for remaking four industries in the last decade. But an earlier incarnation of Steve Jobs helped restore America's confidence in a troubling time.

Steve Jobs wanted to change the world, and he did (video)

Steve Jobs, who died Wednesday, seemed to know what people wanted even before they did. From those first boxy little Apple computers 35 years ago to the iPhone and the iPad today, he changed the way we work and play.