wish i had a clue stick to smack buffet upside the head!

[phiscock-g851W1bGYuGnS0EtXVNi6w at public.gmane.org]

The United States in particular has a tradition of 'robber barons'
contributing back to society in their later years, or in their estates.
>From wikipedia, under Robber Baron (Industrialist):
-----------------------------------------------------------
New York City owes much of its monumental architecture and many of its
museums to the generous patronage of these men, most notably Rockefeller
Center, Grand Central Terminal, Cooper Union, The Frick Collection,
Carnegie Hall and The Astor Library. Carnegie sought to encourage literacy
and funded the establishment of 2500 public libraries across the U.S. and
around the world. However, the robber barons contributed minor fractions
of their wealth to charity[citation needed], and during their lives they
did not appear to have any particular inclination towards the perceived
common good. Although men such as J. P. Morgan were sometimes noted for
such misanthropic statements as "I owe the public nothing", Morgan
neverthless made significant contributions to the arts and universities.
-------------------------------------------------------

Gates is just carrying on that tradition. I'm no admirer of Microsoft, but
the fact that he is doing this at all - and at a relatively young age - is
positive.

Peter

-- 
Peter Hiscocks
Syscomp Electronic Design Limited, Toronto
http://www.syscompdesign.com
USB Oscilloscope and Waveform Generator
647-839-0325

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