You are here to see Bill Gates, the Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft Corporation. As you know, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software services and Internet technology for personal and business computing. Last year's revenues topped $32 billion, and the company employed 55,000 people in 85 countries. And Mr. Gates is an iconic figure in contemporary computing.
While attending Harvard, Bill Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen started Microsoft, and launched a revolution. The fledgling(刚开始的) company was more interesting than the classroom for Bill Gates, so he dropped out in his junior year. In his ease, it was clearly a great decision. He not only built a company, but more importantly he built a vision. Both were built on the idea that the computer would be a valuable tool on every office desk and in every home, and that software was the key. The penetration of personal computing in our businesses, our offices, our public libraries, on the train or on the plane, and in our home is astonishing, and truly reflects the Bill Gates' view that if the software is right, they will come.
Bill Gates also is an author of two books. One of them, Business at the Speed of Thought, is available in 60 nations and 25 languages. It shows how computer technology can solve business problems in fundamentally new ways. By the way, the proceeds of both books are given to nonprofits that support the use of technology in education and skill development.
He's an avid reader, a golfer, and a bridge player. He is a household name, a visionary, a philanthropist(慈善家), and tonight he is our guest. So please join me in giving an Illinois welcome to William H. Bill Gates.