Tech Future X

Bill Gates  has stepped down from the board of Microsoft to spend more time on his philanthropic endeavors, the company announced Friday afternoon. Though he will remain technology advisor to CEO Satya Nadella, this move reduces his involvement with the company to the lowest level it has ever been. Gates led Microsoft  from the ’80s all the way through 2008, when he left to dedicate himself more fully to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through which he has channeled a great deal of his immense wealth toward global health concerns. He remained on the board, however, and in fact chaired it until 2014. But starting today he will only be there as, presumably, something like a lucky charm and occasional auxiliary brain to Nadella and his crew. “It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years,” said Nadella in a Microsoft press release. “I am grateful for Bill’s friendship and look forward to continuing to work a...

Some the biggest technology companies in the U.S. have agreed to pay wages for hourly employees impacted by the ongoing corporate response to the coronavirus outbreak. It’s the right thing for companies to do, from both a health and safety perspective, and to ensure that the hourly workers who are most impacted by work stoppages and shortages are not adversely affected by events that are beyond their control. As we reported earlier today, Facebook committed to pay its “contingent” workers. And according to a report in Axios, Amazon, Google and Twitter are joining them. We’ve reached out to Apple but have yet to receive a comment. In a statement to Axios, Amazon made the same commitment for its employees. “We will continue to pay all hourly employees that support our campus in Seattle and Bellevue – from food service, to security guards to janitorial staff – during the time our employees are asked to work from home,” the company said in a statement. “In addition, we will sub...