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Midlife crisis, suck ingenuity? Microsoft turns 40; does the dad dance

Bill Gates: I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords

It's 40 years to the day since computer software company Microsoft started life under Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

On Friday, Redmondians were apparently greeted with a memo from co-founder Gates, who these days – besides from being the world's richest man – acts as a technical advisor to current MS chief Satya Nadella.

In the missive, which was tweeted by Amit Roy Choudhary, BillG said:

I believe computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before. We already live in a multi-platform world, and computing will become even more pervasive.

We are nearing the point where computers and robots will be able to see, move and interact naturally, unlocking many new applications and empowering people even more.

Gates added that – under his watchful eye – Nadella was the best person for the job of steering Microsoft through a choppy and changing tech market.

"We have the resources and drive to solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry," he said.

Over the 40 years since it landed, Microsoft's relationship with its customers has been mixed: afterall, for every Windows XP there's a Vista lurking in the background.

But Happy Birthday, to the shrink-wrapped software vendor! The globe would be a much greyer place without a blue screen of death to light up all of our lives. ®

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