is someone going to ask him about Flight Simulator and if he would support another version of the product?

Go for it ! I personally could care less what his thoughts are on FS.

I see a blank face from him after being asked. Maybe if the market was bigger for it, im sure he would have an answer.

What are you talking about?! Bill Gates is not CEO of Microsoft anymore. His interest in aviation kept Flight Simulator going on all those years, and it was cancelled after he left.

 

Is anyone seriously going to ask him about something he's not in charge of?

What are you talking about?! Bill Gates is not CEO of Microsoft anymore. His interest in aviation kept Flight Simulator going on all those years, and it was cancelled after he left.

 

Is anyone seriously going to ask him about something he's not in charge of?

 

He is chairman of the board - ranking above the CEO, and is the largest single shareholder in the company. Bill Gates is the most influential man @ Microsoft!

I thought Microsoft (MS) sold FSX and ESP source code to Lockhead Martin (LM), please correct me if I'm wrong. That's why last year Flight come out from Microsoft as a new product...that took us back in time. Flight was cancelled, the effort for MS to rewrite a lot of that code was not profitable for them.

 

MS is and has been making a lot of bad business decisions trying to play catch up.

 

If MS was smart they would have just brought Flight out on the XBOX with it's own yoke and rudder pedals. Then they would have had the software and hardware money. They also would not have the performance issue we have today, because they would have targeted their own hardware. But hey what do I know ;-)

 

-Ray

He is chairman of the board - ranking above the CEO, and is the largest single shareholder in the company. Bill Gates is the most influential man @ Microsoft!

 

Wait, I thought that he abandoned his position as a CEO and now he's a non-executive chairman. Are you sure?

 

What's for sure, he's not working full-time anymore, just part-time.

 

Wait' date=' I thought that he abandoned his position as a CEO and now he's a non-executive chairman. Are you sure?

 

What's for sure, he's not working full-time anymore, just part-time.[/quote']

 

He's chairman of the board.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/exec/bod.aspx

 

Although these days he seems to be spending more time working with his charities and other work outside of MS.

 

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/needleless-vaccinations-could-help-end-diseases-020713

Bill Gates is still listed as Chairman of the Board.

MS is and has been making a lot of bad business decisions trying to play catch up.

 

Yes they have ... not just one or two bad decisions, but many. Being in the software development industry (and an MSDN Ultimate subscripiton member) I know a couple of ex-Microsoft developers that just could NOT take it any more ... the money was good (very good), but the spec's were garbage. A very good salary can only last so long if you hate coding products that you know are weak and purposely handicapped as to aid a specific revenue generation process.

 

Microsoft's biggest problem is that they don't understand what they have and how to make money out of it ... they fall back on the process of "leverage customer base" and "copy what other's do". Although Microsoft certainly isn't cash poor, their revenue is higher than it was in 2003, BUT (and this is a big BUT) their actual profit (the more meaningful number) is almost 1/3 of what it was back in 2003. With the current lack of adoption of Windows 8 and Surface and the apparent willingness of Microsoft's executive branch to "stay the course" for Windows 9 in the hope people will "come around" is hurting their financial situation considerably.

I thought Microsoft (MS) sold FSX and ESP source code to Lockhead Martin (LM), please correct me if I'm wrong. That's why last year Flight come out from Microsoft as a new product...that took us back in time. Flight was cancelled, the effort for MS to rewrite a lot of that code was not profitable for them.

 

MS is and has been making a lot of bad business decisions trying to play catch up.

 

If MS was smart they would have just bought Flight out on the XBOX with it's own yoke and rudder pedals. Then they would have had the software and hardware money. They also would not have the performance issue we have today, because they would have targeted their own hardware. But hey what do I know ;-)

 

-Ray

 

No, Microsoft licensed ESP to LM, but who cares. ESP is outdated now.

I don't think that the revenue generated from FS is large enough to warrant any significant interest. We are pretty much a niche within a niche; M$ Flight proved that!

 

 

ESP is outdated now.

 

What does that mean, by what measure is it "outdated", to what are you comparing it?

Yes they have ... not just one or two bad decisions, but many. Being in the software development industry (and an MSDN Ultimate subscripiton member) I know a couple of ex-Microsoft developers that just could NOT take it any more ... the money was good (very good), but the spec's were garbage. A very good salary can only last so long if you hate coding products that you know are weak and purposely handicapped as to aid a specific revenue generation process.

 

Microsoft's biggest problem is that they don't understand what they have and how to make money out of it ... they fall back on the process of "leverage customer base" and "copy what other's do". Although Microsoft certainly isn't cash poor, their revenue is higher than it was in 2003, BUT (and this is a big BUT) their actual profit (the more meaningful number) is almost 1/3 of what it was back in 2003. With the current lack of adoption of Windows 8 and Surface and the apparent willingness of Microsoft's executive branch to "stay the course" for Windows 9 in the hope people will "come around" is hurting their financial situation considerably.

 

Microsoft need to let loose the talent and stop resting on their laurels.

I see a blank face from him after being asked. Maybe if the market was bigger for it, im sure he would have an answer.

 

After being asked what exactly???

After being asked what exactly???

 

Could you possibly see your way to subjugating the M$ board into releasing a new version of Flight Simulator...possibly call it Flight Simulator 2014 - 100 Years since the Worlds first great air war?