Bill Gates' mystery Obama visit |
Follow the ups and downs of a new Seattle startup in a series of behind-the-scenes posts by its founders.
Today On Techflash
Tech Events
Mass High Tech
- Gates, Ozzie, Microsoft execs patent 'personal data mining'
- Bill Gates, startup lessons and other top stories of the month
- Bill Gates' shirt, iPad vs. Kindle and other comments of the week
- Bill Gates on The Daily Show: 'I am a very loyal Microsoft user'
- Bill Gates on Daily Show tonight, maybe this time he'll stick around
Bill Gates' mystery Obama visit
What exactly did Bill Gates discuss with Barack Obama in the Oval Office in March?
OK, it was probably something innocuous, such as a simple get-to-know-ya or a discussion of education or global health -- the primary subjects of the Microsoft chairman's work through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But as noted by the Associated Press, the White House didn't disclose the focus of the Obama-Gates meeting when it released a broader list today of past Oval Office visitors -- lending an air of mystery to the situation.
To be clear, Gates isn't unique in that regard. The list provides a purpose for some but not all of the visitors' White House meetings. But given the people involved, it's pretty intriguing. We've touched base with a Gates Foundation representative to see if more details are available, and we'll update this post if we find out more.
For the record, Steve Ballmer is also on the list of White House visitors, but it doesn't look like the Microsoft CEO got any face-to-face POTUS time of his own.
Ballmer was there in April for a West Wing tour, and another time in June, when he met with Lawrence Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council; and John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The list doesn't disclose the subject of that Ballmer-Holdren-Summers meeting, either, but it's far more interesting to theorize about what Gates and Obama discussed.
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
READ FULL BIOGRAPHYRecent Sponsor Posts
Seattle Repertory Theatre presents Glengarry Glen Ross Feb 5th to Feb 28th
One of the largest and most renowned regional theatres in the country, Seattle Repertory Theatre produces a mix of celebrated classics, recent Broadway hits and cutting-edge new works in two theatre spaces. Now playing David Mamet's American classic Glengarry Glen Ross through February 28. Join us for Sales Rep Industry night February 11 with the Puget Sound Business Journal. For details click here.
Join the Microsoft WebsiteSpark program and get software, support and visibility – at no upfront cost. You’ll benefit from fast and easy access to current Microsoft development tools, platform technology and server products including Visual Studio, Expression Studio, Silverlight, Windows Web Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Web.
Seattle-based Adhost is a WebsiteSpark hosting partner providing dedicated servers with free Windows Web Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 licensing for three years to Web developers enrolled in WebsiteSpark. Servers are located in our secure data center with SAS 70 Type II certification, 24x7 technical support and 24x7 client access.
WTIA 15th Annual Industry Achievement Awards
Held on March 4th at the Showbox SODO, this casual event celebrates and recognizes some of the best emerging and established companies in the Washington Tech Industry. The evening will feature a finalist company technology showcase and a variety of coffee, chocolate, and wine samples from local companies. More than 800 attendees are expected to be present at the celebration. Public online voting for Technology Leader of Tomorrow Scholarships will open February 3rd on the WTIA site.
We congratulate the 2010 finalists and look forward to unveiling the winners on March 4th. REGISTER NOW!
From the trenches
Job Listings
- Registered Health Information Technician (Forms & Records Analyst 2)
- State of Washington Department of Corrections
- Principal SDE - Project Natal - Gameplay Engineering - 711621
- Microsoft Corporation
- Senior Web Analyst - 705536
- Microsoft Corporation
- Telecommunications Consultant (I)
- Sparling Electrical & Technology Consulting
- Senior SDET - 706910
- Microsoft Corporation
