Bill Gates gushes over Steve Jobs; praises Google founders

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates appeared on stage with his bridge-playing buddy Warren Buffett last Thursday at a CNBC Town Hall event in New York City. The two billionaires covered a lot of ground during the chat -- talking about China, alternative energy, investment banking, greed, luck and much more.

But it was an audience member's question to Gates about Apple CEO Steve Jobs that was particularly interesting.

Not only did Jobs "save" the company during a rough patch, but he brought in a team that made Apple into "an incredible force in doing good things," Gates said.

Interestingly, that question was followed by another from an MBA student at Columbia University who asked if Google today resembles Microsoft during its early years.

Well, they have some of the same problems we had. [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE] It's another fine competitor. They are hiring a lot of smart people. They have gotten into the lead position in search, which is incredibly profitable to be number one in that. They may get a little competition as time goes forward. But they are a great example of what can happen, you know, two young guys who got together, pursued an idea and created a success that's absolutely gigantic. And we all, you know, hopefully use search engines, maybe a variety. [LAUGHTER] And we benefit from that.

You can read the full transcript of the event here.

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.

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