I did some work at DRI in 1984 (my group was housed in the old KMST television studio, on the outskirts of the DRI campus, for about four months while we ported GEM to the Atari ST).
My manager talked with Gary about the CP/M incident at one point. Apparently some "guys in suits" showed up without an appointment one day, wouldn't say who they were, wouldn't sign an NDA, and were demanding to see Gary. They were sent away without talking to anyone. Gary was in his office the whole time, and definitely not flying.
Occam's Razor suggests that what has been published as truth for a long, long time (since the actual events, in fact) is truth, rather than being made up by gullible people.
There has been several published accounts from different people involved, all of which differ. The story the GP published is one such version (I’ve read that account elsewhere, published as first hand).
AFAIK there isn’t even a popular opinion since most people tend to agree we will never know the truth. And of those who do have an opinion, those opinions have been largely split (as evidenced by the comments on here).
So I have no idea why you’re so confident in your assertion but it is entirely misplaced.
All of the many widely read and reviewed books on Gates' career tell the same story (i.e, the one I am suggesting). If they were wrong, surely someone other than a couple of randos on the internet would have got on the author's case. But nobody has done - hence Occams Razor.
> All of the many widely read and reviewed books on Gates' career tell the same story
Is it really that surprising that books specifically documenting Gates would cover his version of events? This is a very definition of selection bias right there.
> If they were wrong, surely someone other than a couple of randos on the internet would have got on the author's case. But nobody has done
There's plenty of contradictory accounts. People have literally posted them right here. You're just refusing to acknowledge they exist because you've never bothered to research this beyond Bill Gates own personal account. But I'd suggest you read some content written from the perspective of Kindall if you're genuinely interested in hearing the other side of the story. He has even written about it himself.
People are "randos on the internet" to you, but no one is actually a rando on the internet. Don't mistake your not knowing someone for them being unknowable.
My manager talked with Gary about the CP/M incident at one point. Apparently some "guys in suits" showed up without an appointment one day, wouldn't say who they were, wouldn't sign an NDA, and were demanding to see Gary. They were sent away without talking to anyone. Gary was in his office the whole time, and definitely not flying.
Take it as you like. My Kildall Number is 2.