10 years ago, on October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs died. The name of the legend is still widely discussed. For example, regarding his relationship with a classmate who is equally famous, just as legendary, who else if not Bill Gates.
Bill Gates has repeatedly discussed his friendship with Jobs, which has had its ups and downs. "I was lucky enough to meet Steve Jobs a few times. People always say how cool Steve Jobs is," Gates said some time ago.
In the past, Gates and Jobs had been involved in a serious feud. The peak occurred when Microsoft released the first Windows in 1985, which used a graphical interface. An angry Jobs accused Microsoft of copying the Macintosh.
Gates didn't care. He was sure the idea of this interface would be great, and did not feel that Apple had exclusive rights to it. After all, Gates knew the idea for Apple's graphical interface was inspired by Xerox, which was developed by the Palo Alto Research Center, an institution they both adored.
"I think it's like we both have a rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the television but it turns out you stole it first," Gates said in response to Steve Jobs' accusations.
But then, the two began to get along. Gates always remembers Jobs as a friend. Gates recounted their memorable song, Two of Us, by The Beatles. One of the lyrics reads "You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead."
"Steve really loves music. He loves the Beatles and I do too. And he did mention this song when we were interviewed together. Only he and I understand how intense and what memories come with that song," Gates said.
"In our early years, the intensity between us was always about projects and then, because Steve was sick, it became a lot more mellow, in terms of talking about our lives and our children," Gates said.
Gates praised that Jobs was a genius figure, especially in terms of product design. Even though they competed a lot, Gates reiterated that they were close allies.
"For a period of time we really were allies, working on original software for Apple. Sometimes he was really hard on you and sometimes he would be very encouraging," said Gates.
Gates added that the two of them had practically grown up together. And despite the intense competition between them, there is still mutual respect.
"We're almost the same age and we used to be kind of naive optimists and build big companies. And all our fantasies in creating products and learning new things, we've achieved it all," said Gates.
"Most of us achieve it as rivals. But we always maintain a sense of respect and communication even when he was sick," added the Microsoft founder about Steve Jobs.