Bill Gates admits Control-Alt-Delete was a mistake, blames IBM

[webfact]

Bill Gates admits Control-Alt-Delete was a mistake, blames IBM
By Tom Warren

SEATTLE: -- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has finally admitted that forcing users to press the Control-Alt-Delete key combination to log into a PC was a mistake. In an interview at a Harvard fundraising campaign, Gates discusses his early days building Microsoft and the all-important Control-Alt-Delete decision. If you've used an old version of the software or use Windows at work then you will have experienced the odd requirement. Gates explains the key combination is designed to prevent other apps from faking the login prompt and stealing a password.

"It was a mistake," Gates admits to an audience left laughing at his honesty. "We could have had a single button, but the guy who did the IBM keyboard design didn't wanna give us our single button." David Bradley, an engineer who worked on the original IBM PC, invented the combination which was originally designed to reboot a PC. "I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous," Bradley said in an interview previously, leaving Bill Gates looking rather awkward.

Full story: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/26/4772680/bill-gates-admits-ctrl-alt-del-was-a-mistake

-- THE VERGE 2013-09-27

[kotsak]

I rather have the Control-Alt-Delete combo than the BSOD..

[lee b]

What about other mistakes like well, Microsoft Windows Millenium? Whos he gunna blame that on? Apple??

[tingtongfarang]

On win7 and still having to use control-alt-delete ( monkey grasp ) maybe 1-2 times per month when programs wont close,

Some days ago i charged an old windows phone to loan to a friend....then i remembered what a catastrophe those phones were.

Edited September 27, 2013 by tingtongfarang

[A1Str8]

Thankfully there is no ctrl+alt+del under Linux.

[BB1950]

Despite Gates' admission that he sees the combination as a mistake, it still exists on Windows machines today. The engineer that came up with it is David Bradley, who worked as a designer on early IBM computers. According to CNN, Bradley says they didn't mean for it to be available outside of development.

"I originally intended for it to be what we would now call an Easter egg -- just something we were using in development and it wouldn't be available elsewhere," Bradley said in 2011. "But then (software publishers) found out about it. They were trying to figure out how to tell somebody to start up one of their programs, and they had the answer. Just put the diskette in, hit Control-Alt-Delete, and by magic your program starts."

ref: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/control-alt-delete-ibm-keyboard-bill-gates,24422.html

[tingtongfarang]

Thankfully there is no ctrl+alt+del under Linux.

I consider myself somehwat technically challenged, would be great if i could find someone to sit and take me through linux for an hour.

[A1Str8]

Thankfully there is no ctrl+alt+del under Linux.

 

I consider myself somehwat technically challenged, would be great if i could find someone to sit and take me through linux for an hour.

 

Go to youtube and watch video guides. They are very good and really helpful.

[tingtongfarang]

Thankfully there is no ctrl+alt+del under Linux.

I consider myself somehwat technically challenged, would be great if i could find someone to sit and take me through linux for an hour.

Go to youtube and watch video guides. They are very good and really helpful.

Thanks...will give that a go, do you suggest a duel boot system?

The laptop i use at this moment is a thinkpad just over 1 year old, 32GB ram with an ssd, On linux will it still run the printers and various camara software?

[A1Str8]

I have both Windows and Linux installed just in case so if I cannot run something on Linux then I can do it on Windows. So it depends on what you do on the computer. Some people still need Windows, some don't. It depends on your needs. The newest Linux versions pretty much run everything, and recognize and handle most hardware..printers, camera etc. On your Thinkpad it is possible to create and use a dual boot system, you need to decide if you need it or not. For Linux I suggest Linux mint 15 cinnamon.

[RichCor]

The article's utter lack of correct timeline progression makes my head hurt.

It's fine if they want to rewrite history, but please do it in a way that respects the concept of continuity.

Edited September 27, 2013 by RichCor

[RichCor]

Thanks...will give that a go, do you suggest a duel boot system?

The laptop i use at this moment is a thinkpad just over 1 year old, 32GB ram with an ssd, On linux will it still run the printers and various camara software?

If you just want to play around with the OS I'd suggest using a LIVE CD version installed on a memory stick set to boot; or, install Oracle's VirtualBox inside your Windows OS and install one or more variations of Linux there.

I liked VirtualBox, where I had the ability to jump back and forth between OS's, copy clipboard contents, and install shared drives.

...just a thought. -rich

[Guest]

Thankfully there is no ctrl+alt+del under Linux.

This was the first time I tried it on Kubuntu. There is ctrl+alt+del on linux..

[Considered Opinion]

Thankfully there is no ctrl+alt+del under Linux.

I consider myself somehwat technically challenged, would be great if i could find someone to sit and take me through linux for an hour.

Go to youtube and watch video guides. They are very good and really helpful.

Thanks...will give that a go, do you suggest a duel boot system?

The laptop i use at this moment is a thinkpad just over 1 year old, 32GB ram with an ssd, On linux will it still run the printers and various camara software?

Jesus bloody Christ - 32 Gb of RAM and you are technically challenged? You sure had a good idea what to spec when you ordered the notebook. Well done.

[pacovl46]

One button, three buttons, who cares? Why is this even in the news???

[crazydrummerpauly]

Is there a shortage of news that might interest someone other than nerds ?

[rollrunna]

and of course no comment about having to click the Start button to Stop the computer.....some imagination that was..

[Lee4Life]

quote: "....leaving Mr. Gates looking rather awkward."

It has been said that if Bill Gates saw a one hundred dollar bill laying on the sidewalk that it wouldn't be worth his time to stop, bend over and pick it up?

I don't really know much about Mr. Gates, but that hardly sounds like an awkward man to me.

[Billmont]

I am completely at a loss after reading this post. What is wrong with c+a+d? I have to use it often when programs freeze and in particular my email software aol. Very easy and it works! Three buttons better than one to avoid big finger errors.

[WitawatWatawit]

I feel sorry for geeks. They've never been hugged by their mothers, trickled sand through their toes or kissed a woman. The dawning of the day casts glare across their computer screens, until they slam down the lid on their coffins. End-user brings horrifying thoughts of reality to their insipid world, and OS must NEVER be translated as open source. Outside their cloistered world, life is the real Matrix.

And now I shall have my last beer for tonight. Or rewrite the above for the Bulmer-Lytton awards.

[stoli]

I can't remember the last time I had to use control-alt-delete. Why is this so important now? Just remembering the past?

[Torrens54]

At least he is honest!

[tingtongfarang]

Jesus bloody Christ - 32 Gb of RAM and you are technically challenged? You sure had a good idea what to spec when you ordered the notebook. Well done.

Yes...i use it for video and photo editing, infact there 2 of those in the house + 1thinkpadT60 in the bedroom all on docking stations, but your wrong to assume i either order or pay for them,

I,m not a computer geek...just a user.

[Richard W]

Thankfully there is no ctrl+alt+del under Linux.

There is on Ubuntu. It has the nasty feature that subsequent action will occur on a timeout. This can be a problem if the interface menu is in a language you don't understand well enough. I have to work hard to translate options back from Thai to English on my wife's computer.

One button, three buttons, who cares? Why is this even in the news???

Try entering the combination with one hand. It only works if you set the keyboard up for a cripple.

[cooked]

You only need one button for the dreaDED CAPS LOCK to spring into action.

[tilac2]

I have both Windows and Linux installed just in case so if I cannot run something on Linux then I can do it on Windows. So it depends on what you do on the computer. Some people still need Windows, some don't. It depends on your needs. The newest Linux versions pretty much run everything, and recognize and handle most hardware..printers, camera etc. On your Thinkpad it is possible to create and use a dual boot system, you need to decide if you need it or not. For Linux I suggest Linux mint 15 cinnamon.

You cannot run Endnote (the best bibliographic programme around) under Linux. It will only run under Windows or Mac. So, as you rightly say, some people cannot switch over completely to Linux if they need certain programmes.

[wooloomooloo]

It depends on what you want to do nowadays but in the same vein effect Windows key + L. Can be performed [on modern keyboard] with right thumb to Windows key + and right index finger to L key.

[dddave]

A number of years ago there was a great joke making the rounds: "What if Bill Gates had designed the automobile."

Does anybody still have it?

[BB1950]

A number of years ago there was a great joke making the rounds: "What if Bill Gates had designed the automobile."

Does anybody still have it?

Is this it?

http://www.laughbreak.com/lists/if_microsoft_built_cars.html

[cup-O-coffee]

One button, three buttons, who cares? Why is this even in the news???

Agreed. I miss the old days when I could tinker with my 68 Malibu 283, or 65 Chev 350 and make modifications without owning expensive equipment. Just a trip to the bone yard was all it took. The computer has replaced my desire to tinker. I just love my Windows XP Professional with service pack 3. There are so many utilities and forums out there to tinker and make this OS exactly what you want and make the UI styles appear like any OS that it is pure heaven.

A reliable friend of mine told me that most corporations that run huge water platforms in the seas run the same OS because it is so ironclad, dependable, reliable and configurable.

This article is really not news to me, other than "Oh, That's interesting. I didn't know that!"