Book review: Source Code by Bill Gates is also the story of a computer revolution

Paul Allen (left) and Bill Gates at Lakeside School in Seattle Washington (Photo credit: Bruce Burgess via Wikimedia Commons); and Bill Gates during the Munich Security Conference in 2017 (Photo credit: Kuhlmann / MSC via Wikimedia Commons 3.0).

'Source Code' by Bill Gates is not only the memoir of an extraordinary individual, but the story of the advent of the age of the personal computer. Mainframe computers were around for a long time, but they were confined to the realm of space flights, the military, and corporate headquarters. The development of the PC brought computers into homes and made them accessible to a wider population. This could not have been possible without the development of microprocessors and software. Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Rick, and many others developed software that made computers intelligible to the common man. It is also the story of an America that provided opportunities and openness without which the computer revolution could not have taken place.

Source code by Bill Gates; Allen Lane; Rs 1,499

His grandmother taught Bill and his sister Kristi to play cards. The children called her Gammy. After the death of her husband, she devoted herself entirely to bringing up the grandchildren. The card game taught him pattern matching - how a card that comes up on the table fits into what you hold in your hand. He learned that it is not only a game of chance. One can improve one’s chances of winning if you could train your mind. He compares it with what is called a state machine in computer science. This involves finding an optimal solution based on an input and a set of given conditions. He also discovered his love for numbers.

The Gates were a well-knit family. Father was a lawyer, and mother devoted herself to social causes. She was ambitious about her children. But young Bill Gates did not quite fit in the mould. He was ill at ease at school and rebellious at home. He took an interest in maths. To keep the young boy engaged, the class teacher took him to the school library. The librarian told Bill Gates to find and arrange the missing books on the shelf. This involved arranging books according to serial numbers. The young boy liked the job. But his parents soon moved house to a new locality and a new school for the children.

The maths teacher at the Lakesides school had heard about a computer in California, which could be accessed on time-sharing basis. The computer located in California cost $5,000,000, and was beyond the reach of the school or the parents. Time sharing through tele-link made it accessible. But the problem was to find money to pay for leasing the terminal. A group of mothers came forward to raise $ 3,000 to lease the terminal. This provided Bill Gates opportunity to learn computers. He taught himself coding, created a company, Traf-O-Data with Paul Allen in 1975 and worked at TRW, a major power company to write code for matching electricity demand and supply.

Bill Gates joined Harvard after finishing school. The US Army had donated a mainframe computer PDP - 10 to the University. This gave Bill an opportunity to hone his software skills. Being an undergraduate student, he came lower down in the pecking order. The first claim to computer time was for research students. Gates could use the computer at night, when there was no demand from others. He also managed to smuggle in his friend Paul Allen into the computer room. The unusually long hours of computer time used by a junior student did not go unnoticed. There was an enquiry if the facility was misused. In panic, Gates called his father. The seasoned lawyer was a steadying influence. Eventually, the enquiry was dropped. The government provided resources; the University allowed young students to use the facility. An undisciplined student succeeded in building software with his friends which will pave the way for the age of PC.

PC

Intel came out with its 8080 chip. Paul saw a news item that a little-known company, MITS would build the world’s first minicomputer based on the chip. It was named Altair, and was priced at $400. Bill’s colleague Paul Allen wrote to MITS claiming they had software - a version of BASIC for the Intel 8080 chip, which could run on Altair. Bill Gates writes that Altair at that time was just a chunky prototype. Bill and Allen set about writing a software before competitors got on to Altair. In March 1977, a demonstration was given at Altair headquarters in Albuquerque by Paul Allen. With few BASIC commands, the computer printed 2 + 2 = 4. The age of personal computer had arrived.  Bill Gates and his friend Paul Allen got a contract to write software for Altair. They also signed a licensing agreement with MITS to sub-license the software to other companies.

Microsoft

Gates and Paul Allen wanted a name for their enterprise. The name chosen represented a combination of microprocessor and software. The development of smaller, more powerful micro-processors has made it possible to compress more computing power in a chip. The software made human commands intelligible to the machine. The company was initially named Micro-Soft. Later, the hyphen was dropped.

Altair became a hit. The relationship between MITS and Microsoft was souring by 1977. Gates writes that MITS was not paying them back royalties or sub-licensing 8080 BASIC to other companies. While MITS was in the process of being taken over by Pertec, Microsoft was receiving enquiries from other companies - Apple and Texas Instruments, to write software for them. MITS was eventually taken over by Pertec. The dispute between MITS and Microsoft went to arbitration, where the latter won the case and would now work independently. Microsoft had arrived.

Ed Roberts, who had launched the PC revolution along with Microsoft, retired from the company. At 44 years of age, he enrolled in medicine and re-invented himself as a surgeon. He died in Georgia in 2009. Gates met him before his death. Intel, which had developed the chips without which the PC revolution would not have been possible, is in trouble today. It will no doubt come out of it.

Bill Gates has also reinvented himself. His book 'How To Avoid A Climate Disaster' provides a brilliant analysis of energy options to reach the goal of net zero emissions. His answer is nuclear power. He has founded a company, Terra Power, which is building a 345 MW Sodium Cooled Nuclear Reactor, Natrium. Its unique feature is a molten salt energy storage system, which will provide support to the renewable power grid. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provides support to fight against poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. It is also doing creditable work in India.