Who’s Next?

Posted on June 30, 2008

Now that Bill is pretty much history, I wonder, who’s next?

Not the next to leave but the next to arrive. Who’s the next Bill Gates? Who’s in the process of coming up with something really great that will be the next big problem solver?

And thinking outside the tech box, I realize it may be something not directly related to computers, though I doubt much can come along that hasn’t had some influence from a computing platform, Whether numbers are crunched or simply research and reference is accomplished, the computing process will likely have played a part.

Just what or who will it be? Maybe someone will solve energy, transportation, or medical problems that have hampered society for years. Maybe they will solve a problem that we do not yet know about but which may be greater than any we now face.

So as great as the contribution has been by Bill and his crew, we just give thanks for those things and prepare to move on to whatever is next. One thing we can’t afford to be is static. If there is one way that’s a given loser for us, it’s to stop moving, to decide some problem is too great, to conclude we’ll never know what we need to do or how to do it, and resign ourselves to be losers.

I suspect Bill feels the same way. He’s moving forward too, to focus on his new work, taking his wealth and trying to make the world a little better place with it.