$ cat ./records/wrote-his-first-software-program-at-age-13-at-lakeside-school-1968.txt
Wrote his first software program at age 13 at Lakeside School
[RECORD.TXT] · cat --full
At age 13, Bill Gates wrote his first software program — a tic-tac-toe game in BASIC — on a General Electric time-sharing terminal at the Lakeside School in Seattle. The Mothers' Club had sold rummage-sale proceeds to fund the terminal, giving Gates and Paul Allen their first exposure to interactive computing. Gates later recalled that accessing the computer was the pivotal experience that set the direction of his life.
Source: https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/bill-gates
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Related Accomplishments
1990s
Gates keeps a collection of rare and classic cars
Despite his reputation for frugality in some areas, Bill Gates has long indulged a passion for cars, assembling a collection that has included several Porsches — among them the 911 he has owned for decades and the storied 959 — as well as other classics. His automotive tastes, and the saga of importing the then-illegal 959, are among the more colorful footnotes of his personal life.
1990s
Gates retreats for solitary, twice-yearly 'Think Weeks'
For years Bill Gates retreated twice a year to a secluded cabin for a solitary 'Think Week,' during which he read stacks of papers, books, and employee proposals with no interruptions, emerging with strategic memos that shaped Microsoft's direction. The ritual became famous as a model of deep, focused thinking by a busy executive, and was credited with helping spark major pivots — including Microsoft's embrace of the internet. Gates carried the habit of voracious, deliberate reading into his philanthropy.
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