ONE'S COMPANY

Still, most readers have found the Bill Gates story at least interesting, if not downright inspirational. "This guy's got guts," says Charles Ostman, a Ph.D. computer researcher in Berkeley who occasionally contributes to the magazine. "If ever there was the supreme example of an entrepreneurial guy, he's it. He lives and breathes this stuff every day."

From letters to Midnight Engineering, November/December 1994:
"Ever since reading RFPC-2, whenever I'm overwhelmed by the complexity of my software product, I think of you with that mega-ton web press with the dozens of cut-off unlabeled wires hanging out. And I don't mean that I think, `I don't have it so bad, look at that guy.' I mean that I think, `If he can have such a complex situation and enjoy it, then I should remember to look at the fun side of it more often.'"

--Alan Macy, Berkeley, California

"Pretty soon," says Bill, "I'm going to be more productive than anyone in the universe. Here I am finishing what is probably the world's first full-scale personal printing plant--assembled by one person, run by one person and existing for the sole purpose of printing one magazine for the benefit of one person."

But why stop there? "If I don't start getting better treatment from the paper companies," he threatens, "I'm going to start making my own paper. I'm willing to put anybody out of business if they don't do reasonable work."

From an editorial in Midnight Engineering, January/February 1995:
"Imagine having a job that you only worked at when you wanted to; could define exactly what it is you are doing; and at all times make decisions without having to confer with anyone except those you choose and, for all practical purposes, can disregard every `rule of business.' I have been fortunate enough to do that for the past five years.

"Further down the road, after printing this magazine myself, is the next most obvious target: mailing costs. Can I transcend the U.S. Postal Service? I believe 1995 will be the most interesting year of my life.