Bill Gates Explains the Internet to Dave (1995) | Letterman

Bill Gates explains the origins of Microsoft and tries to convince Dave to get a computer. (Air Date 11/27/1995)
#BillGates #Letterman #Microsoft
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Welcome to the Letterman KZbin Channel, home to all your favorite clips from Late Night and Late Show - as well as conversations with the writers, producers and performers who helped make it all happen. These highlights have been artisanly-produced, carefully-curated, and chosen completely at random by an old computer that used to pick numbers for the New York Lotto back in the 90’s.

[@KylesYTChannel]

Its ironic that we're now watching this on Letterman's KZbin channel.

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Is it his or is it someone who has access to certain shows and episodes and is uploading them without consent? Hard to say, this channel just popped up out of nowhere.

[@KylesYTChannel]

@@OMGWTFLOLSMH its his, he promoted it on his Twitter

[@SteveSmith-jc7pc]

Yeah, I forgot to record the original like he suggested! Now I get this Internet thing.

[@sadhbh4652]

@@OMGWTFLOLSMH It's his, they mentioned it on Seth Meyers.

[@pieterwillemse981]

@@OMGWTFLOLSMH don't matter his shows was bad anyway

[@szawid]

Dave: “So you can listen to a baseball game on your computer. Does radio ring a bell?” Bill: “Well Dave, in 27 years you’ll publish this video clip on KZbin.”

[@augustusgrt9655]

Then suddenly 2022 David Blaine pops up and addresses the 2022 youtube viewers.

[@robovac3557]

And so? That wouldn't have meant anything to anyone at that time.

[@peabody3000]

@@robovac3557 on-demand streaming was always the dream

[@robovac3557]

@@peabody3000 Not in my world buddy. Tripping over my own two feet like an idiot but at the very last moment, I manage to save myself with the sickest flip and roll and all the girls who are watching just cream themselves. Now that's a dream.

[@peabody3000]

@@robovac3557 ah, so you're still in school. very well then..

[@LucasPenido]

It’s crazy how this was only 28 years ago. Back then you’d experience the internet to take a few mins off of our REAL lives. Today we take a few mins off the internet, to LIVE our real lives.

[@raygordonteacheschess5501]

I went online in 1994 and saw its business potential immediately.

[@nonelost1]

@@raygordonteacheschess5501 I remember in 1994 was the year that the Internet was dramatically promoted in the media.

[@mikelisteral7863]

internet is just a giant centralized answering machine, with storage and multi media

[@sapaducy1]

​@@mikelisteral7863 look into Internet Computer

[@ricardo-cw4cb]

that's why these guys are so multi-billionaires

[@corporatepresident]

Dave and Bill should resume this chat and reflect what they chat in 1995.

[@gmh471]

Incredible how we lived on a completely different planet 26 years ago. First half of my life was in another world compared with the second half.

[@gheller2261]

@@moncorp1 Me too.

[@joecap2919]

Unfortunately because of Biden, you will be living in a financial mess for generations..

[@gmh471]

@@joecap2919 Okay then. Time for you to crawl back to your mom's basement.

[@tommyhallum2054]

@@joecap2919: Biden really is living rent free in your mind isn't he. The algorithm on you Biden haters computers have created this insane rabbit hole of negative information about Biden from all around the Internet and its constantly sending it to your computer and filling your brain full of such nonsense that through evolution your brain has started using the same algorithm. It's crazy and so are you.

[@tommyhallum2054]

@@joecap2919: The majority of the stimulus Programs were passed and enacted during trump's presidency not Biden. So please explain

[@scottkelly3824]

I love when Dave asks where do you think this will go. And Bills final thought is "eventually we wanna make computers think". He was spot on with AI now here.

[@aliyousefi9320]

++

[@PuppetMasterdaath144]

whatever sheeple

[@kurthellis]

only thing is AI doesnt actually think.

[@elternjohn2669]

I had the same thought.

[@elternjohn2669]

@@kurthellis We don't know if Ai thinks or remember, right?

[@nintendo2000]

7:12 "Eventually we may figure out how to make the computer think but that turns out to be a very tough problem. In fact there's been almost no progress." It's even more fascinating to listen to this in the age of public AI generators.

[@sandponics]

Just you wait until those AI generators get out of Beta testing, then you will see a thing or two. At the moment it is like Thomas Edison trying to figure out how to get a wire to glow brightly before it burned out.

[@civiccc]

today ai isnt really ai, just data set training. now the new ai is called agi

[@ryantheblockhead]

I know right? It really is fascinating with people thinking much of AI being anything impactful. But then you look at this and truly see it will only go up hill from here.

[@TryHardNewsletter]

I think we need to see AI create several new jokes and come up with clever never-before-seen solutions to math problems before we go too crazy about AI. That still seems like a long ways off. Could be wrong though

[@wellington66440]

we arent anywhere close to real AI.

[@donniemoder1466]

"The problem is you have too many assistants." Could not have known how right he was.

[@Havanorange]

🎯

[@louishurr393]

“I like having assistants.” He says.

[@xbia1]

Bill had a class full of girls. Dave has assistents.

[@MrDonquichotte]

@@xbia1 The innocence with which they say it makes you want to go back to that era... Much better times, unquestionably.

[@danieldengL4R]

"Computer at every desk & every home!" Mission accomplished!!!

[@semajmarc87]

@@moncorp1 soon they're going to be implanted into our brains.

[@shahrulamar5358]

At every member of the household now. Take along everywhere they go.

[@GradyPhilpott]

@@shahrulamar5358 And in every room of the house. I'm looking at you, Alexa.

[@shahrulamar5358]

@@GradyPhilpott Who is Alexa ??

[@GradyPhilpott]

Amazon Alexa.

[@Pete856]

Amazing how much changed within 10 years of this being recorded. From questioning why the internet is better than a radio, to KZbin launching less than 10 years later.

[@mehboobkm3728]

And we don't use radios any more or for a lot of people magazines and news papers!!

[@Pete856]

@@mehboobkm3728 I like to think the radio still has a place, listening to the DJ is often more entertaining that just listening to music, and it's were a lot of people hear new songs for the first time. As for news papers, they are going the way of land-line telephones...rapidly dying out, it's hard to justify the cost anymore.

[@user-df2uu3qp3y]

from 95-2005 seems like a century of a difference. but from 2005 till now, it doesnt feel that much of difference.

[@Pete856]

@@user-df2uu3qp3y Yeah, it was a time of huge change and the rise of the internet. Since then the rise of the smart phone has caused another change, but for someone like myself who still mostly uses a PC, the change has be much slower lately.

[@moreblack]

@@user-df2uu3qp3y Up next instead of cell phones, they'll probably implant them inside people and we'll all be fully interactive and connected.

[@richardayton6862]

Letterman listed a million devices to counter what you can do on a computer, without realising he was effectively proving you'll be able to trim those all down to one device.

[@spbalance]

Two devices. Two.

[@wolverineiscool7161]

ONE. ONE DEVICE @@spbalance

[@JackieFrankieful]

@@spbalance one, it's called smartphone (compunter in pocket)

[@spbalance]

@@JackieFrankieful He listed two devices. Not a million. Just thought the exaggeration was completely unhinged for no reason.

[@Brandespada]

4:14 "Do tape recorders ring a bell?" Okay, Letterman, the internet is no improvement on tape recorders... This guy always thought of himself as being the smartest, never realizing how dumb he was

[@grownfolkbeats]

such a classic interview I hope this never gets lost in time

[@j.rcoker9051]

So you like a George Soros cloned Marxist?

[@lt6532]

It won't. Thanks to the internet...

[@mikelisteral7863]

internet is just a giant centralized answering machine, with storage and multi media

[@MarkBlackMigo]

People here think Letterman’s being serious in the mocking though, it’s all jokes, everyone knew the internet in 1995

[@jacobpeters5458]

@@MarkBlackMigo I didn't

[@neverwill3046]

“You could find other people who have the same unusual interests as you do” is the perfect description

[@mehboobkm3728]

And it took social media another 5 or 6 years to come into existence

[@waytoobiased]

(links to Tumblr)

[@ghaida_alt5082]

"So, do you like furry ?" said someone on Reddit.

[@Gameboy-Unboxings]

​@@ghaida_alt5082 🤢

[@graciekattan6618]

That’s actually mainly what I use the internet for and why I’m grateful for it even though at times I hate it and what it has done to the world. A huge part of it gave me an entry way into a world I would have never discovered that include my niche interests.. and not to be dramatic but I probably wouldn’t be a live today if it wasn’t for it

[@DavidMartins1]

Feels like a lifetime ago doesn't it? and yet, 20 years later everyone has a computer in their pocket. No other generation in history has seen such a dramatic world change.

[@thealexanderbond]

That's far from true. If you were 20 years old in 1880 you would have seen massive changes before you were 50. Electric powered homes and machinery, lights, cars, air travel, radio, TV, the list goes on. They went from a 17th century existence to a the 20th century existence in one generation.

[@roddmol]

@@niltomega2978 that's really cool, never thought about it before

[@jb-cw7mx]

And the next generation will most likely go backwards for the general public.

[@vanlifephilippines7304]

its a computer in every pocket.not in every home.

[@samuelsontraining]

@@niltomega2978 you went to the Moon with your grandfather? Sounds amazing.

[@zeeshawnali7187]

26 years later and now we've got Chat GPT

[@CanadianPrepper]

7:12 and here we are...

[@roninbayacal7857]

Well it's running a statistical language model, albeit deeply sophisticated. It's not still thinking per se, but I suppose it is somewhat, if you're willing to use 'thinking' as a refrain of 'calculating', but its doing that no more than it did in 1995 so..

[@ikoukas]

@@roninbayacal7857 You have no idea what you're talking about.

[@carloslfu]

It is indeed a form of thinking

[@Adam-ss9do]

It's already surpassed thinking. The process of thinking is a slow, human error ridden process. AI is already beyond our thinking abilities.

[@Ironically-Sarcastic]

@@roninbayacal7857 I'm so sorry dude, looks like you're outnumbered by people who don't understand how it really works. I guess we've passed that point where people can't tell the difference and so it doesn't really matter anymore. AI researchers tried to invent AGI, but invented something that is surprisingly good enough to do a lot of unexpected things (transformer models), and from the outside looks like something far more complicated than the sum of its parts. OpenAI are still on their quest to create true AGI, but at this point I don't think we even need to in order to accomplish what we thought we needed AGI for.

[@jeremytheoneofdestiny8691]

Bill’s answer to “why don’t I have a computer?” was just brilliant

[@JohnKelly-dz6rr]

too many assistants

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

​@@JohnKelly-dz6rrand now they are out of job

[@NesrocksGamingVideos]

Replace your assistants *wink wink*

[@mikelisteral7863]

internet is just a giant centralized answering machine, with storage and multi media

[@WaltDittrich]

I think Dave still has plenty of assistants. @@r4zi3lgintoro65

[@augustusgrt9655]

"I like having assistants" Oh we know, Dave.

[@PandeyPrashant]

Oh this is good

[@dc4632]

@@jaycuthbert245 good for him nothing wrong with that

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

@@jaycuthbert245 - I don't doubt he was enjoying the fruits of his labour, but he wasn't married until 2009.

[@ibetudidit23]

I bust out laughing when he said that!!

[@kjohn5224]

@@jaycuthbert245 I didn't know dave was the man

[@aichan563]

I've seen this interview when this was aired in the 90s. I will never forget this short, funny yet very insightful clip. I was looking for this for the longest time and wanted to show this to my mother as to what MS means to the computer and the beginning of the internet.

[@whipshinedetailing]

This is wild to watch, and to think back to being a kid and fascinated about the idea of the internet, I never would have imagined technology being what it is now.

[@whydidmyhandlechangefromAlice]

“Troubled loner chat room” is the internet.

[@jonathanmarois9009]

Prophetic

[@someguy2135]

Troubled loners, and practically everyone else! Do you know anyone who doesn't use the internet today? How old are they?

[@applescruff1969]

More specifically, Reddit.

[@sandponics]

The sites you go to are obviously not the ones I go to.

[@MainsMain]

@@sandponics sure

[@ThatOneStuff]

Im with Dave, that internet thing isnt going anywhere.

[@paterson90]

For real, I haven't seen it yet...

[@fluxcapacitor1621]

It's a fad.

[@sonnyc3826]

yeha i think he was thinking that too to some degree but im sure eveyrone has that in mind on new things..

[@urbangorilla33]

pure hype.

[@nordicgaming2572]

Internet? What's that? Never heard of it.. Does it taste like lemon?

[@WaltDittrich]

Incredible to be reminded how far advanced we were then, but now nearly thirty years later how much has changed AGAIN. I'd love to see Bill and Dave revisit this and see how they live now, with computers in your pocket, video streaming, etc. Such vision!

[@chytstorm]

I still remember having conversations with young people at that time who couldn't comprehend the usefulness of the Internet. Now those same people can't imagine life without it.

[@jockoharpo2622]

Can you imagine a life with no Bill Gates?

[@a.demifemiflapo5795]

​@@jockoharpo2622Yes

[@jaberwoky_]

Around that time, I sent a request to Gates at Microsoft for an autographed photo (one of my collections) and a while later received a note from a secretary saying that Mr Gates schedule was busy but to be patient. A couple of months passed but I received an autographed 6x4 colour photo from the richest person on the planet.

[@scottallen8950]

That's so cool!

[@nikhilmanek1612]

Wow!! That's great!!

[@sirfizz6518]

Less than 30 years ago, plenty of people needed the internet explained to them

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Pretty sure _everyone_ needed the internet explained to them. It's not something you're born with.

[@belstar1128]

Most people couldn't understand it no matter how hard you tried.

[@sandponics]

I tried explaining the Internet to people back in 1991, but all they could say was "It will never happen". Also, I though I was well ahead of the curve, until I met a man who had been online since the mid 1970's.

[@PretzelGuy5280]

And yet, 30 years later, there are still people who need the internet explained to them.

[@theyellowjacket]

@@OMGWTFLOLSMH don't know man, these new kids seem to already know a thing or two about internet and computer when they are born.

[@snoozy04]

90's kids know what life was life before the internet.

[@felixftw4702]

i'm 1999, i don't ;/

[@sandponics]

As a kid I was building my own crystal set radios back in the late 1950's.

[@razor6552]

​@@sandponics I still build them. I get stations 300 miles away in the winter

[@DunmoresMovieMania]

Before the internet, I used to walk ten miles to school uphill in the rain. And I walked back home from school 10 miles uphill in the rain.

[@TheTruthIsFiction]

Back when baby boomers still had colour in their hair.

[@dakinebra]

This guy just showed the difference between those with vision and those who will be always stuck in the past.

[@senmao-gq2oz]

Yes

[@kwando472]

This just shows how to interview someone with knowledge in his field and try to approach it with a mindset of someone who doesn't know anything about computers. Also taking in the fact that people were even less informed about PC's in the 90's as opposed to today he did a very good interview with simple questions. And the questions were of someone who would probably be asked by people around that time. But hey it's not your fault for not seeing past your own ignorance.

[@ultraali453]

but i appreciate david for the hard questions. bill could handle them, and he did.

[@apnwu369]

his vision for depopulating the planet is a little scary

[@user-pm8xv4vf1u]

Letterman would still prefer his Music player, Camera and Phone as separate devices. Aparently

[@OWEN-CASH]

In his 1995 book, The Road Ahead, Bill predicted that someday soon everyone would carry around a small device that stored various kinds of information. He called it a 'Wallet PC'. We know it today as the smart phone.

[@fiver-hoo]

he also predicted microtransactions

[@Orangeflava]

Whats the name of the book?

[@LookOutside...]

It’s known as a phone today. Not a smart phone. There’s no need to specify a phone as smart anymore.

[@Orangeflava]

@@LookOutside... i dont agree with that. They still sell flip phones and others like that with limited functionality that aren't necessarily "smart". We have one for our business.

[@LookOutside...]

@@Orangeflava probably

[@PH-md8xp]

Bill had some idea where technology was heading back in the 90’s but even he had no idea how far and how fast it was going to permeate every industry and everyone’s lives.

[@elhugeo]

He did but could not say it on interviews or tv. He could only reveal what they were going to sell in the next 12 to 24 months. Similar to how things are today.

[@LoZeroPwalker]

This was more a Steve Jobs Thing.

[@johndanielsforJesus]

@PH - Just like Miles Dyson.

[@joemartin1253]

Yeah for the worst.

[@omughelefabulous4506]

He absolutely does, go and read "the road ahead", it's really a fascinating book to see that bill gate knows about all we are seeing today back then in 1995/1996. I read the book 6 or 5 years ago if I can clearly remember. He was even clearer on what the internet was than Steve Jobs, that's why their internet explorer was the hot thing then.

[@RuthlessMetalYT]

It's insane how fast things have moved, this is less than 30 years ago and it is almost unthinkable to live in those times for a young person.

[@dizzlebizzle8424]

*"does radio ring a bell?"* *massive applause* *"do tape recorders ring a bell?"* *massive applause* they had no idea..

[@sandponics]

When I was a kid we had steam radio and lived in a cardboard box in the middle of the road.

[@TonyVuolo]

Funny though that WiFi uses radio waves.

[@henrikpetersson3463]

Most of them did. It was just a funny joke.

[@peabody3000]

dave: "you mean the troubled loner chatroom?" me: well now look who's an internet expert all of the sudden

[@SyzygyNoon]

You mean I’m not here alone?

[@Legend-gv2nx]

he predicted Reddit

[@momentary_]

@@Legend-gv2nx They've had troubled loner chatrooms since the beginning of the internet. Reddit is just the latest iteration.

[@jesse7747]

I love the 90's just enough technology, it's too much now

[@paterson90]

Agreed, that's partly why I liked the 90s better. Just enough stuff like music, movies, simpler computers. Now we have way too much info about everything.

[@zhongcena4705]

Then go back to that time, end this nuisance

[@amillionlittledingdongs6768]

Don’t be a Luddite. Get on the metaverse and join the hive mind 🐝

[@sonnyc3826]

yeah eveyrthing is at your fingertips..back then libraries and newspapers and other stuff...books now you just google eveyrthing

[@huttanamaihala2276]

Love the time you are living you hoompa loompa..just enough technology not too much...your grandpa would say the same thing

[@alfredomatias5549]

Wow, their future is our past now. He was impressed by the capability of the internet in future to podcasting a Baseball game.

[@1mlister]

This really makes it clear what is so impressive about a visionary. We're all so blind to their ideas, and they are 100% spot on.

[@WillConley]

Tell that to the inventor of the long distance toenail trimmer.

[@captainatheist3644]

Dave's opinions about the internet haven't changed. He's yelling at his AM radio right now

[@Stefan-]

And his Edison phonograph.

[@applescruff1969]

​@@Stefan- Actually, I hear he recently upgraded to 8-track.

[@belstar1128]

He probably hates it because there are random kids on youtube with more views than him now in 1990 he had almost no competition.

[@nufsed12]

The best time in my life...beginning my career in computers and beyond. Love this

[@eddyvideostar]

To Typeo: I'd love this too.

[@sandponics]

I began my working life building mainframe computers in the mid 1960's

[@jg5875]

I love how Gates is low key trolling Dave…

[@johnnastrom9400]

And Dave allowed a dork like Gates to do it.

[@grl9917]

@@johnnastrom9400 Dorks become the rich ones. The “cool” kids from school work for the DPW.

[@Justsomebodyelse235]

@@johnnastrom9400A dork worth more than you. A dork who changed the world. Literally. What have you done?

[@johnmadison3472]

Hilarious! Dave tried hard to make him squirm, but Bill handled it well. Like him or hate him, Bill Gates influenced our lives in a big way.

[@aintitso6310]

Especially if you got the jab.

[@David-mr4gr]

Or if your name was Jeffrey Epstein.. and Bill would say "he's dead so why are we talking about him!"

[@JonahNelson7]

In a bad way. Every invention that takes us further from nature gives us more collective zoochosis

[@gato7908]

He should have stuck with computers

[@David-mr4gr]

Bill pays big coin to have the internet scrub any and all negative comments about him .. hence this is why my original comment has disappeared.. thanks KZbin for your adherence and dedication to free speech, that's unless Bill throws a wheel barrow of cash your way. Then it's Bill who? And Jeffrey Epstein pics with Bill they don't exist!!!💲💲💲

[@dannwing4224]

Watching this is like reliving the life 27 yrs ago. loved it.

[@betsyduane3461]

Younger people will never really get what life was like before the internet, cell phones, etc.

[@QuantumBraced]

Indeed, and what the transition was like from a world with no internet, to the internet being everywhere within a few years. It completely transformed the world unlike anything that's happened since.

[@mrloop1530]

Older people will never really know what life was like before electricity, the wheel, etc.

[@betsyduane3461]

@@mrloop1530 What?

[@getreadytotube]

And old people will never understand Bitcoin.

[@MatthewC137]

@@getreadytotube and those who love BC will never understand value, money, or economics. 🤪

[@victormihai3929]

Dave, let me explain. You will no longer have to go to those shady bookstores or go behind the black curtain at the video rental store.

[@afdhal.H]

This is so satisfying to watch, akin to revealing the content of a time capsule

[@DominickGiammarinoAZ]

Wow, this was aired ONE DAY before Bill Gates turned 40!

[@markroberts6926]

I'm reading this one day before turning 40...weird.

[@gato7908]

​@@markroberts6926happy belated birthday 🎂

[@LuisMedinaInformador]

LOL Dave looks like Dave's impression of Norm MacDonald.

[@BronzDano]

Bill Gates doesn’t get appreciated for his sharp wit, his delivery comes off as lackadaisical, yet his comedic timing is pretty on point. 👍🏽

[@jmrich5328]

🤮🤮🤮

[@jonathanlegthigh8264]

What the...? On point? He's a demonic nerd.

[@BobTaile]

Nonsense, BG's answers were mostly mundane but Letterman is stupid with his overly loud, false laugh and cloying attitude. BG wasn't as great as he wants everyone to think. Bill Allen did ALL the real work and was never credited by Gates. Now in 2023 we see the real BG:.sneaky, creepy, totally avaricious - at everyone's expense.

[@BobTaile]

@@jmrich5328 I fully agree

[@jockoharpo2622]

We appreciate him for predicting this past plandemic It helped us prepare for the "vaccine" for the manmade frankeflu. Just ask all of the polio ridden starile children of India what they think And their govt.

[@doubl0dave]

Wow, this Bill guy seems to know a lot of stuff about computers. He should definitely start his own company one day.

[@robert9495]

what makes you think he hasn't?

[@doubl0dave]

@@robert9495 I just think he could be good at it, maybe even enough for him to become a millionaire one day…

[@robert9495]

@@doubl0dave you're kidding, right? You've never heard of Bill Gates and his company Microsoft? He used to be CEO there quite a few years back. Today this guy's a billionaire and has been fir a long time. I dont mean to be rude but where have you been living all this time?

[@doubl0dave]

@@robert9495 I thought you would have picked up on the joke by now…

[@robert9495]

@@doubl0dave i was inclined to but the way you expressed yourself didnt seen like it.

[@boilerhousegarage]

What's odd for me is that prior to 1995 I was into DOS era computing, gaming, programming as a hobby. So much so, I missed out on a lot of other enjoyable things in life (until I got interested in cars and girls). Today, I have very little interest in computing and only ever play retro games occasionally, but using a smartphone and laptop is now essential in order to participate in everyday life.

[@cheesecurd100s]

Same here

[@eddyvideostar]

To Boilerhouse Garage: A normal degeneration during the devilish computing -- for other delightful decadence of driving dolls in a Discovery.

[@DarthMessias]

What happen to your cars and girls...? xD

[@boilerhousegarage]

@@DarthMessias 😆 Well I had a lot of both, I've been married twice, and I've owned over 50 cars (have 3 today). Maybe I'll get more into games as tine goes on, as I'm middle-aged now.

[@sandponics]

Your lack of persistence may be the reason why you are not a billionaire today, Me to.

[@rickcimino743]

having lived through the transition (in education) this conversation brings back a lot of memories.

[@stefanogattoCH]

I bought Windows 95 in October 1995. Those were great years! (maybe just because I was young...)

[@harishravishankar]

Most amazing turn of the century video! Thanks!

[@dankatz1080]

"Everybody can publish their own information." What could go wrong?

[@ayoutubecommenter1827]

Tik tok

[@tylersmyler]

4chan..

[@DougWIngate]

The literal 45th president

[@belstar1128]

I can publish my own information now i love the future.

[@sandponics]

The newspaper proprietors were able to publish their own information for years. What could possibly go wrong?

[@NewhamMatt]

"You can find other people who have the same unusual interests you do..." Bill Gates drafting Rule 34.

[@andreasv9472]

What's rule 34?

[@josephpullium5026]

“They can listen to a baseball game on your computer. Does radio ring a bell” Now I get to watch football on my phone. Life is crazy.

[@DanielPamboukian]

This shows how difficult it is to present new technology for people who have a hard time seeing the progress and advantages of it. After Bill explained about the broadcast of the game on the internet and Dave still thinks it is better to listen on the radio or even worse, record it on tape. OMG.

[@IWillSayMyPeace]

Now there is a computer in every pocket, socket and ear drum.

[@ShockingReport]

I remember in the late 80s and early 90s when some people began mentioning computers and what they would do in the future....it sounded like a myth to me. Back then we use to make our simple spreadsheets on exercise books, based on whatever context it involed by drawing tables first then summing up the total at the bottom of the table. Today everything has progressed even into databases and such. Now a person from Australia can modify a databased spreadsheet of a company as far away as the UK with just the click of a button. You can work from home and earn your bucks. I always wonder how this one guy could create a company to bring up all these awesome ideas. I've remained greatly inspired.

[@sandponics]

Hey I am that guy from Australia who modifies databases online in the UK. How did you know?

[@faisalakbarsalam]

When Dave said "The troubled, loner chatroom on the internet" he predicted the future.

[@DunmoresMovieMania]

He predicted 8chan

[@neutra__l8525]

Explaining computers and the internet was my job for a fair while. It was very painful at times. I was 20. Explaining things to people my own age was hard enough but older people it was extremely difficult. When setting up a PC for someone and then having them ask me how to use it you learn quickly just how basic you need to start. Just teaching people what a mouse was and how it worked took a long time, and people often got very frustrated, especially considering how un-user friendly windows and DOS were. I too cant believe how much it changed everything in life.

[@lumpylumpyloo]

Grow up

[@sandponics]

Gee, I was teaching advanced computer use from 1996 to 2006 and had a ball teaching advanced systems to both young and old, and my students created amazing stuff, including websites and advanced multimedia. Possibly, there is an issues with your teaching style.

[@neutra__l8525]

@@sandponics Well I wasnt teaching as such, I was doing in house installs and having to teach people who had never seen a computer how to get the basics, starting with locating the power button. As entry level as it gets. This was from 93 to 97 which was a small time but a big difference in general PC awareness. Plus I was expected to do it for free, often after hours, by people who werent there to learn. Usually they had a new toy but no idea it was going to be as complicated as it was. When yr installing software and trying to get the right drivers etc etc and people are asking, why doesnt it just work and what is this DOS thing, it isnt fun at all. So, very different situation I imagine to teaching a class.

[@neutra__l8525]

@@sandponics Plus I should add that I was in sales and later in PC repair at a very large home electrical store who were, in part, aimed at selling to the technologically illiterate. I considered some of their sales practices etc to be straight up unethical, with things like rent to buy loans etc which were all carefully designed to milk people for as much cash as they could. I honestly dont know how some of it is even legal. So it wasnt the customers fault at all, it was just that they had no idea they were buying the most complicated technology on the planet, and that it was also still incredibly hard to use. You have to realise these PC's often didnt even have windows on them, just DOS. And when it came to software and asking people if they knew their RAM, CPU, HD space, sound card etc etc and then having to explain what these things were and why they were important etc, it was just a recipie for disaster. Still today a lot of people have no idea about these things.. and dont want to.

[@neutra__l8525]

@@lumpylumpyloo ?

[@FelixCervantes]

In 1975 I graduated from high school/technical college and my goal was to have my own computer. At the same exact time, there was an article in Popular Electronics on building a MITS Altair computer, the very same article that caused Bill Gates to quit Harvard and go to Albuquerque and set up shop there. I had the very first Microsoft product, a 4K BASIC interpreter. I was writing programs on it to help friends because there were no software. If I only had a business sense... I met Bill Gates in 1977? It was awesome to meet him and got to go to the Microsoft campus in 1994. I thought the campus was the coolest thing. Unfortunately, the last remaining buildings was recently torn down to make some more huge buildings and the campus is humongous now but in the Microsoft museum, they have a copy of the original slightly larger 8K version.

[@sandponics]

So in a different reality you could have been Bill Gates and would have been able to with Dave. How cool is that.

[@alexanders4911]

This is how a true genius works. Bill is so far ahead its eerie

[@sandponics]

Gates is the past. Artificial intelligence is the future.

[@onesong2001]

The guy who said 256k is enough memory for anyone's computing needs in the future? MS was handed to him by the Rockerfellers. Now he's running the Rockefeller created WHO and he knows nothing about healing people. He's evil but he's no genius.

[@alexanders4911]

@@onesong2001 what about the third guy who died in a bike accident...

[@topologyrob]

@@sandponics And Gates is very much involved with AI at the leading edge.

[@yute-hube779]

The great leap forward was around 2000 when we all got broadband.

[@peter5.056]

Just a few years later, the internet was absolutely necessary and taken for granted. I was a teenager when the internet came about, and to everyone under age 30, you have no idea how lucky you are. Treasure it.

[@slushbox3443]

And now the internet has turned everyone against each other

[@achosenone44]

all planned by the devil minions !!!

[@solodolotrevino]

Don’t mind me. Just watching this on my personal phone/music player/video streamer/GPS/information database black mirror that never leaves my side

[@Paterson340]

He used to look like a decent nice person and was loved...wow. Different and sad day now

[@achosenone44]

deceivement by the sickos demonic fallen angels to the humans!!!

[@AntonioSilva-dk5gg]

"eventually we may figure out how to make the computer think" 27 years later, chatgpt is available to the public

[@billywilliam7747]

One of the beautiful moments of Bill. Thanks for the clip

[@onesong2001]

if you say so

[@freebeing0858]

Yes, along with visiting Epstein's Pedo island, cheating on his wife, admitting to making 2000% profits on vaccine investments and boasting about shooting unproven vaccine shots directly into small children's arms.

[@ArchIVEDCinema]

"You mean the troubled loner chat room on the internet?" Crazy how that seemed like a joke back then

[@JasmineFoster-uh4zz]

I wasn't financial free until my 40’s and I’m still in my 40’s, bought my third house already, earn on a monthly through passive income, and got 4 out of 5 goals, just hope it encourages someone's that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any of them right now, you can start TODAY regardless your age INVEST and change your future! Investing in the financial market is a grand choice I made.

[@EmiliaGradel]

yeah investment is the key to sustaining your financial longevity but venturing into any legitimate Investment without a proper guidance of an expert can lead to a great loss too

[@Dukaamoses]

Hello, I’m 52 and I am not worth much yet , please help me out. Bought my first house last month and I can't seem to make any other smart investment.

[@BeatriceChloe1]

wanted to trade, but I got discouraged with the market price fluctuations

[@BeatriceChloe1]

Can you recommend a guide for me?

[@LaurenPhina]

Haven't you heard of Expert Chrissy Barymoer ?He gives excellent guide on the right stock with high dividend

[@keelfly]

Letterman really believed he was the center of the universe. You can tell by the way he responds to his guests. He really believes that he is above them all.

[@jimbalio]

Bill forgot to mention that it will eventually be a place to find everything you would benefit from ignoring, in one convenient location.

[@sastrinidis]

I would love to know the resolution of those really high quality screens

[@alainlalonde]

720p

[@brandonchapman3110]

@@alainlalonde Actually the HD standard hadn't been finalized in 1995 and p stands for progressive overlay. Not how CRT works and more about how data is encoded. Standard resolution was 1024×768. The big really heavy CRT has 1600×1200

[@qpwoeiruty108]

honestly, my life was happier without internet. but today i'm having a real addiction to it.

[@jp-hh9xq]

"That's pretty cool Bill, the internet, yeah but seriously, I heard you know a guy with an island. Let's chat about it later."

[@tomitstube]

dave really got him with the call back, "do tape recorders ring a bell?" imagine explaining the internet to someone in the 1930's.

[@chriswoosley3883]

NO DOUBT

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Not much of a retort. Analogue tape is no match for a digital file for speed and convenience. It's like comparing a horse and buggy to a car.

[@techwithdave]

It would have depended on who you were talking to. Here is a prediction from the 1960s kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXSWdmWniah8j5o (Enjoy)

[@tedwalker4219]

Those people probably didnt know what a computer was back then.

[@danielgowans4473]

"Oh, you mean the troubled loner chat room on the Internet"? Right there, Dave revealed that he already knew more about the Internet than he was letting on...

[@dalelerette206]

Man, I used to love staying home from school just to watch David Letterman. In many ways I learned more from Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and SNL than I did from the school system. At least I learned the proper rules of Grammar, so there's always that.

[@fletch88zz]

a computer on every desk... a computer in every pocket more powerful than they ever imagined at the time probably

[@TighelanderII]

I remember a cover of a Time magazine that came out a little later. I said that Gates was going to own the internet. A couple of years after that, another cover said that Microsoft was going to own Banking with its dot-something service. Things change so quickly and in unexpected ways.

[@photo2000]

Gates: There is one difference.... you can listen to the baseball game whenever you want.... Maybe Bill realised, Dave certainly didnt.... TV was next.

[@ultimaterelaxation6022]

David: "What is it that you did better and first that put you where you are today?" Bill: "We were the first to steal the technology from Xerox"

[@charles56737]

Yep once a crook always a crook.

[@mode1charlie170]

Then we ripped off the macintosh user interface.

[@muffinman5741]

It's mind blowing sometimes you forget how young the internet actually is.

[@MatthewMarcus]

This whole interview, Bill is thinking, "This idiot. He's playing Tic-Tac-Toe ... I'm playing WoW."

[@britney901]

Now every person has a computer in their pockets

[@RiversBliss]

and we have Nomophobia.

[@RiversBliss]

@@pashadyne Technophobia?

[@sandponics]

@@pashadyne Fear of having to use it is called Dumb,

[@Scottygthreethousand]

"We don't want them to think, do we?"

[@giova3026]

George Santos was there too. He said he actually was in same room as Gore and gave the idea of the internet via a post it. Impressive fellow.

[@dpactootle2522]

Well, we are watching Dave on that internet thing at whatever time we chose to

[@alfonsourquidez8871]

Yeah... I think this whole 'Internet' thing is gonna be huge.

[@sandponics]

Do you mean the Interwebs?

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I bought my first computer in 1999. It had 9 gigs of hard drive space and 156k of speed. I thought I'll never be able to use all of this! Now I have two terabytes of space (with room for more) and I've filled up half.

[@yiklinkhoo]

9 GB is massive. I remember finally getting my very first hard disk. 40MB. That's 0.04 GB. 0.04! And I thought that was huge compared to the 1.44 MB and 360 KB floppies!

[@sandponics]

I bought a new $10,000 Mac in 1996. Now I have 5 used Mac Pro's with 5 huge monitors that cost me a total of $380, with masses of software thrown in for free.

[@Wilfoe]

Fascinating looking back on this. Dad has the book they showed at the end. He said it was an interesting read and recommended I read it.

[@segueoyuri]

Dave: "So you can listen to a game whenever you want... Do tape recorders ring a bell" And here we are watching this interview without any tapes, on the internet hahahah

[@romeydall4067]

Dave seems a little too “aware” of the ‘troubled loner chat room’ on the internet. 5:00

[@tshandy1]

I was around at this time with similar questions about this thing people were calling "the internet." I remember one of my work colleagues telling me just how big the internet would end up being, and I thought at the time, he's probably exaggerating, like when he talks about all the women he's slept with. So okay, he was right, and I was wrong. Some of us in the mid nineties didn't see how important the internet would end up becoming.

[@sandponics]

You must be one of the guys I was speaking to in the early 1990's.

[@tshandy1]

@@sandponics - if you lived in Denver then, I may have been.

[@kleinkurti]

I think nobody, not even Bill, knew how the internet will be. They had big ideas, hopes and knew it will have a bright future. But the current state of the internet and its importance is unimaginable.

[@garywreaves]

I tell people all the time that 1997 was basically the first year of the digital age. That was the year when I first observed that most people had a PC at home and could connect to the internet by dialing up their ISP. That year changed everything. It changed the world. No one that I knew had a cell phone or a computer at home in 1996. 1996 was the final year of the "analog" age. And what a sweet year it was. I'm not a huge fan of the digital age.

[@DarkDruid7]

Bill unabashedly roasting Letterman. 4:48 Love the "woo!" from a guy in the audience after Bill's comment.

[@beuxjmusic]

Even if the Class Scheduling thing is just a joke, it would be a pretty classic one!

[@davidr4523]

What a life David Letterman has had in making hundreds of millions of dollars and interviewing the some of the most impressive and interesting people of from the last 40 years. I would rank him and Conan the best during their prime.

[@IAmLookingForwardToDeath]

It would be nice if he gave the guest time to answer his questions instead of jumping in with the next question before the guest has had time to answer the previous question. Somebody should have told him to pause after asking a question and allow the other person to speak. The interview should be allowed to breathe...

[@leonardodalongisland]

Does Johnny Carson ring a bell?

[@applescruff1969]

​@@leonardodalongisland Johnny Carson's kinda overrated. I get why he's praised (he made the late-night format what it is), but he was never the best interviewer.

[@leonardodalongisland]

@@applescruff1969 Thanks fio sharing your option.

[@davidr4523]

@@leonardodalongisland I have been watching some of Johnny Carson old interviews and although he is likeable he 1. Was not as funny as Letterman, Leno or Carson. 2. Johnny's skits were never very funny. 3. He did not ask his guest very good questions.

[@Littlescienceguy]

The stare Bill gave Dave after he said “This theater’s not that big Bill.” 🤣

[@BobTaile]

He was TRYING to think of something to say - his software let hom down. Typical M'soft

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

I'm 43 & I call Gen X the Translation Generation. We are the last generation that lived the old world lifestyle growing up. Knocked on doors, & stayed out late without a cell phone. No one knew where you were & you were perfectly safe. Then the other half of my life is like today... Boring. Distant. Whining. Just so much trolling. Back then no one trolled.