Allen's interest in computer science began at an early age when his father, a librarian at the University of Washington library, gave him easy access to books on the subject, and by the time he was 14, he was obsessed with computers, spending almost all his time in the school's computer room playing with the equipment and learning to write programs, and logically interacting with another computer fanatic at school, another computer fanatic at the University of Washington, who was also a student at the University of Washington, who was a student at the University of Washington. It was only natural that he became friends with Bill Gates, another computer enthusiast at the school, who was only 12 years old. The two spent their days talking about computer programming and even competing against each other. 1971 saw Allen enrolled at Washington State University, but dropped out after two years. The reason was simple: he wanted to fulfill his dream of starting his own software business.
Allen knew that to realize this dream, he could not rely on himself, and soon he went to Gates, who was in his second year at Harvard, and tried to persuade the latter to drop out of school and start a business with him. After several rejections, Gates was finally persuaded by his "idea of writing commercial software for personal computers". "The whole thing was decided almost at the drop of a hat," even Gates said, "If Alan hadn't impressed me with his blueprints, I would have stayed in college, and all the stories that followed wouldn't have happened, and I wondered if I hadn't been too impulsive. "
They began by trying to write a programming language called Basic for the first minicomputer, the Altair, which became a success in 1975, and Allen was hired by MIT to write a program for the Apple II personal computer and the Apple II personal computer, as well as the Apple II personal computer and the Apple II personal computer. s Apple II personal computer and Radio Shake's TRS-80 computer. Microsoft, which Allen co-founded with Gates***, was also founded that year (1975). When Allen made the purchase of the QDOS operating system for $50,000, they finally won the opportunity to work with IBM. A few years later, the DOS operating system became the PC of choice, and the PC era began.
The two founders' cooperation can be said to be quite tacit, Allen focused on new technologies and ideas, while Gates was business-oriented, salesman, technology leader, lawyer, business negotiator and president of his one person to take all the responsibility. Unfortunately, Windows had not yet arrived, Allen left the soft company in 1983 due to illness.
A year later, Allen, who had regained his health, basically stopped asking questions about Microsoft's affairs, leaving only a position on the board of directors and owning 28 percent of the shares. From that year on, he embarked on a wide-ranging investment program of his own. From the initial establishment of Asymetrix Software, Sum Total System, and most recently Vulcan Investments, he has invested more than billions of dollars in companies such as ESPN, DreamWorks, the Institute of Extraterrestrial Biology, the Human Brain Institute, NBA teams, real estate, museums, and last year's private space program, and so on, all of which have received his investment. In addition, he is passionate about public service and philanthropy.
Gates once said, "Allen was quite important in the creation and development of Microsoft, which would not have existed without him, and his input will continue to be highly valued." But it's true that Allen was not a great manager or operator compared with Gates's eloquence. He has personally invested in and controlled more than 150 companies and organizations in almost every field, but the return on his investments has been pitifully small. As Laura Ritchie, author of Accidentally Making Billions (a biography featuring Allen), points out, "He was not a good manager because he prioritized not the business but his obsession with technology itself." Even Business Week had no qualms about naming him one of the "lamest managers" in the US. He doesn't take this personally, and continues to do what he loves, as in the lyrics of his song "Time Bomb": "Everything I do may be wrong, but I'll still be fighting."