“Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates outlined his vision for the
future of computing and his company’s role in it at the Spring
Comdex trade show yesterday, while Linux creator Linus Torvalds
spoke minutes later, criticizing the shortcomings of the Redmond
giant.”
“Their presentations were a study in contrasts. Gates filled the
6,000 seats of the convention center’s main auditorium and featured
a multimedia presentation complete with an elevating stage for
Microsoft’s product demonstrations.”
“Torvalds packed a conference room lit with fluorescent lights.
The room seated about 750, though 200 additional people filled the
aisles. Torvalds’ presentation, which he largely ignored to take
questions shouted from the crowd, was displayed on a large
projection screen. The crowd, mainly disciples of the upstart
operating system, started the Wave while they waited for the speech
to start.”