1975年4月4日，比爾·蓋茨和保羅·艾倫創辦了一家名為微軟的小公司。你可能從那裡瞭解到這樣一個故事：蓋茨後來成為世界上最富有的人，然後逐漸退出公司，透過比爾&amp；梅琳達·蓋茨基金會(如果你錯過了，蓋茨今年2月特邀編輯了《邊緣》雜誌，討論了許多慈善專案。）但蓋茨在微軟的工作還遠遠沒有結束；去年，薩蒂婭·納德拉（Satya Nadella）接任微軟執行長後，蓋茨表示，他將在公司扮演更重要的角色——用多達三分之一的時間為微軟員工提供新產品的建議。

蓋茨今天致函微軟員工，慶祝公司成立40週年。這封信由Amit Choudhary釋出在Twitter上，訊息人士幾乎證實了它的真實性。

Tomorrow is a special day: Microsoft's 40th anniversary.

Early on, Paul Allen and I set the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home. It was a bold idea and a lot of people thought we were out of our minds to imagine it was possible. It is amazing to think about how far computing has come since then, and we can all be proud of the role Microsoft played in that revolution.

Today though, I am thinking much more about Microsoft's future than its past. I believe computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before. We already live in a multi-platform world, and computing will become even more pervasive. We are nearing the point where computers and robots will be able to see, move, and interact naturally, unlocking many new applicati*** and empowering people even more.

Under Satya's leadership, Microsoft is better positioned than ever to lead these advances. We have the resources to drive and solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry. In my role as technical advisor to Satya, I get to join product reviews and am impressed by the vision and talent I see. The result is evident in products like Cortana, Skype Translator, and HoloLens -- and those are just a few of the many innovati*** that are on the way.

In the coming years, Microsoft has the opportunity to reach even more people and organizati*** around the world. Technology is still out of reach for many people, because it is complex or expensive, or they simply do not have access. So I hope you will think about what you can do to make the power of technology accessible to everyone, to connect people to each other, and make personal computing available everywhere even as the very notion of what a PC delivers makes its way into all devices.

We have accomplished a lot together during our first 40 years and empowered countless businesses and people to realize their full potential. But what matters most now is what we do next. Thank you for helping make Microsoft a fantastic company now and for decades to come.

邊緣影片：比爾·蓋茨談2030年世界將如何改變