Friday, 16 June, 2006

By Gavin Esler
Presenter, BBC Newsnight

Presented by Gavin Esler

BillWorld

Exeunt pursued by an annoying animated paperclip?

Imagine the world without Microsoft.

It's not easy, if you have anything to do with computers.

Now we're going to have to imagine Microsoft without Bill Gates, who is leaving to spend more time with his charity work.

We'll devote a big slice of tonight's programme to the Harvard drop-out who came up with Windows and changed our world.

Is Microsoft too powerful? And will its founder be remembered - like Andrew Carnegie - less as a ruthlessly competitive businessman and more as a philanthropist?

Saudi Arms

In a Newsnight exclusive report a former Defence minister admits that Britain's arms sales to Saudi Arabia were founded on bribery.

Lord Gilmour who was Minister and then Secretary of State for Defence in the 1970s admits "You either got the business and bribed or you didn't bribe and didn't get the business."

Peter Marshall's report reveals a number of hitherto secret government memos, which make interesting reading.