Updated 07 December 2001, 14.13

Bill is the man behind some of the most famous and successful computer products in history including Windows, Word, Internet Explorer and now the XBox.

The success of his company has caused jealousy amongst IT rivals, who believe that Microsoft has used unfair practices to ensure the success of their products.

But on his first trip to the UK for two years, Bill told Sarah that their success was due to "doing low-cost products and constantly improving those products."

If it wasn't for Microsoft, he said, there would be many people who would never have experienced computing.

Future ideas

He believes that major breakthroughs will keep happening - ranging from a tablet-sized PC, to a machine which "remembers what you're interested in so it can help you automatically".

However, he admitted the brilliant ideas from Microsoft don't come "from the top" anymore: on Friday he visited his research lab in Cambridge, where a lot of the futuristic developments now happen.

Christmas with the Gates

He also told Sarah about his Christmas with his two young children, and that he's mostly looking forward to getting traditional presents like books.

And when Sarah asked him what his PC was like, he confessed that it does crash.

But he turned even that to Microsoft's advantage.

"I get to the bottom of it every time and that's part of the passion that I and a lot of Microsoft people have. We want to make a tool that we want to use ourselves."

You can read Sarah's full interview by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

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