His fight against disease certainly does a lot to redeem him in my eyes. I was never a fan of him in his Microsoft days, and I'm still not a fan of Microsoft or their products, though they stand out less today because the other Big Tech companies are just as bad in various ways. Remember when we all loved Google and Apple? Windows is still terrible, though, and not fulfilling the promise of what should be possible with computers.

I also remember how we laughed when his Encarta encyclopedia tried to sell Bill Gates as widely known as a philanthropist. It wasn't true then, but it is true now. He certainly deserves that credit.