Melinda Gates On Apple Ban: 'Nothing Crosses The Threshold Of Our Doorstep'

Melinda Gates, the wife of Microsoft chairman and co-founder Bill Gates, was interviewed by Deborah Solomon in the New York Times' magazine this past Sunday.

Asked whether she owns an iPad, allows her children to use iPods, and if her husband uses an Apple computer, Gates answered no to all of the above and also revealed a ban on Apple products in her household.

The exchange, via the New York Times, was as follows:

Do you own an iPod, which is made by Apple? No, I have a Zune.

What if one of your children says, "Mom, I have to have an iPod?"
I have gotten that argument -- "You may have a Zune."

Do you have an iPad?
Of course not.

Is it true that Bill works on an Apple laptop?
False. Nothing crosses the threshold of our doorstep.

Isn't there room in this world for both Apple and Microsoft?
Microsoft certainly makes products for the Macintosh. Go talk to Bill.

In 2008, Tom Brokaw asked Bill Gates whether he owned an iPod. Gates' response was similar to his wife's: "No, I don't. I happen to have what's called a Zune. It's an even better way of carrying your music around," he explained.

Are you surprised to learn of the Apple ban? Do you think it's justified or silly? Weigh in below.

Comments

[ZeraLee]

12:20 AM on 10/29/2010

Bill Gates does not believe in fair competition, which is why the court found Microsoft to be "an abusive monopoly" and the industry called they "the evil empire".

"Nothing crosses the threshold of our doorstep." says to me that the prohibition is not limited to immediate family and household staff.

[MaryIndy]

01:36 PM on 10/28/2010

I don't know why this would surprise anyone familiar with the tech world. Also don't know why it's newsworthy.

[DeSwiss]

11:03 PM on 10/27/2010

Of course they own Apple products. But they'd never admit it. ;-)

[abuja19]

07:19 PM on 10/27/2010

Ah, brand loyalty. Always a good thing. Me personally, I'm ok with a little mixing the brands. A PC, iPod, MS office and I'm good.

[YvonneH]

06:09 PM on 10/27/2010

The Gates household is definitely missing out on a superior product....

[mrblifil]

02:36 PM on 10/27/2010

More pertinent would have been to ask if the Gates family uses the internet, which was a development wholly and completely unforeseen by Microsoft, and will eventually render their dominance of so-called "operating systems" an obsolete anachronism.

[JasonMcl]

06:00 PM on 10/27/2010

So he should buy his competitors product for use in his home? For what reason?

[StephenMaurer]

01:06 PM on 10/27/2010

What kind of opinion are we supposed to have on this? It's like asking the CEO of Budweiser whether he drinks Coors. Like punkgnome said, it's asinine to the nth degree.

[Alvin Voider]

11:24 AM on 10/27/2010

They can do whatever they want. Lots of people don't have an Apple device, in any form. It only makes sense that the Gates' wouldn't, under the circumstances. Apple is one of their primary rivals. It would be like Henry Ford driving a Chevy; it just ain't gonna happen. I'm perfectly o.k. with that, too, particularly since their fortune was made at Microsoft and most of that fortune is being donated to charity. I'm hardly going to argue with them over their choice of device brands.

[Rich McLafferty]

07:54 AM on 10/27/2010

what a dumb comment ...how do you learn about the competition if you don't use their products...a good reason why Microsoft is lagging Apple in overall customer experience.

[Alvin Voider]

11:28 AM on 10/27/2010

Rich, there are obviously lots of Apple devices on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, including Macs (testing purposes, supposedly). But not in the Gate's personal household. Big difference.

[JasonMcl]

06:03 PM on 10/27/2010

Bill Gates has been retired from Microsoft for quite some time now, so what happens in his personal household doesn't necessarily impact the customer experience of Microsoft.

Furthermore, he and Melinda do still run the worlds largest charity, which is what they were talking about before the reporter asked her what toys her family plays with.

[KidSampson]

07:04 AM on 10/28/2010

But their charity requires that its beneficiaries use only Microsoft products. That's a much more serious issue.

[JamesBondQuixote]

04:28 AM on 10/27/2010

Well, duh! Would the CEO of GMC have a Toyota in his garage?

[Eric Courer]

11:38 PM on 10/26/2010

I find this a hilarious family tidbit. It makes perfect sense though. OSX is the best in terms of usability but windows is better in terms of variety of programs. Their both great OSs.

[Doonbuggie41]

10:37 PM on 10/26/2010

Apple fan boys have the same rule but its no Microsoft.

[ivypachamama]

10:04 PM on 10/26/2010

Even Melinda Gates does not have the perfect life : http://huff.to/dnFpaA

[Robert MacEwan]

05:03 PM on 10/26/2010

Doesn't forcing Microsoft products on children constitute child abuse?

[DavefromOregon]

04:03 PM on 10/26/2010

If I had their money, I could afford to deal with second rate technology at home. Alas, I have needed to rely on Apple and Ubuntu in order to make things work.

[Eric Courer]

11:35 PM on 10/26/2010

Ubuntu is hardly a first rate operating system. It also costs nothing so money doesn't really matter in that case. People don't use it because its too complicated and lacking in programs. Its worse then osx in that respect.