The Gates plot thickens...
In case you missed the buzz, there's a movie in the making -- a la "who shot JFK" -- about the aftermath of a fictitious assassination of Microsoft's chairman. It's due to debut at a cinema near you some time next year.
Suspend judgement for a moment, as to whether the director and producers committed an ethical no-no by spoofing Gates' death. After all, many would argue, the richest man in the world is a public person, and thus, fair game as the subject of National Enquirer rumors, South Park jokes and Doonesbury humor.
Instead, think conspiracy theories. In two weeks, GMD Studios, the folks behind the "MacArthur Park" Gates movie, are planning to launch a Web site at the URL billgatesisdead.com, where movie buffs can kick around ideas as to who shot Bill Gates and why.
But why let film folk have all the fun? Those of us who've devolved into the unofficial Microsoft Historical Society -- we who've watched the Redmond juggernaut steam-roll its way to a PC operating system monopoly -- are as qualified, if not more so, than anyone else to offer our two cents here.
Was there a lone gunman, a radical hoping to avenge the working class by killing the richest man in the world -- the central premise of the "MacArthur Park" film? Was it the butler in the pantry with a crowbar?
Nah. The Gates plot deserves to be a lot jucier than this. Here are some of my best conspiracy theories:
* DOJ lawyer David Boies, despondent over his inability to work his magic for Al "Hanging Chad" Gore, decided he needed at least one win under his belt. Knowing a Bush-led administration would be inclined to let the DOJ vs. Microsoft antitrust case die a quiet death, Boies took matters into his own hands. Did you really think those millions of pages of exhibits in the Microsoft trial accidentally toppled onto Gates as he meandered in the file room?
* Open-source backer and gunslinger Eric Raymond, ever ready to engage in pistol practice, had his fill of Gates & Co. The man who published the infamous "Halloween Memos" two years ago, in which he exposed Microsoft's planned strategy to blunt the impact of Linux, decided it was time to give Linux a permanent leg up over Windows. Think William Tell...
* Gates' nemesis, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison had tried everything to push Bill from his spot as world's richest man. Posing as a D.C. garbage man and riffling through antitrust trial docs in search of a smoking gun didn't work. Flying his Russian MIG and dropping tons of Oracle literature on Gates' office on the Redmond campus didn't get bad-boy Larry anywhere. As the two squared off in a programmer's duel at midnight, the outcome was anyone's guess...
Give it your best shot. Think conspiracy. Think Microsoft. The possibilities are endless. Submit your favorites as TalkBacks below and may the best plot win!