On Friday, April 26th Bill Gates and his wife Melissa French Gates             
 had their first child, a girl named Jennifer Katherine                         

 And what do Baby Gates and Daddy's products have in common?                    

  1. Neither can stand on its own two feet without a LOT of third               
     party support.                                                             

  2. As they mature, we pray that they will be better than that                 
     which preceeded them.                                                      

  3. At first release they're relatively compact, but they seem to              
     grow and grow and grow with each passing year.                             

  4. Although announced with great fanfare, pretty much anyone                  
     could have produced one.                                                   

  5. They arrive in shaky condition with inadequate documentation.              

  6. No matter what, it takes several months between the                        
     announcement and the actual release.                                       

  7. Bill gets the credit, but someone else did most of the work.               

  8. Someone at Apple is the *real* father.                                     

  9. Now CEOs throughout the industry will be scrambling to have                
     kids of their own.                                                         

 10. In a few years there will actually be someone named Gates who              
     understands the Internet.                                                  

 11. Kid's actual name is "Microsoft Child for Windows".                        

 12. Microsoft will soon claim it is the innovator and market                   
     leader in giving birth to children.                                        

 13. Neither will be _that_ much better in '97.                                 

 14. New package based on very old and well-understood technology.              

 15. They don't show signs of clear focus.                                      

 16. Regardless of the problem, calling Microsoft Tech Support                  
     won't help.                                                                

 17. The initial aspects of the development process are unpleasant              
     to think about.                                                            

 18. They're more attractive if you put them into a bundle.