Nick,
I have a lot of good feelings for Bill Gates, Windows, and Microsoft. I began using home computers back when it was a crap shoot (with poor odds) whether ANY piece of hardware or software would work with your computer. I have boxes and boxes of hardware and software for DOS (in all its versions) and for OSs and computers that predate the "IBM-PC", that never worked and whose makers never supported their products.
When Windows came along (with all its faults) you could look at some add-on for your computer and if it said "Certified to work with Windows", then you had a really good chance that it WOULD work, and you could operate it without reference to any manual. I'm a big fan of standards - make it to this specification, with these menus, with these features, and you can put this sticker on your product.
Windows has had its ups and downs since those days, and I'm using a Mac for most of my computing these days, but I still feel grateful to Microsoft for leading out that particular bandwagon (standards for software and hardware).
Oh, and Happy New Year to you as well. (And all the rest of the KiteLife gang.)