Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, one of the most pivotal figures in computing history, will deliver the keynote address on Tuesday, November 15, 8:30 a.m. at the SC|05 Conference in Seattle. “We are especially honored to have someone of Bill Gates' stature serve as our keynote speaker this year," said SC|05 Conference Chair Bill Kramer, general manager of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing. "His efforts have resulted in bringing affordable computing to businesses and households worldwide, and we believe his comments will be a compelling kickoff to the conference technical program.” Under Gates' leadership, Microsoft's mission has been to continuously advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier and more cost-effective for people to use computers. The company invests billions of dollars each year in software research and development. In 1999 Gates wrote Business @ the Speed of Thought, a book that shows how computer technology can solve business problems in fundamentally new ways. The book was published in 25 languages and is available in more than 60 countries. Gates' previous book, The Road Ahead, published in 1995, held the No. 1 spot on the New York Times' bestseller list for seven weeks. He has also written numerous articles, most recently “The PC Era is Just Beginning,” in Business Week, and “The Enduring Magic of Software,” in InformationWeek. While at Harvard in the 1970s, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer - the MITS Altair. In his junior year, Gates left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he founded in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers. Gates also founded Corbis, a comprehensive digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe. He is a member of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which invests in companies engaged in diverse business activities. Gates and his wife, Melinda, have endowed a foundation with more than $29 billion to support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning.