One way to peek into technology's crystal ball last month was to take a winding road into a cedar forest in the Pacific Northwest to seek out one of tech's top thinkers. A sunny Thursday afternoon found him waiting alone behind the gate of his secluded cottage.
"Hi, thanks for coming," said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, appearing eager for company after four days alone at the waterfront cottage. He was there for his "Think Week," a seven-day stretch of seclusion he uses to ponder the future of technology and then propagate those thoughts across the Microsoft empire.
It's a twice-yearly ritual that can influence the future of Microsoft and the tech industry. A Think Week thought can give the green light to a new technology that millions of people will use, or send Microsoft into new markets.
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