As many of you know, Bill Gates will be stepping down this week from his day-to-day duties at Microsoft. The blogosphere has been going nuts about it. This is for sure the end of an era. Some have even gone as far as saying this is the end of the on-premise era. Ironically enough, Gates is still going to spend time working with Windows Live division (the part of Microsoft that competes with Google).

Despite all the criticism of Microsoft being stagnant and old, I don’t think any of us can deny Bill’s tremendous accomplishments and impact as a software entrepreneur.

Here’s a round-up of the coverage for Bill’s retirement.

But first I have a little personal story of my own. As an intern at Microsoft, I often heard of many Bill G stories. One that stuck out the most was from a friend of mine who worked in Microsoft Research. Bill is known to be a super sharp, no BS type of boss. My friend and his team had to present their latest research to Bill himself. This was known as a Bill G review, and this is where your work is prodded, scrutinized and questioned by Bill himself. Teams dread the day they have to present to Bill. Most spend months preparing only to be left crying after Bill abuses them with difficult questions. When I asked my friend how it went, he responded with:

” Good! Bill only said the F-Word once!”

Below is a video you must watch. It’s a funny spoof about Bill’s retirement created by Microsoft. Most of you’ll have seen it. If not, it’s very funny and worth watching.

This is the official video released by Microsoft. A great video, that goes through his younger years and has interviews with people like his dad, sister, classmate and 1st admin assistant. It’s good, kinda heart warming too …

A long interview with Bill himself on Channel 9.

Fortune has an amazing special report with rare photographs and commentary with Bill. Click here.

Some more good videos by Fortune. Gates: A Tough Boss
Life Without Bill

Finally a great article with a good summary of the last couple of months and where Microsoft is heading.

Thanks Bill! Best of luck with your work at the foundation.