Until Americans feel that their core asset - their homes - are stabilized, they are not going to have the animal spirits and they will continue to have less buying power.

Downturns are the best time to start businesses because you develop discipline that's very lean and mean in terms of how to spend money. And those habits serve you very well in good times.

When you bring an idea that has no merit to me, and you ask me to comment on it, I'm going to tell you it has no merit.

People say that I can't speak French. C'est pas vraiment placé. I'm getting better every day. I just have to keep practising. That's the truth.

I see negotiations as an honest attempt to reach a deal that's great for everyone at the table. But sometimes, for whatever reason, that's impossible. You need to accept that possibility-don't make a deal for the sake of making a deal. If you do, chances are it will fall apart later anyway, with costs and headaches for everyone involved. And once you walk away, don't come back.

For whatever reason somebody can be convinced to buy a PC, it opens up a whole new market for all of us in the software business.

Money has no grey areas. You either make it or you lose it.