Ctrl+Alt-Del: The mistake-fixer that was…well, a mistake

Bill Gates has revealed some insights behind the three-finger log-in that wasn’t exactly planned.

Ctrl+Alt-Del: The mistake-fixer that was…well, a mistake

Chances are, you use a Windows computer. Even if you have made the switch to another operating system, you’ve probably used a Windows computer at some point in your career.

For years, we’ve all sat down and our desks and made the three-finger key stroke that is Ctrl+Alt+Del before typing in our password and getting to work…we’ve also used it to try and fix things when everything has gone horribly wrong (before giving the IT guys a buzz).

Speaking at Harvard, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, was asked “Why when I want to turn on my software and computer I need three fingers … whose idea was that?”

With a grin across his face, Gates explained that they wanted one button originally.

“Because when you turn your computer on you’re going to see some screens and eventually type your password in, you want to have something on the keyboard that singles to a very low level of the software … we could’ve had a single button, but the guy who did the IBM keyboard design didn’t want to give us a single button,” he explained.

“…It was a mistake.”

 

To watch the full interview, click here.