---------- Bill Gates is hanging out with the chairman of General Motors.

"If aoutomotive technology had kept pace with computer technology over the past few decades, " boasts Gates, "you would now be driving a V-32 instead of a V-8, and it would have a top speed of 10, 000 miles per hour." Bill Gates continued, "Or, you could have an economy car that weighs 30 pounds and gets a thousand miles to a gallon of gas. In either case, the sticker price of a new car would be less than 50.

" In response to all this goading, the GM chairman replied, "Yes, but would you really want to drive a car that crashes four times a day."