It was at lakeside school where Bill met Paul Allen, who was to years his senior.
The two became fast friends, bonding on their common enthusiasm over computers, even though they were very different.
Allen was more reserved and shy.
Bill was feisty and at times combative.
They both spent much of their free time together working on programs.
Occasionally, they disagreed and would clash over who was right or who should run the computer lab.
On one occasion, Gate and Allen had their school computer privileges revoked for taking advantage of software glitches to obtain free computer time from the company that provided the computer.
After their probation, they were allowed back in the computer lab when they offered to debug the program. During this time, Gates developed a payroll program for the computer company the boys hacked into, and a scheduling program for the school.