Newsmakers

Walking off: The most famous nerd in the country met the famous TV anchorwoman in the nation yesterday - and Bill Gates walked out on her.

CBS's Connie Chung was asking Gates about his business and personal life during a 13-minute taped segment of her "Eye to Eye" show when the billionaire chairman of Microsoft Corp. abruptly ended an interview in his office.

But it wasn't her questions about his wealth or his new wife, Microsoft manager Melinda French, that set Gates off. He got angry when Chung repeated a statement from a competitor comparing Gates' style of business to a street fight.

"Why be a mouthpiece for that silliness?" Gates asked Chung before announcing, "Well, I'm done."

Gates refused Chung's request to continue, stood up and took off his microphone. A moment later, the cameras showed Gates berating Chung for repeating the charges of Gary Clow, president of Stac Electronics Inc. That firm recently won a $120 million judgment against Microsoft for using Stac technology.

"A lot of people make the analogy that competing with Bill Gates is like playing hardball," Clow said on the show. "I'd say it's more like a knife fight."