Just days after Microsoft creator Bill Gates spent his final day at the corporation he co-founded, a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 68% of adults have a favorable opinion of the multi-billionaire. Just 17% of adults have an unfavorable opinion of Gates.

Since starting Microsoft in 1975 with co-founder Paul Allen, Gates has been synonymous with the evolution of the personal computer. Gates chose to step down from his post on June 27 in order to refocus his energy on the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an organization dedicated to funding innovations in healthcare in the United States and around the world. Many wonder what the future of Microsoft will lead without Gates’ leadership and influence on the brand.

The same survey found that the majority of adults (59%) believe Gates has done more for the computer industry than his biggest rival, Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs. Just 8% think Jobs has done more for the computer industry overall.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of adults have a favorable view of Microsoft, while 16% share an unfavorable view. A Rasmussen poll conducted in February when news broke of a possible Microsoft-Yahoo merger found that 63% of adults had a favorable view of Microsoft, while 17% held an unfavorable view.

As for Jobs, just 38% have a favorable opinion of the CEO, while 19% have an unfavorable opinion of him.

Apple Inc, the name behind such products as the iPod, Mac computers and the iPhone, is viewed favorably by 63% of adults and unfavorably by 20%.

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