Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era

Amazon.com

Like other "totemic firms" of recent years, Microsoft attained astounding power and profitability in stunningly short order--along with a slew of rivals who desperately wanted it broken into less threatening pieces. Few really believed it would happen when the U.S. Department of Justice first began looking into its operations, however, which made the eventual judgment against the company even more significant. "The humbling of Microsoft is the last great business story of the 20th century and the first great riddle of the 21st," writes John Heilemann in Pride Before the Fall, his insightful examination of the epic antitrust battle that began as a Wired magazine cover story. "There are fancier ways of putting it," he adds, "but the riddle is: how did it happen?" In the pages that follow, Heilemann examines the behind-the-scenes machinations that drove United States v. Microsoft, based largely on exclusive interviews he conducted with Bill Gates and his top lieutenants, Justice Department prosecutor Joel Klein, special trial counsel (and lead Democratic Florida recount litigator) David Boies, Intel chief Andy Grove, Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy, and various "unknown soldiers" who arguably played the biggest role of all. With Microsoft's future still uncertain, Pride helps reset the tone in a case that will shape our high-tech future. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

John Heilemann's Pride Before the Fall uncovers the secret history of the antitrust trial that shook an economy: United States v. Microsoft. Drawing on years of reporting -- including extensive interviews with Gates and other top Microsoft executives, Justice Department trustbuster Joel Klein, superlitigator David Boies, Intel chief Andy Grove, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy, and scores of lesser-known but pivotal players -- Heilemann lays bare the chaotic confluence of forces that shattered Microsoft's aura of invincibility and the climate of fear that held an industry in thrall.

Based on an acclaimed Wired magazine cover story, Pride Before the Fall is packed with rich personalities, dramatic scenes, and explosive revelations. It tells the stories of the largely unknown men and women who turned their opposition to Gates's company into a crusade, laboring for years to persuade the government to indict Microsoft for its monopolistic practices. Pride Before the Fall explains in compelling detail how the high-tech kingpins whose businesses Gates had tried to destroy or strong-arm (Netscape, Apple, Sun, and even Intel) worked in secret to help the Justice Department bring down Microsoft. It explores the lasting damage the trial has inflicted on the first great empire of the Information Age. And Heilemann offers a vivid and sometimes shocking portrait of Gates himself -- describing a man who in 1993 told his friends, "I have as much power as the president," only to be thrown into rage and depression a few years later, when he discovered just how wrong he'd been.

Like a figure from Greek tragedy, Heilemann writes, Gates sowed the seeds of his own undoing. From lengthy visits to Redmond before, during, and after the trial, Heilemarnn paints a picture of a culture that can only be described as the Cult of Bill, a culture that had few limits when it came to eviscerating the competition, a culture that grew out of Gates's fiercely single-minded determination to keep Microsoft from meeting the fate of a company that he had studied, admired, rivaled, and then surpassed: IBM. But when that culture came under scrutiny on Capitol Hill, in the halls of the Justice Department, and in the courtroom of Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, it provoked a verdict far harsher than anyone could have predicted -- and guaranteed for Microsoft the very fate that Gates had struggled so desperately to avoid.

With Pride Before the Fall, John Heilemann confirms his reputation as one of Silicon Valley's most talented and respected journalists. Years of inside access to the Valley's boardrooms have given him a unique understanding of the technology industry, just as his years as a reporter in Washington have informed his grasp of the political currents that swept the U.S. government into a battle it never wanted to fight. But what sets Pride Before the Fall apart isn't simply Heilemann's mastery of the dynamics of business, public policy, and the law. This superbly gifted writer has also given us a revelatory tale of human ambition and human frailty -- a timely saga of arrogance, ruthlessness, and revenge.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book on Microsoft anti-trust trial.......2007-05-21

This book puts out a lot of factual information while keeping the read interesting. I've used this in a college ethics class, and most students liked it. I know of an attorney's office that used it to familiarize their staff with the case.

The book is biased against Microsoft, but shows enough of their side that it doesn't come across as a shallow review. Lot's of interviews keep the book interesting.

An excellent analysis of the case.......2001-08-26

Heilemann has done a fabulous job with this book. The Wired article was really gripping and the full length book is just as difficult to put down! It really makes you wonder what they're thinking in Redmond - at the end of the book I couldn't help feeling that Gates (as Heilemann presents him) seems a lot like Mr. Burns in the Simpsons episode where Lisa teaches him about recycling and he ends 'recycling' all the fish in the sea for livestock feed. He couldn't figure out why he was wrong and Gates seems to have the same difficulty.

whiny.......2001-06-09

This book is more of a whine session than an informative look into the microsoft case. Poor writing and questionable facts make this book impossible to read. Save your money!

Save Your Money.......2001-05-15

This book was more than "based on" the Wired article, it was the Wired article. I read both the article and the book, and in my opinion there was very little added to the book. I would suggest buying the Wired Magazine that had this article, ... .

Excluding that, the book was well written and entertaining, but somewhat disappointing. The amount of access the author had provided great visibility into the trial, but I felt the author squandered that information. There was very little analysis, and often the author missed humorous/interesting snippets that other books/articles had picked up (e.g. in "The New New Thing" and Upside's news coverage of the trial).

This book felt more like a synapse or a chronology, and it left me wanting more...

Wow, What a Thoroughly Great Book.......2001-05-11

No superlative is adequate to describe the high quality of this incisive reporting. How did this author ever stitch all of this story together? Incredible sources, great insights, and to think Gates almost pulled off the monopolistic crime of the century! Thank you U.S. government for protecting us from this abuse. Thank you John for taking time out of your busy schedule to clue the rest of us in to how this proud giant was humbled, for his own good.

Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire

Average customer rating:

Intense, highly relevant
Great tracking of a complex personality....
critical, but admiring: a balanced book, if outdated
love your protagonist.
Pretty good read

Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire
James Wallace , and Jim Erickson
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America
Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy
The Microsoft Way
Microsoft Secrets: How the World's Most Powerful Software Company Creates Technology, Shapes Markets and Manages People
Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World's Most Colorful Company

ASIN: 0887306292

Amazon.com

Hard Drive charts Gates's missteps as well as his successes: the failure of OS/2 and the embarrassing delays in bringing Windows to the marketplace; the highly publicized split with IBM, which then forged an alliance with Apple to battle Microsoft; the public relations fallout over various exploits of Gates; and the investigations by the Federal Trade Commission. Wallace and Erickson also examine the combative, often abrasive side of Gates's personality that has alienated many of Microsoft's rivals and even employees, and led to his being labeled "The Silicon Bully" by Business Month Magazine. They report:

In the early 80's, Microsoft's Multiplan lost out to Lotus 1-2-3 in the marketplace. According to one Microsoft programmer, a few of the key people working on DOS 2.0 had a saying at the time that "DOS isn't done until Lotus won't run." They managed to code a few hidden bugs into DOS 2.0 that caused Lotus 1-2-3 to breakdown when it was loaded. "There were as few as three or four people who knew this was being done," the employee said. He felt the highly competitive Gates was the ringleader.

The first two female executives hired at Microsoft in 1985 were recruited to meet federal affirmative action guidelines so that the company could qualify for a lucrative Air Force contract. One source says,"They would say, 'Well, let's hire two women because we can pay them half as much as we will have to pay a man, and we can give them all this other crap work to do because they are women.' That's directly out of Bill's mouth...." Gates treated one of these executives so badly that she asked to be transferred away from him.

Microsoft managers used the company's e-mail system to secretly spy on employee work habits. Only those employees who worked weekends could collect bonuses. In time word got out and some employees logged into their e-mail on weekends with a modem from home so it would appear they had come in.

Book Description

The true story behind the rise of a tyrannical genius, how he
transformed an industry, and why everyone is out to get him.

In this fascinating exposé, two investigative reporters trace the hugely successful career of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Part entrepreneur, part enfant terrible, Gates has become the most powerful -- and feared -- player in the computer industry, and arguably the richest man in America. In Hard Drive, investigative reporters Wallace and Erickson follow Gates from his days as an unkempt thirteen-year-old computer hacker to his present-day status as a ruthless billionaire CEO. More than simply a "revenge of the nerds" story though, this is a balanced analysis of a business triumph, and a stunningly driven personality. The authors have spoken to everyone who knows anything about Bill Gates and Microsoft -- from childhood friends to employees and business rivals who reveal the heights, and limits, of his wizardry. From Gates's singular accomplishments to his equally extraordinary brattiness, arrogance, and hostility (the atmosphere is so intense at Microsoft that stressed-out programmers have been known to ease the tension of their eighty-hour workweeks by exploding homemade bombs), this is a uniquely revealing glimpse of the person who has emerged as the undisputed king of a notoriously brutal industry.

Customer Reviews:

Intense, highly relevant.......2007-07-21

Delightful book. Its one flaw is its addictiveness, I couldn't put it down which did cost me sleep (I'm an IT professional with an entrepreneur spirit- your results may vary).

The Microsoft/Gates biography is impeccable in its wealth of interesting details and engaging story-telling.

Bill Gates is a fantastic decision maker. He would be as successful selling water or space suits, he just happened to be at the right time in the right booming industry and pushed with his business-business mentality to the limit. Right decision after right decision, the Microsoft journey is a story that any entrepreneur should nitpick and absorb as much as possible.

Of course, his terrible capitalistic drive is a perfect subject for a discussion on morals, social responsibility and related matters, but without a doubt when it comes to maximizing outcome while playing by our economic rules, Hard Drive tells a tale of epic proportions featuring a superhero / villain that rivals the best of science fiction.

Great tracking of a complex personality...........2007-05-13

This is the definitive Book about Bill Gates (and the history of Windows). It covers all the management aspects of how he drove Microsoft and how the work became his life. The man doesn't do business... He LIVES it. And this book describes it in very much detail.

The details includes how Bill "turned over" IBM... Promissing them the OS/2 under the "NT Technology" flag and how he realeased Windows 95 and killed IBM forever from the Desktop business. It also shows Gates apreciation for Older woman (and many that took him to bed). As part of this "private" package, it also explains the problems that He had with Steve Ballmer. How Ballmer was showing poor management and leadership under Gates perspective and how Ballmer got over it and made his loyalty to Gates forever.

I was more interested on the part that explains how Microsoft Windows 1.0 was developed. How disastrous the first Office was compared to the competition and how they managed to "work around" and fix it, by "coping" the competition and improving it "the Microsoft way".

Buy this if you want to know how business can be done... or be "copied".

critical, but admiring: a balanced book, if outdated.......2007-05-03

This is really a story of how Gates led Microsoft to its apex, ending in about 1992. It is well written and a good balance bewteen criticism, an explanation of the business model, and historical detail. The story is, to put it mildly, remarkable no matter what you think of MS and Gates.

While a student at Harvard in December, 1974, Bill Gates III and Paul Allen informed Ed Roberts by telephone that they had invented a BASIC computer language for the MITS Altair 8080, which was the first "personal computer" kit for hobbyists. Could they license it along with each Altair kit, Gates asked, to customers for a royalty fee? It was an audacious proposal, because not only had Gates and Allen invented no such thing, but they neither owned an Altair kit nor did they even know the technical specifications for the Intel 8080 chip. Skeptical of their claim, Roberts replied that whoever demonstrated a working BASIC would win the account: Gates and Allen were in competition, he told them, with 50 other "geeks" who already had made the same claim. Gates and Allen then hunkered down for 8 weeks to write the first BASIC for a microcomputer. The resulting "software", which immediately won over Roberts, was the first application of what would become Microsoft BASIC. Gates was 19.

As the company founders, Gates and Allen shared a vision that virtually every home and every office desk would eventually have a PC on them, all operating with their software. To run Microsoft full time, Gates dropped out of Harvard in January, 1977. Their business quickly expanded beyond the Altair as competing brands of personal computers emerged, including the Tandy from Radio Shack and the Apple II computer; they were also called upon to program BASIC into a number of other electronic devices. All along, Gates' goal was to gain market share, in effect setting the software standard for most, if not all, PC users. As a true believer who intimately knew the product, Gates was the principal salesman, while Allen concentrated on technical development.

During this formative period, Microsoft's corporate culture was established. Perhaps as a result of hiring many of his programmers straight out of university, Microsoft's offices (and later the campus in Redmond, Washington) took on the look and feel of a college campus, that is, an informal and a freewheeling intellectual atmosphere with "late hours, loud music, walls full of junk, anything goes dress, Coke, adrenaline, unbuttoned behavior." Employees tended to be very young with a programmer or engineering mentality; they designed their products for tech-savvy customers - male in their early 20s - like themselves, a kind of fellowship for computer adepts. Like Gates, they loved to play with and program electronic gadgets.

Microsoft hired the brightest programmers with demonstrated practical abilities. Employees were also expected to work extremely long hours as a team toward a common goal, not as strident individualists. Gates encouraged them to develop their entrepreneurial passions, forcefully advancing their own ideas of useful products for new markets. Overseeing it all was Gates, who gained the reputation of a harsh and challenging critic with a relentless drive for excellence, whether to beat the competition or out of fear of falling behind in such a fast-changing industry. As the sole remaining founder after Allen's departure in 1983, Gates remained deeply involved in both technical and business details as well as the general direction of company strategy. Nonetheless, as the principal revenue generators, Microsoft's product groups increasingly became the seats of decision-making power, in spite of Gates' active engagement.

At the end of 1979, Microsoft had $US 4 million in sales. Most of these revenues came from BASIC, which enabled programmers to create applications, such as word processing and accounting spread sheets. The level below BASIC and the other languages under development at Microsoft was the computer operating system, which performed the most elementary tasks required to run computers. With the prospect of providing software to IBM for the basic PC it was planning to market for a reasonable price, Gates and Allen began to acquire the rights to, and then develop, software for a computer operating system. Known later as DOS, it again set an industry standard that would enable Microsoft to efficiently develop languages and software applications in a single engineering environment rather than painstakingly customize them for a variety of incompatible operating systems. This would immensely simplify Microsoft's programming process as well as enhance its efficiency.

As Gates foresaw, this was a near-ideal position to occupy at the moment that the PC market was poised to grow explosively with the introduction of the inexpensive IBM PC, which was made of off-the-shelf components and hence easy to copy, or "clone". With the dual ownership of DOS and several major programming languages, Microsoft became one of the fastest growing companies in the world. By 1985, just prior to its IPO, on revenues of $US 140 million, Microsoft had a pre-tax profit margin of approximately 34%, no long-term debt, and cash reserves of $US 38 million. By 1987, the company surpassed Lotus to become the world's largest software vendor for PCs. Gates was on his way to become the richest man in the world, at least for a time.

However, the ownership of DOS and the programming languages would also, critics later claimed, confer an "unfair advantage" on the company. First, the Microsoft applications groups were accused to obtaining "inside information" from the operating systems group, which enabled them to design their products to function more quickly and smoothly than competitors could. Second, because each change in DOS required competitors to supply their latest products to Microsoft programmers to ensure compatibility, critics charged that this amounted to an inside peek into their strategy at the cutting edge of their capabilities. It was a symbiotic relationship that made many outside vendors - independent companies developing applications to run on Microsoft operating systems -uneasy and resentful. Third, DOS programmers were accused by rivals of inserting "hidden bugs" into the operating system in order to hinder the function of competing products, such as the Lotus spread sheet, damaging their competitive position and brand. The resulting negative publicity did a great deal of damage to the Microsoft brand, which began to be seen as the industry bully.

While Gates insisted that he had erected a "Chinese Wall" between Microsoft's applications division and its Operating System's Group, it was not enough to deter the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from opening a probe into the company for anti-competitive practices that purportedly hurt consumers. By 1991, when the FTC probe became widely known, Microsoft controlled one-quarter of the applications market and dominated the operating systems market with Windows. There was speculation about the imminent breakup of Microsoft into separate companies for these markets, similar to the dismantlement of AT&T. For their part, defenders of Microsoft argued that it was winning because it was better and smarter, presenting its customers with superior products at bargain prices.

This a pretty much where the book stops, which badly dates it. Not only is the story of the anti-trust law suits left untold, but subsequent business developments - notably the internet - are not even mentioned. Thus, this is an excellent early history, but the reader must look elsewhere for more detail. Of the shelf of books on MS, in my opinion this is one of the best, and it was most useful to me for a research project. Recommended.

love your protagonist........2007-04-17

I can never figure why an author would write a book about someone they don't like. In the book "Google" by David A Vise, it's abundantly apparent that the author has a huge admiration for Brin and Page the founders of Google. Thus it made for a great book. Hard Drive comes across as a book that was purely written for the authors to profit and I didn't enjoy it half as much as the Google book, even though Bill Gates is my favourite entrepreneur.

Pretty good read.......2006-11-03

Provides a pretty balanced look back on Microsoft's history up until 1994-95. It's really cool to read this now, given what has transpired since then. Gives great insight into just how driven Bill Gates is, and what he gave up to achieve his success. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated with the early stages of the micro-computer revolution.

Guanxi (The Art of Relationships): Microsoft, China, and Bill Gates's Plan to Win the Road Ahead

Average customer rating:

Where's the Guanxi?!
guanxi (the art of relationships)
Essential reading on China, Microsoft, and the future of innovation

Guanxi (The Art of Relationships): Microsoft, China, and Bill Gates's Plan to Win the Road Ahead
Robert Buderi , and Gregory T. Huang
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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China CEO: Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Leaders
The Lenovo Affair: The Growth of China's Computer Giant and Its Takeover of IBM-PC
China The Balance Sheet: What the World Needs to Know Now About the Emerging Superpower (Institute International Econom)
Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series)
One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China

ASIN: 0743273222

Book Description

Half a world away from the calm beauty of Puget Sound, there's a lab where Bill Gates's software dreams come true. . . . So begins Guanxi, the compelling on-the-scenes tale of the allure of China today -- and of a unique partnership between the world's most famous capitalist and the world's largest communist nation that showcases what it takes to compete in the age of global innovation.

Guanxi (gwan-shee), the Chinese term for mutually beneficial relationships essential to success in the Middle Kingdom, tells the story of the juggernaut research lab that underpins Microsoft's relationship building in China. Unfurled through a gripping narrative that moves between Beijing and Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, it follows the lab's emergence as a mecca for Chinese computer-science talent -- a place where 10,000 résumés arrive in a month, written exams are farmed out to eleven cities to screen applicants, and interns sleep on cots next to their cubicles. So far, the company has invested well over $100 million and hired more than 400 of China's best and brightest to turn the outpost into an important window on the future of computing and a training ground to uplift the state of Chinese computer science -- creating dramatic payoffs for both Microsoft and its host country that are helping the company overcome many of the challenges of China.

Guanxi traces the arc of the lab's stunning success from a memo by erstwhile Microsoft visionary Nathan Myhrvold to its early days under maverick speech recognition guru Kai-Fu Lee (since plucked away by Google for some $10 million), and to its more recent tutelage under former child prodigies Ya-Qin Zhang and Harry Shum. The two China-born stars, who both attended college in their native country by the age of thirteen, have orchestrated the Beijing lab's recent emergence as an epicenter of Microsoft's intensifying battles against Google in the search wars, Nokia in the wireless arena, and Sony in graphics and entertainment.

As pundits rail about the "China threat" to U.S. competitiveness and offer often-hackneyed arguments against outsourcing, Guanxi explores the true ramifications of China's high-tech buildup -- and the means by which it can be turned to competitive advantage, in part by "insourcing" the untapped talent in the country's top universities. Sprinkled with telling observations, compelling characters, and lively anecdotes about the brilliant successes and sometimes painful stumbles of the world's most powerful software company, Guanxi is essential reading for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and technologists around the globe.

Customer Reviews:

Where's the Guanxi?!.......2006-10-22

Microsoft's PR Department couldn't have written thicker, more syrupy, praise for Microsoft. Guanxi is the chinese word for mutually beneficial relationships, it's a complex concept that involves respect, reciprocality, and a certain deference to the person with more authority. It is not covered in this book. Rather, this is a book that paints a super happy face on a long process and smooths out or ignores the rough edges. I recommend doing an Amazon search on Guanxi and reading some of the other books on business in China, like the China Dream, if you want a clearer picture of Guanxi. If you want the Disneyfied version of Microsoft's research lab, this is the book for you.

guanxi (the art of relationships).......2006-05-18

I met Buderi and Huang on their book tour, and couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. What a tale they tell, as they show how Microsoft early on, embraced the world of talent coming up through Chinese universities and turned it to the company's advantage. I especially like the stories of how young Chinese researchers just out of university found themselves in Redmond, presenting for Bill Gates.
China is hungry and rich in talent, not just markets, and this book shows why.

Essential reading on China, Microsoft, and the future of innovation.......2006-05-18

As someone keenly interested in China and the future of innovation, I gobbled up this book almost as soon as it was out. I was not disappointed. In a usually fast-moving narrative, peppered with funny stories and telling anecdotes, Buderi and Huang dive down into rich detail about the creation and evolution of Microsoft's incredibly successful Beijing research lab, and how despite several stumbles it has improved relations with Chinese government and academe. A revealing lawsuit with Google accentuates the end of the story, as Google hires away the original star behind the lab. Readers will come away with a much deeper understanding of what it takes to compete in emerging nations like China.

Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America

Average customer rating:

The golly-geewhiz boyscout version of the early Gates
Very informative and well written
A Detailed History in the Making of a Monoply...
Great history of PC computing
An interesting account of Bill and the evolution of the PC

Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America
Stephen Manes , and Paul Andrews
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire
The Microsoft Way
Bill Gates Speaks: Insight from the World's Greatest Entrepreneur
Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy
Microsoft Secrets: How the World's Most Powerful Software Company Creates Technology, Shapes Markets and Manages People

ASIN: 0671880748

Book Description

Gates reveals the guiding genius behind the unparalleled success of the Microsoft Corporation-- the biggest and most profitable personal computer software company in history-- and exposes the intensely competitive tactics that help it dominate the desktops of America.

Chairman and co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates is the most powerful person in the computer industry and the youngest self-made billionaire in history. His company's DOS and Windows programs are such universal standards that more than nine out of ten personal computers depend on Microsoft software. Under the "Microsoft Everywhere" rallying cry, Gates intends to expand his company's worldwide dominance to office equipment, communications, and home entertainment.

Vivid and definitive, Gates details the behind the scenes history of the personal computer industry and its movers and shakers, from Apple to IBM, from Steve Jobs to Ross Perot. Uncovering the inside stories of the bitter battle for control of the expanding personal computing market, Gates is a bracing, comprehensive portrait of the industry, the company, and the man-- and what they mean for a future where software is everything.

Customer Reviews:

The golly-geewhiz boyscout version of the early Gates.......2007-04-07

This is the version of Microsoft and the rise of Gates that you should read if you think that computers are utterly wonderful and fascinating things in themselves: it is full of breathless excitment, multiple exclamation points, and minute personal detail. The tone of the book would suggest that the development of software for the PC is as fantastic a technological achievement as putting men on the moon, or even, if you go along with the quote that precedes the introduction, as godlike as the creation of the universe. (I kid you not on that quote.)

However, if you think of computers as a flawed, though useful tool that you want to use, that you want to work for the task at hand and do not care to coax it through innumerable design flaws and bugs, that kind of ga-ga view is preposterous and indeed superfluous. I found reading this a dreary task of wending my way though a proliferation of silly adjectives and presumptions about the significance of what was being achieved. Don't get me wrong, I love my computer and its instant info access (particularly as a writer), but I do not equate it with anything as significant as the invention of movable type. If you never felt like a god while programming a hobbyist computer or shared kid geeks' excitment at telephoning a mainframe in the late 1960s - what these first programmers were achieving is never even explained, as the book assumes the reader should know - this gets pretty tedious after a few hundred pages of hyperbole. Unbelievable as it may seem, there are those of us who want their computers to work as reliably and simply as toasters (as an acquaintence, who is an employee at MS, characterised me).

That tone aside, you get a fairly good idea of how Gates did what he did up until the early 1990s. At building a great company, there is no question he was a genius. Moreover, it is interesting in that he understood and contributed to the early technology's development, yet had the guts, self confidence, and business smarts to do it all. Now that is something I deeply respect. He was lucky to be sure, but he was able to do what a lot of others couldn't. Gates made a huge number of path-breaking decisions about licensing, pricing schemes, intellectual property questions, etc., which are complex and extremely innovative and savvy.

Nonetheless, this book covers much of the same ground that "Hard Drive" does, and in fact offers much less than that book. In particular, the book does not question how Microsoft does business, i.e. whether it is unfair or unethical. As such, it is wholly admiring hagiography, even if it portrays Gates as an abrasive and very difficult person. You get virtually no insight into the FTC anti-trust case or the supposed unfair advantages the MS got from selling both the operating system and higher-level application which forces competitors to share their technology, while MS does not have to do so. These are tough questions that need to be asked and debated.

As such, behind the florid razzle-dazzle rhetoric, this book fails to dig deeply. Indeed, I think they got a lot of what motivated Gates wrong: they imply that because he discovered people of equal talent at Harvard and so went into computers and business instead. They explain little that you find in Hard Drive about his ruthless competitive spirit or how he incessently read about great conquerors as well as the hard core business press. He wanted to build an empire from an early age, and he loved computers in a way I will never comprehend.

With these criticisms in mind, I would not recommend this book for critical readers who want to understand the company. The authors, in my reading, unabashedly worship Gates and assume the reader shares their unbounded enthusiasm for software and computer technology. There is more to it than that, far more.

Not recommended.

Very informative and well written.......2007-03-16

If you want to know more about Microsoft's early history, Bill Gates' life, and the history of personal computers, you will find this book highly appropriate for the job. Gates book reads more like a novel, as it's full of anecdotes, personal accounts, and photographs. This is a great book.

A Detailed History in the Making of a Monoply..........2003-06-04

I won't get wordy here but I read this book twice and enjoyed it both times. It goes into the life of Bill Gates; his thought process, his work ethics, his childhood and how Microsoft established it's dominance. It's a good read even though it's over 500 pages. I highly recommend this book along with the book "Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire". This is the way it really happened. Not the way the movie "Pirates of SV" incorrectly portrayed it.

Great history of PC computing.......2003-02-02

I bought this book expecting to skim through it to find out a little more about what Bill Gates was like. But it's a wonderfully readable history of the growth of PC's, from the early days when the best a school kid (Bill himself) could do was to try to get access to a teletype time-share system, on through the first home "computers" that amounted to little more than a bunch of switches and LEDs (no keyboard or monitor), to IBM coming out with the PC and Microsoft's amazing good fortune at supplying the OS (great story! Bill just cared about programming languages, mostly BASIC, and saw the DOS manuever mostly just as a way to ensure that BASIC would run on the new IBM machine!), on thru the OS/2 vs. Windows battles.

It even has a lot of inside detail on the development of the Apple Macintosh. I recently read "Accidental Empires" (the basis for the TV documentary "Triumph of the Nerds"), and found Gates to be a far better and more readable history of the PC's startup.

The book is packed with interviews and amusing or interesting anecdotes. It's well written and well edited. One drawback for some people will be that it hasn't been updated since 1995, but for the two main things that have happened since then - the anti-trust suit against Microsoft and the rise of the Internet - there are plenty of other sources.

An interesting account of Bill and the evolution of the PC.......2002-11-18

This very readable book provides a candid overview of the rise of Bill Gates and Microsoft. I found it interesting and insightful. Like much of the material about "billg", I find it a little sycophantic -- but it is not over the top. Key success ingredients: early signs of selfishness, million dollar trust-fund from his grandfather (which no doubt provided safety and leverage at the start), an early passion for an incredibly important technology at the critical period and a shrewd, single-mindedness. I suspect Bill is not a particularly compassionate, polite, happy or fair person -- however I bet he is really efficient!

Baldur's Gate Official Strategy Guide (Bradygames Strategy Guides)

Average customer rating:

Am I the only one?
Abysmal Guide. No doubt there.
You People Are On Dope
Very incomplete
This book is okay... If you lost your game manual.

Baldur's Gate Official Strategy Guide (Bradygames Strategy Guides)
Bill Keith
Manufacturer: BRADY GAMES
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Baldur's Gate : Tales of the Sword Coast Official Strategies & Secrets (Strategies and Secrets)
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Baldur's Gate

ASIN: 1566867886

Amazon.com

If there remained any doubt in gamers' minds, let it now be officially put to rest: the role-playing game (RPG) drought is over. And though we've seen a number of solid RPGs in recent years, none has been quite so impressive as Interplay's Baldur's Gate. This epic title, based on the Forgotten Realms universe from TSR's Dungeons & Dragons, is simply one of the largest, most ambitious, and most enjoyable RPGs ever. But let's be realistic: even the most seasoned fantasy adventurer needs a hint or two from time to time. BradyGames' guide to Baldur's Gate has all the info you need to survive your journey through Faerun. It starts out with a guide to the guide, which explains how the book is set up and which sections reveal lots of information and which ones offer basic advice only. Using this as a reference, you can then rely on the book to pick out just the information you need without spoiling any of the key plot elements in the game. Some of the topics covered include character creation (always one of the best parts of any RPG), spells and spellcasting, basic movement and control in Faerun, and, of course, a complete walkthrough. Unlike other strategy guides, however, this walkthrough is just an example. Since Baldur's Gate is different every time it's played, the experiences of Diana Nightflame (the authors' character) will not be identical to your own. The book closes with a description of each important location in the game, along with a list of things you must do at each (as well as some things you probably should do). Basically, this is the perfect companion guide for anyone journeying through the land of Faerun. --Michael Ryan

Book Description

BradyGames Baldur's Gate Official Strategy Guide includes: WALKTHROUGH--A complete walkthrough of the game as told through the journal of the fighter-mage Diana Nightflame, SECRETS--Discover the solutions to all the complicated riddles, and uncover the hidden secrets in the game, SUB PLOTS--Delve into the mini-quests and non-player characters that you will encounter during this grand quest.

Customer Reviews:

Am I the only one?.......2007-06-08

Well, from all the reviews here, I must be the only one who actually likes and uses the book. I actually liked the journal form as well as the chapter sections. It actually shows what area you should be looking in without actually telling you the exact coordinates. I always prefer to look around the game world myself than have someone tell me the exact location. It has a list of all the quests and what area to find them in. For me at least, this guide was great.

Abysmal Guide. No doubt there........2004-08-03

The Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Guide by Versus is absolutely brilliant. It gives you all the secrets, tells you exactly where everything is, exactly what needs to be done to get what, how much XP you get from each quest, etc. It's nigh on perfect.

By contrast, this guide for Baldur's Gate tells you next to nothing. It has a "journal" where it tells you what there sample character did. I've always found such things to be useless. You have to comb through it to find any usefuyl information. The rest of the book is better. It does give you some good information in an organized form, but it's sparse. I want a guide to give me precise maps and give me all the little details of what it takes to do what and what's worth what, etc. This guide did virtually none of that.

I suppose that this guide is better than nothing, but if you're looking for a good guide for Baldur's Gate, look online. For instance, http://www.pottsland.com/baldur/ has a good collection of useful info. It's certainly far better than this guide.

In short, this guide is absolutely abysmal. Don't buy it.

You People Are On Dope.......2003-11-02

Dude seriously whats up with these people and complaining about a book? First of All This Guide Is The BEst one realeased cuz like some one else said it lets you chose you own decisions and some idiot also said it didnt show how to find an ankehg plate mail, well Mr Idiot if you Had Actually Bothered To Play the game you would have found that there is a monster called just that.......no not idiot.....called ankehg and if you even maneged to kill him you would have found that you get its Shell...and once again if you had played the game you would have hear that thunderhammer smithy makes "special"armor and incase you didnt even know WHERE he Was Well He's Located In Beregost that building in the east just click on the door and open then you pay him money give him the shell wait a tenday and there ya go........and i hope this helped other people too who werent sure how to get this mail plate. And If Your Gonna Whine About A Book That This Person Maybe SO it could help you and all you do is cry well make a guide of your own then whine as much as you want if you even get to make a guide that contains 1/12th of the entire game:P So yeah to Those Interested In This Guide Give It A chance and Dont Listen to these guys who haent even tried playing every single quest i hope this was helpful to all you thinking about buying this book!:D

Very incomplete.......2002-08-14

This book doesn't even come close to giving away all the Baldur's Gate secrets. It seems as though it tries to help guide you without giving away too much. To me that defeats the purpose of a strategy guide. In my opinion, a strategy guide should list ALL the treasures, ALL the traps, ALL the hidden items, ALL the subplots, etc. This book doesn't, and I felt it was a waste of money. I found better strategy guides on the web.

This book is okay... If you lost your game manual........2002-07-27

This book is incredibly bad. Its mostly just the manual reprinted. Under the character section I didn't find how to make a good character, I found the exact same descriptions used in the game. People say this book is good because it doesn't hold your hand. This book just pretends your inept. The "walkthrough" was mostly the exaact same stuff that your journal gives you, with the other being the decisions that the person who played the game made.
It just tells you some of what you need to know to beat teh game, and the rest it jsut hints at. The guide just names the side-quests, it doens't help with any of them, also everything is piled around so that you don't have a cohesive, chapter by game chapter guide, rather parts of the chapter all over the book. For crying out-loud, they made two seperate walkthroughs, neither of which is very helpful.

Save your money, because this book is just an expensive manual.

Warren E. Buffett & Bill Gates: How to Get Rich
Average customer rating:
Warren E. Buffett & Bill Gates: How to Get Rich
Warren E. Buffett , and Bill Gates
Manufacturer: booksod
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
Similar Items:

The Tao of Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett's Words of Wisdom: Quotations and Interpretations to Help Guide You to Billionaire Wealth and Enlightened Business Management

The Essays of Warren Buffett : Lessons for Corporate America

The Warren Buffett Way, Second Edition

Buffett and Gates Go Back to School

Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World's Greatest Investor

ASIN: 9562913716
Release Date: 2007-01-14

Product Description

Two of America's wealthiest and most successful businessmen, Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and Microsoft co-founder, chairman and CEO Bill Gates field questions and share their insights in a question and answer session. (Audio CD)

Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy

Average customer rating:

Information velocity
Lessons Learned
The Bible: by Bill Gates.
Information Technology
A must read for future Software Billionaires

Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy
Bill H. Gates
Manufacturer: Business Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire
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Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America
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The Road Ahead: Completely Revised and Up-to-Date

ASIN: 0446675962

Book Description

His vision changed our world. But in this monumental work Bill Gates argues that the capabilities of computers, software, and networks are only beginning to be harnessedand that your company must start building a modern, digital nervous system now in order to compete quickly and intuitively in the new millennium. Here, one of the worlds most successful, strategically-thinking CEOs explains how to turn your hardware and software into a powerful, evolving network of information by looking at the digital systems in place at Microsoft and other leading corporations.

Customer Reviews:

Information velocity.......2007-09-16

In fifteen months we will reach Bill Gates' proposed milestone (10 years) of an era where information velocity, and our ability to deal with it at 'The speed of thought' will make or break any business. The tech-bubble crash has certainly dampened the progress, but the book is nonetheless undeniably relevant - arguably even more so in today's fast-paced world. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Mark & Spencer, FedEx and many others are prime examples of lessons well learned. Don't be left in the dust, build your own digital nervous system before it is too late.

Lessons Learned.......2007-09-04

I wished I read the book in the late 90s. Most of what Bill Gates said is true today.

The Bible: by Bill Gates........2007-04-12

I have been a software engineer for over 10 years now and have been a paperless office evangelist from the get go. Bill Gates takes you not only into the inner workings of his passion, the "Digital Nervous System" but also some of the inner workings of Microsoft® and the business model of Dell® computers.

I love Microsoft® and their technologies and I have read everyhting that I can possibly get my hands on from Bill Gates and by far this is the best. It doesn't matter if you're pro Gates or not, this book is not technology specific. It's about having the ability to make good and bad news travel quickly into the decision makers hands in an effort to become pro-active rather than re-active. I have been preaching this for years.

I keep a copy with me at work and talk about it to anyone who will listen and if you're a technology evangelist as well this is a MUST have for your library.

Now, if I can only get Bill to sign it...

Information Technology.......2005-03-31

Gates tells how organizations should use their I.T. departments. More importantly, Gates tells how Microsoft uses I.T. If you want your organization to succeed, read this book.

This was a great improvement over Gates' earlier book, The Road Ahead.

A must read for future Software Billionaires.......2005-03-30

Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy
by Bill Gates

When it comes to producing results, Bill Gates takes the cake. As founder of Microsoft; Gates is in a unique and powerful position to not only prognosticate, but he has the power to boldly shape the future. Like him or not, Gates deeply understands business, and particularly the software industry. Therefore I submit that it is wise to listen to what he says about the future. Digital convergence is in the air, shaping the very world around us. Bill Gates analyzes the consequences of the release of technology onto the economy and society at large. Gates makes it clear that the digital revolution takes no prisoners and that you must adapt to the unescapable digital revolution, or die.

Business @ the Speed of Thought is broken down into 23 chapters in 6 sections

I - Information Flow Is Your Lifeblood

II - Commerce: The Internet Changes Everything

III - Manage Knowledge To Improve Strategic Thought

IV - Bring Insight To Business Operations

V - Special Enterprises

VI - Expect The Unexpected

Business @ the Speed of Thought is an exciting read that will inspire you to take on the world. Gates makes it clear that we're near the beginning of a great revolution. If you think about it, the PC is fairly new and the Internet is in its absolute infancy. In fact, we're just beginning to discover what the computer can do for us. Gates says, and I certainly agree, that there will be many more billionaires created in the next generation.

- Excerpted from a more complete review in the March issue of Byvation

Business @ the Speed of Thought : Using a Digital Nervous System

Average customer rating:

The bible of High technology management
telling...
Business according to Chairman Bill
Apple vs. Microsoft over the 'mouse graphics interface'.
Simple, but Sweet!

Business @ the Speed of Thought : Using a Digital Nervous System
Bill Gates
Manufacturer: Hachette Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Sam Walton: Made In America

ASIN: 1570427534

Amazon.com

The book is peppered with examples of companies that have already successfully engineered information networks to manage inventory, sales, and customer relationships better. The examples run from Coca-Cola's ability to download sales data from vending machines to Microsoft's own internal practices, such as its reliance on e-mail for company-wide communication and the conversion of most paper processes to digital ones (an assertion that seems somewhat at odds with the now-infamous "by hand on sheets of paper" method of tracking profits that was revealed during Microsoft's antitrust trial).

While Gates breaks no new ground--dozens of authors have been writing about competing on a digital playing field for some time, among them Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian in Information Rules and Patricia Seybold in Customers.com--businesses that want a wakeup call may find this book a ringer. With excerpts in Time magazine, a dedicated Web site, and an all-out media assault, Microsoft is working hard to push Business @ the Speed of Thought into the national dialogue, and for many it will be difficult to see the book as anything but a finely tuned marketing campaign for the forthcoming versions of Windows NT and MS Office. Nevertheless, as Gates has shown time and time again, him, Microsoft, and perhaps even this book you may ignore at your own peril. --Harry C. Edwards

Book Description

So where do you want to go tomorrow? That's the question Bill Gates tries to answer in Business @ the Speed of Thought. Gates offers a 12-step program for companies wanting to do business in the next millennium. The book's premise: Thanks to technology, the speed of business is accelerating at an ever-increasing rate, and to survive, it must develop an infrastructure--a "digital nervous system"--that allows for the unfettered movement of information inside a company. Gates writes that "The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competition ... is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose."The book is peppered with examples of companies that have already successfully engineered information networks to manage inventory, sales, and customer relationships better. The examples run from Coca-Cola's ability to download sales data from vending machines to Microsoft's own internal practices, such as its reliance on e-mail for company-wide communication and the conversion of most paper processes to digital ones (an assertion that seems somewhat at odds with the now-infamous "by hand on sheets of paper" method of tracking profits that was revealed during Microsoft's antitrust trial).While Gates breaks no new ground--dozens of authors have been writing about competing on a digital playing field for some time, among them Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian inInformation Rules and Patricia Seybold inCustomers.com--businesses that want a wakeup call may find this book a ringer. With excerpts in Time magazine, a dedicated Web site, and an all-out media assault, Microsoft is working hard to push Business @ the Speed of Thought into the national dialogue, and for many it will be difficult to see the book as anything but a finely tuned marketing campaign for the forthcoming versions of Windows NT and MS Office. Nevertheless, as Gates has shown time and time again, him, Microsoft, and perhaps even this book you may ignore at your own peril. --Harry C. Edwards

Customer Reviews:

The bible of High technology management.......2004-04-21

Great book by great man. I would say the way Gates presented his thoughts by real-life examples is extra ordinary. I think great men like him should always write books like this.

telling..........2004-02-06

Gates has missed the cluetrain. Microsoft is still engaging in the us against them corporate mentality, and this book reveals why. He's so focussed on the boardroom mentality that he seems to have no clue what his CUSTOMERS want. It's all about how the internet can serve the company, rather than how the company can fill the needs of the community.

Business according to Chairman Bill.......2003-09-16

Business @ the Speed of Thought provides a great overview of how companies need to adjust their internal business systems to survive, adapt and embrace new technologies. The book is written in a non-technical way which makes it ideal for non IT managers. I recommend it.

Apple vs. Microsoft over the 'mouse graphics interface'........2003-06-08

Originally the 'mouse' belonged to 'Xerox',later Steve Jobs acquired the 'mouse' for the exclusive use by 'Apple Computer' only,which in turn gave 'Apple' the edge over their rivals like 'IBM'. With 'Apple' having the exclusive 'legal right' and 'ownership' over the 'mouse',Steve Jobs was invincible in the computer business world,and an 'Apple computer' was the thing to get. Later, Steve Jobs invited Bill Gates to 'Apple',and Bill Gates learned the inner workings of the 'mouse',in turn he adapted the 'mouse graphics interface' to his 'Microsoft Windows',and later started to peddle the 'mouse' to rivals like 'IBM','H/P','Sony','Toshiba',and etc. In turn the 'mouse graphics interface' that belonged 'solely' to 'Apple' exclusively,now also belonged to 'Apple's' rivals,by purchasing the 'Microsoft Windows' program,with a high 'payable' license fee 'paid' to a Mr. Bill Gates. Alot of computer companies can make a 'Microsoft Windows' platform,but can't use the 'mouse graphics interface' without the permission of 'Apple' or 'Microsoft Windows',without the use of the 'mouse graphics interface',you got nothing,and that's where Bill Gates has a 'monopoly' on the the 'Windows' platform. Anybody who tries to 'copy' the 'mouse graphics interface',will get their 'can' sued-off to the hilt by both 'Apple' and 'Microsoft Windows'. This is why the President of 'Apple'(at the time), John Sculley fired Steve Jobs,because Steve Jobs lost the 'mouse graphics interface' to Bill Gates,and in turn gave Bill Gates the edge over his rivals,which is 'none' to date. In plain English,Steve Jobs just fumbled the 'ball',and was intercepted by Bill Gates,the 'ball' being the 'mouse graphics interface'. Today 'Microsoft Windows' acts as 'Apples' agent and distributor for the 'mouse graphics interface',which is the sole property of 'Apple Computer',and joint partner 'Microsoft Windows'.

Simple, but Sweet!.......2003-04-15

OVERVIEW

Business at the Speed of Thought is far more than a position paper on his business strategies, nor is it a public relations effort to soften the critics or judiciary overseers. The book takes a higher conceptual approach, focusing on the imperative role of information and knowledge management will play in running today's organizations. Gates speaks as a consultant, using the successes and failures of real companies, in a case-study approach, to support his philosophies and strategies. It is more basic than revolutionary, but the vision is expressed with great clarity and given depth and breadth through pragmatic, working examples.

CEO's, other organizational leaders, and managers at all levels can potentially benefit from the ideas illustrated. As a small business owner, I found at least half of the content relevant to improving the efficiency of my business operations. Further, those who believe that technology will continue to play an increasingly significant role in the marketplace, should grab a cup of coffee, a pen, and actively read this book.

The book is organized into four distinct sections: information flow, commerce, knowledge management, and business operations. The author's basic premise is that the success or failure of an organization will depend on how well they gather, manage, and use information. Gathering information is the first step in this direction. Gates observes the importance of gathering "business facts", which encompass internal as well as external forces. These business facts concern customers, vendors, distributors, competitors, and internal systems and procedures.

DISCUSSION

While Gates coherent 12-step program to the implementation of a "Digital Nervous System" is a useful guide to better integrate IT with existing business resources, it unfortunately gave little attention to much deserved social and psychological issues. Gates refuses to admit any problems with technology. This technological utopianism results in an incomplete analysis and does not discriminate at all. As a result, the potential pitfalls are not identified, which could lead to oversight. Functionally, it may lead to a blind, non-discriminatory adoption to digital processes. This absolute change to may produce the inefficiency it is meant to eliminate.

Under this approach, the problems fade into the background because the technology is so perfect. For example, Gates insists that communication flow through the organization over e-mail so that you can act on news with reflex like speed. It is difficult to take a 'key step' like this seriously. Is the ability to act with 'reflex-like speed' really a function of the communication medium, or is it dependent on such factors as experience, intelligence, etc.? Is there no downside to e-mail? What of the lack of truly human communication, that is, fact-to-face, if e-mail is used for all communication? Is it surprising that chief executives fly around the world almost continuously to talk face-to-face? Do they use e-mail, or do they prefer to see the whites of the potential partner's eyes?

Despite these criticisms, I enjoyed this book from cover to cover, and have used its content to increase the productivity of the technological resources owned by my business. Business @ the Speed of Thought illustrates its concepts with detailed case studies of top-notch companies as well as Microsoft in a variety of industries, making the "Digital Nervous System" relevant to a broad and diverse audience. He uses accurate yet easy to understand language, abandoning technical jargon. This, combined with an introduction which provides a clear layout of the books objectives, produces a coherent and pragmatic resource for all people, business persons and non-business persons.

The analysis within the case studies gives examples of how IT can improve, or did improve, failed processes. These examples of already successfully re-engineered information networks, provides concrete methods of how to manage inventory, sales, customer relationships, etc. Because Gates draws from a diverse field of companies, the advice of Gates is useful for all business people of all types of organizations, from service to merchandising, and profit to non-profit.

In addition, the concept of a "Digital Nervous System" can be applied to the personal lives of people who are adapting what he calls a Web Lifestyle. I concur with Gate's conviction that the success of businesses will be a function of how you gather, manage, and use information. Subsequently, Business @ the Speed of Thought goes a long way to increasing vital IT knowledge and skills; and these life-long skills are as important for personal, academic, and professional achievement as traditional academic knowledge and skills such as Math and Science.

CONCLUSION

While Gates breaks no new ground, he provides specific examples that illustrate the necessary steps to help businesses capitalize on their IT investment, and authentic examples of its realized benefits. I recommend this book to anybody who feels they are unclear on how to integrate IT with current business operations, as well as to individuals who desire to learn more about how to utilize technology to improve their personal tasks. I do not believe Business @ the Speed of Thought is just a finely tuned marketing campaign, but it may be hard for those who do not favor Microsoft to listen to Gates for the entire length of the book. In this case I recommend people read selected chapters that are in line with their individual or business IT objectives. As Gates has shown time and time again, him, Microsoft, and perhaps even this book you may ignore at your own peril.

How the Web Was Won: The Inside Story of How Bill Gates and His Band of Internet Idealists Trans- Formed a Software Empire
Average customer rating:

Scratch a free-marketeer and you’ll find a socialist

Another Piece of Pro-Microsoft Propaganda

Make sense of Microsoft's Internet offerings

Overall good, changed my perception of Microsoft

Inside the Greatest Company of the New Economy

How the Web Was Won: The Inside Story of How Bill Gates and His Band of Internet Idealists Trans- Formed a Software Empire
Paul Andrews
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire

ASIN: 0767900480
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Amazon.com

In a brilliant--and, at times, overwhelming--display of research and perspicacity, Paul Andrews chronicles Microsoft's internal and public battles to adapt to Internet technology and fight the browser wars. He starts in 1991: the Internet is barely a blip on the company radar. Meanwhile, 22-year-old new hire J Allard is asked by Microsoft's No. 2 man, Steve Ballmer, to "make the pain go away" with TCP/IP, the standard Internet protocol. It's just Allard's second day on the job, and he realizes that the software giant doesn't get it: interoperability between networks and the Internet is key to Microsoft's future. He begins a grassroots effort to raise Internet consciousness, eventually distributing a widely read 17-page memo titled "Windows: The Next Killer Application on the Internet." Higher up, Bill Gates's technical assistant, Steven Sinofsky, gets snowed in at technically progressive Cornell University. He's stunned to witness a student body that's already devoted to a fledgling Internet, and writes home: "Cornell is WIRED." After intense internal debate (and more than a few late nights), Gates stops the engines and changes course to pursue integration of Windows and an Internet browser called Explorer.

Andrews--a personal-technology columnist for the neighboring Seattle Times--has actually layered several books into one. In the first, he writes scores of fascinating profiles on the Internet idealists, architects, and managers who devoted "Microsoft Hours" to redirect the company's focus. In the second, he reports on external battles against foes such as Netscape and Sun Microsystems. In addition, he explores the hundreds of technological developments (occasionally to the point of distraction) that flourished during this high-tech revolution. And, finally, he comments throughout on what led the Department of Justice to file the largest antitrust action since the breakup of AT&T. Andrews's coverage of this last issue is slanted heavily in Microsoft's favor, but is thorough enough to deflect most accusations of bias. Although the Web is far from won, Microsoft's ability to turn its ship around is certainly a victory. --Rob McDonald

Book Description

The inside story of how a small band of agitators at Microsoft staged the stunning turnaround that transformed the company from an Internet laggard into such a dominant force that it was accused of monopolizing the industry.

1993. Microsoft's Windows software ruled the desktops of America. Nine out of ten personal computers ran the operating system, and most applications--from word processors to spreadsheets--couldn't function without it. When Bill Gates peered into Microsoft's crystal ball, he saw a world of Windows.

Then the Internet burst on the scene, and suddenly Gates's Windows-oriented future didn't look so bright. The Internet ran on UNIX, not Windows. The World Wide Web, not Windows, linked information in a global electronic library. A new software program called Mosaic, not Windows, made finding and reading Web documents as easy as skimming a magazine. Moreover, companies with little stake in Windows--Netscape, America Online, Sun Microsystems--were laying first claim to the Internet frontier.

The Internet was the future of computing--and the world's largest software company wasn't ready for it. Yet four years later, Microsoft's Internet metamorphosis was so complete that the Department of Justice slapped the company with the broadest antitrust action since the breakup of AT&T. In How the Web Was Won, veteran Seattle Times journalist Paul Andrews chronicles, for the first time, the most remarkable business turnaround of the 1990s: the story of Microsoft's turbulent journey from Windows to the Web--and of the handful of Internet believers who led the charge.

Taking the reader into the mind of Microsoft, Andrews reveals how the company struggled first to comprehend and then capitalize on the Net. How twenty-two-year-old Internet hound J Allard was shocked to learn that nobody at Microsoft seemed to know anything about networking computers when he arrived in late 1991. How Steve Ballmer, Gates's Harvard buddy and second in command at Microsoft, lit the Internet fuse with a head-scratching e-mail in December 1993. How Gates's technical assistant, Steven Sinofsky, discovered in early 1994 that Cornell University, his alma mater, was more "wired" than the world's most successful software company. And how by mid-1995, awash in the rising tide of Netscape, America Online, Java, and the Web, Bill Gates assigned the Internet the highest level of importance, launching an effort that, in a matter of months, would provoke the Justice Department, competitors, and industry analysts to warn that Microsoft could someday rule the Internet.

Based on three years of reporting and more than 100 interviews with the prime movers driving Microsoft's Internet strategy and deployment, How the Web Was Won captures the explosive drama and high-stakes gamesmanship of Microsoft's epic struggle for Internet supremacy. The result is an illuminating portrait of a software empire under siege and an intimate look at the fiery competitiveness that kindled its dramatic reversal of fortune.

Customer Reviews:

Scratch a free-marketeer and you’ll find a socialist.......2001-07-07

I am writing this after the appeals court has done the smart thing and voided the breakup remedy and exposed Judge Jackson for the little punk he is (His bias was obvious during the trial, despite MS's missteps. Congress should impeach him pronto). So I have perspective many of the other reviewers don't.

All I can say is: Ah-hah. Ah-hah. The appeals court may have found that MS maintained its monopoly illegally, largely because it didn't provide sufficient evidence that it needed those contracts with PC makers to protect the proprietary elements of Windows. And they may be right (although I think the general rapacity of the software industry is enough). But it agreed with nothing else, and I think the author of this book has been more than vindicated against his critics.

Yes, he had access to top MS officials, and probably shares their views of things. But you don't need that to agree that Netscape did everything all wrong ... they walked out of the HTML 3 standards conference, made their browser as incompatible with IE as they could just because they were so afraid. Their entire business plan could be summed up as "Bill Gates must be incredibly dumb and tone-deaf, so we'll make all the noise we want about how we can make them irrelevant and they won't notice until it's too late. Oh, and if this somehow doesn't work, let's get the Justice Department to sue them."

Well, it tells you a lot about this strategy (as if you couldn't guess) that Netscape today is just another cog in the AOL Time Warner media machine. The author is particularly good at noting what has not been much noticed elsewhere ... how Netscape, especially in the infamous 1995 meeting, seemed to be working hand-in-glove with Justice to create the appearance of improper competition on Microsoft's part (Funny how, when Larry Ellison (and Bill Gates' biggest service to America is keeping that guy from taking his place, believe me) pays people to sniff through DC trash to find connections between MS and DC lobbying groups, the news is more about the latter aspect of the story than the former).

But the larger issue that this book doesn't get into is how the New Economy guys, all devout members of the Church of the Invisible Hand, were done in by their own economic beliefs working too well.

That basically went that MS would become, and remain, hidebound and lazy like all companies with little real competition (of course, many companies have said they competed against Microsoft, which comes as a real surprise to anyone who has used many of their products ... Linux especially). After all, hadn't IBM and Apple before MS? Our laissez-faire theory tells us so, that economics will trump all human ability ... right?

Well, no one ever thought to imagine that maybe a company that has achieved the kind of market dominance that MS has might just retain the competitive instincts that got it there (as plainly logical as that might be). You're going to have to wait a while for MS to get soft. The story is not that it was easy to win the web war or that MS shouldn't have been at risk of losing it in the force place. It was that they got into it at all. The market is supposed to reward supertankers that turn on a dime, isn't it? (In fact, I believe MS's problems may have come from it being too eager to compete sometimes, owing to Gates' oft-cited paranoia that somewhere out there are two guys in a garage building the future that he won't see coming until too late. But should he be penalized for not forgetting his own company's history?....

Along the way, it was hilarious at first but scary later on to see how standard business practices, and things that would be recognized as smart moves in any other business, were invariably transformed into flaws whenever MS did them. Add lots of features to your OS so a broad segment can find it useful? "Bloatware." Keep in mind your customers who are just casual end users? "Dumbing down the operating system?" (Reminds me of Dilbert: "Hey, you're one of those condescending Unix users!" "Here's a nickel, kid. Go buy yourself a better computer") The looniest was, and still is, Linux, dedicated to the principle that people who don't make money from what they do do a better job than people who do. (And this system is often pushed heavily by some of the most libertarian, pro-free enterprise types around! I still do not get it)

So, seven years after the Web became the Internet's killer app, Microsoft has won, and IMO deservedly so. Deal with it. If you weren't in their tent, you should just cash out, shake Bill Gates' hand like a good sport, recognize that they won because they just played a better game, go enjoy a nice retirement and stop wasting the public's time.

Another Piece of Pro-Microsoft Propaganda.......2000-08-08

This book is obviously very slanted and biased in Microsoft's favor. It seems as if this book came straight out of the Microsoft book of propaganda! All of Microsoft's actions in the past are shown to be harmless and not anticompetitive. In total contrast, the actions of Microsoft's competitors are shown in a very negative light. Even the most incidental actions of Microsoft's competitors are shown in a bad light. It is odd then that Microsoft escapes this accounting. The author is obviously very pro-Microsoft and I would not be surprised to see that he may have close contacts at the company. The author does not really show how Microsoft's actions regarding "leveraging their OS into other software areas" could lead to destruction of competition in the computer industry. In fact, he either outright ignores this argument or downplays it! Even if you are interested in how the web was won, this book does not really give much insight to outside developments. There is no real context given. Other books fully account for the complex events surrounding the battle for supremacy on the internet. This book does not. It skims over much of the "outside action" and instead focuses only on Microsoft and it's quest to dominate the new emerging industry. Of course, given that this book should revolve around Microsoft but it should NOT exclude other angles to the story. The author takes Microsoft's side without justifying it for the readers. And ultimately this EXTREMELY BIASED account makes the author lose much of his credibility. Also without going in depth with the emerging industry as a whole the narrative loses much of what would have been very interesting and engrossing story. By and large this is one of the worst books regarding this interesting period in the computer industry. NOT RECOMMENDED. FIND ANOTHER BOOK IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE INTERNET AND THE "BROWSER WARS'.

Make sense of Microsoft's Internet offerings.......1999-11-03

Microsoft has released such a confusing stream of products into the Internet arena, it's hard to keep up with it all. This book provides excellent perspective and historical context for those decisions. I also really enjoyed the compelling writing style of this book, especially on the fascinating charaterizations of the colorful players at Microsoft. A good read for anyone interested in the history of the Internet!

Overall good, changed my perception of Microsoft.......1999-09-19

Overall I liked the book because it shows a side of Microsoft, but advocates them in the side of the antitrust trial, and they don't explain how a free web browser earns money.

Inside the Greatest Company of the New Economy.......1999-09-03

There's been a lot of blather from competitors about Microsoft's so-called predatory ways -- some of it, I understand, directed at this book. But the real reason Microsoft is so feared and often loathed is that they compete so well. How many companies of Microsoft's size in any industry would be fleet-footed enough to completely reinvent their overall strategy to address a sea change in their market? This book tells you how this remarkable company did it. Get to know the real players who helped turn this battleship around -- and kept Bill Gates very very wealthy.

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Bill Gates (Biography (a & E))
Jeanne M. Lesinski
Manufacturer: First Avenue Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The true story behind the rise of a tyrannical genius, how he transformed an industry, and why everyone is out to get him.

The true story behind the rise of a tyrannical genius, how he
transformed an industry, and why everyone is out to get him.