8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Whole Story?, June 13, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace (Hardcover)
I enjoyed reading Overdrive and while initialy
reserving judgement on a book that uses
journalistic sources rather than references,
appreciated alot of the connivery going on. The
observation about Philippe Kahn, a long time
nemesis who dared, and
Bill Gates, being like matter and anti-matter
trying to exist in the same space was great.
The Spyglass deal on how the legal manouveurs
came about to attain the Mosaic browser and the
amazement captured by quotes from the Spyglass
people directly involved when they found it was
to be distributed "free", was one word: amazing.
The plentiful quotes from all the people
involved, and the detail on the deal making
involved say with Java, the centrepiece of the
next revolution of technology, both in and
outside of Microsoft, bespeaks well of the energy
this author devoted to his topic and the obvious
cooperation he received from everyone involved
but surprisingly, the increasingly withdrawn,
Bill Gates.
I think however that Wallace should have put more
into his closing chapter, leaving a certain empty
feeling just after closing the book. I thought a
more speculative ending with more on the likely
fallout of the dichotomy between Gates balancing
anti-competitive restraints on unfavourable
change with the favourable change, all within his
control, would have been more enlightening.
It is though very disturbing to me that on one
heartbeat is portrayed an industry domination
resting, like no other that has been attained in
US business history but that is just the way
indeed it has been allowed to happen. The
conclusion from this book and the previous one,
makes it shallow, in some way, in that it is very
difficult to see anything but an imploding
Microsoft, taking down financial markets, in its
wake, without this one man, that may in fact be
an embellishment. The moxy gamesmanship, the
menacing marketing, and the obsessive
determinination to beat all comers to a pulp,
that Wallace has captured of William Henry Gates
III, while I am sure is not the final word on
this company it nevertheless is a compelling,
disturbing story of either success or excess.
This one I enjoyed.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't miss this book,Gates's fans, if u had read Hard Drive, June 18, 2000
Don't miss this book if u had read James Wallace's Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the making of Microsoft empire. Because this book contain Gates's next way to mantain his empire from internet wave. Just like Hard Drive ,this book is well written: Complete and detail but still easy to read and understand. It is still the easiest to read and understand Gates's book compare with other similar book.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Update on HardDrive, July 1, 1998
This review is from: Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace (Hardcover)
This book filled the gap that was left after HardDrive left off. but of course, i would want an update to this book already, its been out just over a year, and its almost outdated. Just to show you how fast Microsoft moves
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