Customer Reviews

Renegades of the Empire: How Three Software Warriors Started a Revolution Behind the Walls of Fortress Microsoft

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This book is a fascinating read, especially for anyone in the fast-growing and ultra-competitive computer game industry. If you've ever used DirectX, you owe it to yourself to buy this book.

It's all here: the creation of the wildly successful DirectX software platform; the humiliating WinG fiasco; Alex St. John's outrageous publicity stunts to promote DirectX (including the crisis with the cancelled alien spacecraft, or when he convinced several game industry executives to streak through Seattle GameWorks); the obnoxious coders who began the OpenGL wars; and St. John's raucous but ultimately career-limiting final letter to Gates & Co.

Although the book reads at times like an Alex St. John biography, the book's mix of wild stunts, software eccentrics, and high technology is enough to keep any reader thoroughly entertained.

Perhaps the most astonishing and terrifying revelation of all is how long it took Microsoft to take the multi-billion-dollar computer game industry seriously, even after the conception of DirectX . . . a mistake the company surely won't make again.

Michael Drummond's book is pretty much dead on. The quotes from me are accurate and the story you read on the book jacket it true.

The "inside look" will entertaining to new Microsoft employees because the company has long changed. To outsiders, well, it might be a bit boring. And, yep, ol Alex really did spend all that money.

Must read for any game developer. Exposes the secret history of one of the best things Microsoft has done in the last ten years (DirectX) - a technology that has truly made life better for everyone, itself, game developers and especially customers. DirectX is the very definition of "Not Re-Inventing the wheel"

Yes the book is a little disjointed in places, but if you are familiar with the industry you'll find a lot that rings true in here. If you've read "Microsoft Secrets" which details the order then read this book which details the chaos.

My only real criticism is that the book is told solely from the perspective of the renegades and doesn't go into as much depth as I'd like on the part of the poor managers who had to "herd these cats".

If for no other reason, buy this book for the some of the funny anecdotes. I found myself laughing out loud many times while reading this.

Bottom Line: Not a classic but still a darn good read.

DirectX is the software component in Windows 95 (and later versions of Windows) that helps developers build graphics applications. This book beatifully describes the happenings in Microsoft which culminate in DirectX being a component of the operating system. The heroes are three Microsofties, nicknamed the Beastie Boys for their aggressive tactics in getting things done. The book is also a story of these three engineers and in particular about Alex St John. Evangelism to push software to customers, elaborate marketing stunts to introduce software, interactions with Apple and other companies during those times, the anti-trust case, are some of the really interesting parts of the book.

Throughout the book, one gets to appreciate the creative spirit and thirst for better software that drives the engineers. Not only does the book shed light on the psyche of the software engineers involved, it creates an image of what its like within the walls of the software behemoth. Anyone interested in programming will certainly find this book extremely enjoyable and will readily relate to the cause pursued by the programmers in question. If you are not a programmer, you might find it a wee bit uninteresting at places.

I would specially recommend this book to anyone who has done programming with OpenGL or any other graphics library. This book will be a work of history for people into graphics and gaming.

It's nice to know what happened inside of Microsoft for the DirectX and Chrome development drama, but I found author patronising these warriors in a way which is not convincing. It keeps saying that "they are smart, they are super..." but never really showed me why they were so.

It's a book that doesn't have in depth technical juice, and fails to uncover the business acuman in context.

This is a horribly chaotic book. The author seems to have not had any organization in mind when he set out to tell the story of three renegade programmers within Microsoft. He also seems to include numerous useless anecdotes about the "Beastie Boys" that really adds no useful insight into the characters or into a flowing narrative. I do not know how this book came to print in this form. This is a rambling account that seems to follow no logical order. The author jumps from one rambling anecdote to another. Also it seems as if the author takes the "Beastie Boy's" at their word without letting other's real opinions into the account. There is no real context for placing the events that are portrayed. The author makes a potentially interesting story into quite a dry accounting of three programmers within the huge Microsoft world. One of the most boring books I have ever read! I do NOT recommend buying this book at all!

This is a book, which I came across whilst browsing the Microsoft Purchase circle within Amazon.com. I thought, if people inside Microsoft are reading it, then it must contain some interesting stuff. I was not mistaken. This book follows the story of three Microsoft employees who knowing the political landscape within the empire sought to create a technology which during the time of early Windows, would revolutionize the PC industry, open up a new market sector and once and for all kill the ailing DOS platform. This would give them fame and riches, or so they thought. Read about what happens to these three pioneers in this factual account of the development of early windows through out the nineties. I've previously read books on the subject of the early development of the IT industry, which I have quite enjoyed, but this is the first book which I have read on the internal politics and advances within Microsoft. I enjoyed this book as it showed the accounts of these three people at a time and during events which I can remember from the outside, and answers a few questions as to the development and disappearance of certain breakthrough technologies. Their final project within Microsoft was a revolutionary 3D environmental "media browser" which could navigate the web and promote collaboration from many different people using manipulation of 3D objects. A technology set for release in 1998, which as of this morning shows very little evidence of a release or even of its existence within Microsoft. If you enjoy reading about technical developments, you will enjoy this book, but more over you will enjoy reading about how three individuals seeing flaws within technology, went about designing a better alternative, without authorization, or regard for proper procedure. Came away from it having achieved their goals and truly advancing the industry, whilst seeming to out manoeuvre a company such a Microsoft. You will definitely enjoy this book.

While every quote isn't accurate, and every event has a unique twist, Mike Drummond has written one of the best insider books ever about software development at Microsoft. The Darwinian nature of MS development is shown in a light that evokes Tracey Kidder's "Soul of a New Machine".

I couldn't put it down!

One gets the sense from this book that all the great stories of the foundation of the computer age have been told. The rise and fall and rise of Apple, Netscape, Microsoft, et al. I suppose we're still waiting for a gripping account of the rise (and fall?) of Google. Until then, we might have to content ourselves with authors like Drummond who dig up B-list characters and try to cast their marginal contributions to the world of computing as if these men were the chief architects of the Apollo moon landing. You know, they wrote DirectX.

I guess if DirectX was the only solution to some mind bending problem of 3D graphics and we didn't have OpenGL as an example of there being different and arguably better ways to skin a cat, there might be something to this story that would merit Drummond's over-the-top apple polishing. What next, some 300 page history of the guy who wrote the first mouse driver for Windows?

Simply put we have the story of three software developers with such middling talent that Microsoft gave them jobs as "technology evangelists", which is Microsoft's term for "pre-sales engineer" or something. They go out, convince people they should invest in some new Microsoft technology, and they don't write a line of code. Microsoft isn't the kind of company that got anywhere by taking brilliant, innovative software engineers and making them sales guys.

First and moremost: This is an excellent book which I believe everyone would find enjoyable, especially if you like computers. It is the story of 3 guys who happen to be at Microsoft, but the interesting part is not about Microsoft itself. If it was fiction and the company was made up, the plot would still be interesting it itself.
The books tells how the known predatory tatics Microsoft uses against rival companies are used inside Microsoft between competing teams. How taking a couple of sick days can mean when you come back your project has been cancelled.
This is the price you pay when you work in the same company as the top notch guys. They are the best, but they are also the most ambitious - they will do anything to get it their way. And Microsoft was willing to accept wild parties and huge expense bills as long and it helped its plans ...
I've read a few books about company internals. If I could only own this this would be it.