In a study complete with CD-ROM, the founder of Microsoft presents his vision for the future in which he sees the digital technologies of the coming years changing the way we buy, work, learn, and communicate. Reprint.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Microsoft CEO Gates's musings on the future of the digital age spent 14 weeks on PW's bestseller list.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This recording, the third based on Gates's best-selling book (the original abridgment was reviewed in Audio Reviews, LJ 1/96; the unabridged edition was reviewed in Audio Reviews, LJ 8/96), has been updated to include Gates's?and by extension, MicrosoftR's?sudden realization that the Internet is the Holy Grail of computing. Having been beaten to the punch by Netscape Communications (whose ubiquitous World Wide Web browsers own anywhere from 70 to 90 percent of the market), Gates finds himself playing catch-up. Here, he lays out MicrosoftR's internet strategies and outlines a brief history of the Internet's meteoric rise in popularity. Thankfully, after reading the new and revised passages, our nerdy-voiced host hands the ball off to reader Rick Adamson, who seems much more comfortable in front of a microphone. Recommended for libraries that passed on the previous two audio incarnations of The Road Ahead and for larger collections wherein popular technology materials circulate well.?Mark Annichiarico, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Seriously this is Bill Gates talking about the future but out of 300 pages about 9 are dedicated to talking about the internet -- and most of that is buried with other information. Lots of talk about applications and appliances that did not materialize....one book you need to read because-- then you know that all the gurus DO NOT KNOW everythng !! Wonderful for entrepreneurs who dont' doubt their own paths on their road ahead......
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read the first edition of the book a few years ago. It was also translated into Russian in 1997. And now when I'm reading "Business @ Speed of Thought" I take a look into the second edition of "The Road Ahead" and read it again. Considering that this book was written in 1995-96, the predictions he made are quite remarkable in their prophecy. The founder of Microsoft presents his vision for the future in which he sees the digital technologies of the coming years changing the way we buy, work, learn, and communicate. And this man definitely knows the future.
"The Road Ahead" is very much primarily an easy-to-read IT textbook. This book tells you what lies ahead in the future for everyday living world of computers. Will everyone in the world have access to computers in our future? Will everyone gain access to the Internet? Will we be able to walk in a store and pick out whatever we want to, and walk out of the store without being a shoplifter? Read this amazing book and find out the answers to these questions and more.
It also includes CD-ROM containing the complete text of the book, a dictionary with multimedia hyperlinks and an interview with Bill Gates. It is still extraordinary. This CD-ROM illustrates the future of electronic publishing.
I interviewed Bill Gates in 1990 when he visited Moscow for the first time to introduce the very first Microsoft product in Russian language. It was MS-DOS 4.0. Then I wrote several books on MS-DOS and IT for beginners.
Bill Gates was worth "only" $2.5 billion in 1990. It is estimated that hundreds million people today have personal computers in their home. Over ninety-five percent of them are operating Windows Operating Systems. Today Microsoft really enjoys the self-made monopoly. Although many people don't like Bill Gates personally because he's so rich, I wish good luck to Microsoft Corp. and the Microsoft team. And at the same time I also wish good luck to all young entrepreneurs who will start their companies and deprive Microsoft of its reins eventually. This is the capitalism, ladies and gentlemen! This is a great system with opportunities for everyone with guts.
This is a must have book for anyone pursuing a career in computers, the computer hobbyist and the Mac users, too. Get this book today and have it in your library. I highly recommend it, especially to people new to computers and the digital revolution.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By OverTheMoon
Format:Paperback
Bill Gates is a first class teacher. That is one of the most striking things you learn about him after reading what he writes. So to his talents of being a first class businessman, a first class programmer, first class mathematician and first class tech leader, you can add not a bad book author, given that this is his first incursion into the field of literature.
The big question however is why you would want to read a book that is dated 1996 about technology? The answer is four-fold. First of all, it's Bill Gates and how he thinks. Second, this book has an odd sort of history to it. Third, only some things in this book are coming to pass and much of it remains open or in development. Forth, you can still learn heaps from it although this stuff that has to come to pass doesn't have the same impact it did when he predicted it. However there is a little bit of controversy over how much he did predict and this is explained in the preface.
Preface
After launching the book in 1995, Bill Gates quickly revised it for a 1996 edition that focused on the Internet. It was only after releasing the 1995 book that Gates watched as the Internet unexpectedly achieved a mass sufficient to turn heads in the industry. Gates responded by making Microsoft Internet orientated and revising his book, The Road Ahead. So this book is a combination of how Gates predicts the future and how he suddenly reacted when the future came in unpredictably ahead of schedule.
1 - A Revolution Begins
Bill Gates discusses his history as a child growing up with computers. He describes what he was doing with very simple machines the size of a refrigerator and how he and Paul Allen in their teens developed software for businesses. He talks a lot about microprocessors and Intel.
2 - The Beginning of the Information Age
Gates talks about the dawn of computer technology and implementation, especially in war time. He talks about binary systems and how these techniques of communicating information changed the world.
3 - Lessons from the Computer Industry
In this chapter Gates walks us through the computer revolution which includes BASIC, VHS, IBM, PC-DOS, MS-DOS, Xerox developing the mouse, Apple's graphical interface, Compaq clones, Windows and the failure of IBM's OS/2 project that paved the way for Microsoft to become a mega player. It is a really good business story with many lessons to learn.
4 - Information Appliances and Applications
This is focused on the concept of asynchronous technology such as video on demand (VOD), the wallet pc and encryption technology. The principles are still valid although the forms they take differ in the 21st century.
5 - From Internet to Highway
Gates merges VOD with a need for better communication hardware to handle the technology such as fiber optics. Essentially he discusses bringing broadband to the home user cheaply, somehow, but states that the costs in doing so mean completely revolutionizing the way phone companies make money. It is a very detailed chapter in which Gates correctly asserts that this will happen no matter what.
6 - The Content Revolution
Gates discusses the differences between paper documentation and digital documentation including design techniques. He talks about the power of CD technology to capture large quantities of written data, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica and even mentions DVD technology. He talks about VR (virtual reality) and simulators.
7 - Business on the Internet
This is his view on how business will be conducted using computers to communicate, arrange meetings, video conferencing and how commerce will be conducted on-line. Gates is alerting business that they need to be computer Internet savvy or else the competition will drive them out of town.
8 - Friction-Free Capitalism
The Internet is predicted to increase sales and thus business will boom. Here Gates sees everybody improving across the world because the Internet gets businesses to serve a bigger community with more precision marketing. Business will move faster because of this revolution.
9 - Education: The Best Investment
He wants computers in schools to undergo a major upheaval. The computer lab needs to be transformed into the central focus of all knowledge based school activities. Gates emphasizes the need for public schools to undergo a major upheaval. He claims fears about computers replacing teaching jobs are superfluous.
10 - Plugged In at Home
Bill Gates describes his home. This is probably the main reason why most people bought this book when they heard that they could read about what the inside of this billionaire's house looks like. Needless to say he lives in a mansion the size of football pitch filled with all the toys you could image. One room is even a trampoline. Computers control everything from the lighting mood to paintings. Gates talks about robotics a bit here too.
11 - The Internet Gold Rush
This chapter compares the Internet to the American Gold rush and is devoted to broadband infrastructure. It is about the investment potential of the Internet but he specifies that the Internet itself will not make money but is a tool for making money.
12 - Critical Issues
This is mostly about the Internet and the law. Gates has a growing concern that Internet censorship will undermine this next technological leap forward and warns against being too strict. A lot of this chapter is devoted to the issue of a world where more video cameras will be present in both work and life. He highlights problems concerning piracy and forgery. In the end he states that the Internet is a journey everyone should be prepared to make.
Afterword
This is a brief synopsis of the entire book.
The Road Ahead is essentially about the birth of the home PC evolving into the Internet. There is an article called "The Road Ahead 10 years on" on the Internet that you should read after finishing this book to get an idea of how this book faired in its predictions. Things to keep in mind are that Gates maybe undermined how disc storage space would develop. He correctly predicted broadband television services (digital TV). His wallet PC is essentially mobile phone technology. Pen-based computers are the PDA. Wireless is here. There isn't a whole pile he is off-target on. In fact the reader will be surprised by how much he gets right.
There are some criticisms. It does repeat much of what is being said especially when it comes to telecommunications companies investing in broadband. Gates revised this book to reflect changes that had already taken place, namely the Internet revolution. He also doesn't tell everything about Microsoft's coming to power or how they essentially bought DOS and just sold it on. Probably most apparent of all is that Microsoft has tried relentlessly to maintain a monopoly and has been criticized for anticompetitive tactics that run contrary to the ethics and morals that Gates evangelizes in this book.
All in all, the book has lasted in people's memories (it sold 2.5 million copies) and there is no reason to not want to read it. I would recommend it to people who just want to get informed about why everyone is on the Internet or just want to be clearer about what is going on.
It maybe a historic piece of writing, but equally it is one of the most important books about computers ever written. If you like computers and if you like technology then read this modern classic. It is possibly the first book about computers that was scooped up a computer illiterate public.
The big question however is why you would want to read a book that is dated 1996 about technology? The answer is four-fold. First of all, it's Bill Gates and how he thinks. Second, this book has an odd sort of history to it. Third, only some things in this book are coming to pass and much of it remains open or in development. Forth, you can still learn heaps from it although this stuff that has to come to pass doesn't have the same impact it did when he predicted it. However there is a little bit of controversy over how much he did predict and this is explained in the preface.
Preface
After launching the book in 1995, Bill Gates quickly revised it for a 1996 edition that focused on the Internet. It was only after releasing the 1995 book that Gates watched as the Internet unexpectedly achieved a mass sufficient to turn heads in the industry. Gates responded by making Microsoft Internet orientated and revising his book, The Road Ahead. So this book is a combination of how Gates predicts the future and how he suddenly reacted when the future came in unpredictably ahead of schedule.
1 - A Revolution Begins
Bill Gates discusses his history as a child growing up with computers. He describes what he was doing with very simple machines the size of a refrigerator and how he and Paul Allen in their teens developed software for businesses. He talks a lot about microprocessors and Intel.
2 - The Beginning of the Information Age
Gates talks about the dawn of computer technology and implementation, especially in war time. He talks about binary systems and how these techniques of communicating information changed the world.
3 - Lessons from the Computer Industry
In this chapter Gates walks us through the computer revolution which includes BASIC, VHS, IBM, PC-DOS, MS-DOS, Xerox developing the mouse, Apple's graphical interface, Compaq clones, Windows and the failure of IBM's OS/2 project that paved the way for Microsoft to become a mega player. It is a really good business story with many lessons to learn.
4 - Information Appliances and Applications
This is focused on the concept of asynchronous technology such as video on demand (VOD), the wallet pc and encryption technology. The principles are still valid although the forms they take differ in the 21st century.
5 - From Internet to Highway
Gates merges VOD with a need for better communication hardware to handle the technology such as fiber optics. Essentially he discusses bringing broadband to the home user cheaply, somehow, but states that the costs in doing so mean completely revolutionizing the way phone companies make money. It is a very detailed chapter in which Gates correctly asserts that this will happen no matter what.
6 - The Content Revolution
Gates discusses the differences between paper documentation and digital documentation including design techniques. He talks about the power of CD technology to capture large quantities of written data, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica and even mentions DVD technology. He talks about VR (virtual reality) and simulators.
7 - Business on the Internet
This is his view on how business will be conducted using computers to communicate, arrange meetings, video conferencing and how commerce will be conducted on-line. Gates is alerting business that they need to be computer Internet savvy or else the competition will drive them out of town.
8 - Friction-Free Capitalism
The Internet is predicted to increase sales and thus business will boom. Here Gates sees everybody improving across the world because the Internet gets businesses to serve a bigger community with more precision marketing. Business will move faster because of this revolution.
9 - Education: The Best Investment
He wants computers in schools to undergo a major upheaval. The computer lab needs to be transformed into the central focus of all knowledge based school activities. Gates emphasizes the need for public schools to undergo a major upheaval. He claims fears about computers replacing teaching jobs are superfluous.
10 - Plugged In at Home
Bill Gates describes his home. This is probably the main reason why most people bought this book when they heard that they could read about what the inside of this billionaire's house looks like. Needless to say he lives in a mansion the size of football pitch filled with all the toys you could image. One room is even a trampoline. Computers control everything from the lighting mood to paintings. Gates talks about robotics a bit here too.
11 - The Internet Gold Rush
This chapter compares the Internet to the American Gold rush and is devoted to broadband infrastructure. It is about the investment potential of the Internet but he specifies that the Internet itself will not make money but is a tool for making money.
12 - Critical Issues
This is mostly about the Internet and the law. Gates has a growing concern that Internet censorship will undermine this next technological leap forward and warns against being too strict. A lot of this chapter is devoted to the issue of a world where more video cameras will be present in both work and life. He highlights problems concerning piracy and forgery. In the end he states that the Internet is a journey everyone should be prepared to make.
Afterword
This is a brief synopsis of the entire book.
The Road Ahead is essentially about the birth of the home PC evolving into the Internet. There is an article called "The Road Ahead 10 years on" on the Internet that you should read after finishing this book to get an idea of how this book faired in its predictions. Things to keep in mind are that Gates maybe undermined how disc storage space would develop. He correctly predicted broadband television services (digital TV). His wallet PC is essentially mobile phone technology. Pen-based computers are the PDA. Wireless is here. There isn't a whole pile he is off-target on. In fact the reader will be surprised by how much he gets right.
There are some criticisms. It does repeat much of what is being said especially when it comes to telecommunications companies investing in broadband. Gates revised this book to reflect changes that had already taken place, namely the Internet revolution. He also doesn't tell everything about Microsoft's coming to power or how they essentially bought DOS and just sold it on. Probably most apparent of all is that Microsoft has tried relentlessly to maintain a monopoly and has been criticized for anticompetitive tactics that run contrary to the ethics and morals that Gates evangelizes in this book.
All in all, the book has lasted in people's memories (it sold 2.5 million copies) and there is no reason to not want to read it. I would recommend it to people who just want to get informed about why everyone is on the Internet or just want to be clearer about what is going on.
It maybe a historic piece of writing, but equally it is one of the most important books about computers ever written. If you like computers and if you like technology then read this modern classic. It is possibly the first book about computers that was scooped up a computer illiterate public.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
from an educator
I thought it was going to just be about Bill Gates and his life at Microsoft, but it was so much more. Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Krupa
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is very interesting to read
It is very interesting to read this book written so many years ago and see how much Bill Gates knows about technology; past, present and future. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Romeo Richards
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dated but Valuable Reading
It is amazing that this book is nearly 15 years old, and further that Bill Gates was so spot on with the current technology that we see today. Read more
Published on April 12, 2009 by Edward J. Barton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remarkably accurate predictions of our near technological future, but...
I have been listening to Bill Gates' audiobook titled The Road Ahead regularly for the past 15 years since it was published. Read more
Published on March 28, 2009 by Rasih Bensan
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Disappointing Book
This book is neither an autobiography nor a systematic insight on computer industry. Instead, it is a sales pitch for the Microsoft's new business initiative on "information... Read more
Published on December 17, 2008 by Junling Hu
5.0 out of 5 stars
I owe a lot of things to this book
This book hit the stands in 90's when I was an undegrad doing my 4 year course in Computer Science and Engineering. Read more
Published on November 23, 2005 by Kartik Matmari
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worth reading
Definitely worth reading. I'd also, however, suggest that if you really are curious about the early years of computing, you use the internet to check up other opinions of... Read more
Published on May 20, 2004 by hawkman
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Not supported"
Mr Gates didn't mention anything about Java running on any platform/machine
He didn't mention anything about Linux being free
He didn't mention anything "new"... Read more
He didn't mention anything about Linux being free
He didn't mention anything "new"... Read more
Published on May 6, 2004 by D. McGrath
4.0 out of 5 stars
Do not forget the power of TV and the example set by GE
I found the book informative. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the modern world. Read more
Published on April 5, 2004 by andris virsnieks
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mein Kampf meets Microsoft
Take someone of absolute vision and let them write a book. You get either of the books in this reviews title. Read more
Published on March 1, 2004 by scottlyon2002@hotmail.com
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 15
books:
See all 15 books this book cites
100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- The Road Ahead (Penguin Readers, Level 3) by Gates on 5 pages
- The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language (Perennial Classics) by Steven Pinker on page 192
- The Great Gatsby (Textplus) by Francis Scott Fitzgerald on page 146
- Molecular Biology of the Gene (4th Edition) by James D. Watson on page 227
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald on page 146
See all 15 books this book cites
- The Microsoft Way: The Real Story Of How The Company Outsmarts Its Competition by Randall E. Stross on 12 pages
- Bill Gates: Software King (Book Report Biographies) by John F. Wukovits on 10 pages
- Value-Added Public Relations: The Secret Weapon of Integrated Marketing by Thomas Harris on 5 pages
- Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut Revised and Updated Edition by David Shenk on 5 pages
- Trust On Trial: How The Microsoft Case Is Reframing The Rules Of Competition by Richard B. McKenzie on 4 pages
See all 100 books citing this book
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