World War 3.0 : Microsoft and Its Enemies (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "BILL GATES'S NEMESIS, United States Assistant Attorney General Joel I. Klein, appeared an unlikely foe..." (more)
Key Phrases: middleware threat, business hardball, conduct remedies, Bill Gates, America Online, Bill Neukom (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Auletta, communications columnist for The New Yorker, recounts the real trial of the century, which he covered from the beginning.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Masterful character descriptions and moments of drama. Auletta seems to understand the essence of Gates. In Auletta’s hands, the master of Microsoft emerges as a hypercompetitive untamable adolescent." –Chicago Tribune

"Auletta painstakingly re-creates the broader context of the conflict... [and] presents both sides' points of view. World War 3.0 serves to clarify complex issues that could be resolved in any number of ways." –New York Times

"Splendid... I cannot recall a book written about a complex civil trial that describes it as completely and compellingly."–Floyd Abrams, Brill’s Content


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375503668
• ISBN-13: 978-0375503665
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #233,711 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It ain't over till it's over-MSFT vs US in exquisite detail, March 10, 2001

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Just when we were waiting for Microsoft to meekly split itself based on the outcome of the first landmark court decision, it looks like the software giant is racking up the points in what may be the most exciting appeals case in US history.

World War 3.0 couldn't have come at a better time. This book goes into background about Internet browsers, the internet itself and computer operating systems, a key point in the anti-trust lawsuit. And it does an equally thorough job of informing the reader about US anti-trust law. These details are essential to understanding the case against Microsoft, and they are presented here in a way that is detailed yet completely comprehensible.

This would be dry reading indeed if there were not also vivid descriptions of the players; Bill Gates, brilliant, visionary,self-absorbed and completely ill-equipped to play the high-stakes game of personality; the prosecutor, who has gotten himself the case of a lifetime and Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, traditional and sober judge. What is surprising is how much Judge Jackson reveals in this book, as judges are notoriously close-mouthed.

The appeals process is now underway and it ain't over till it's over. If you want to be informed on a case that will literally affect the future of technology, it's well worth reading World War 3.0.

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than the trial, January 17, 2001

By A Customer

Dazzling -- the whole "new economy" landscape is made clear, and all the big players and their competing visions for the future are explained, but the great thng is that the author has worked in all his big-picture analysis so that it hangs off of the book's storyline, the courtroom drama. It's unbelievable how indiscreet some of the people talking to him were -- especially Judge Jackson.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and insightful., March 14, 2001

By	John "John" (PHOENIX, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

I purchased this title on a whim. Although I followed "the trial" as it was being reported in the media I did not find the proceedings, as they were described in the press, to be that interesting. I also knew that whatever happened, this case would be appealed and last for several more years. Consequently, I did not have high expectations for this book. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book was much more interesting and insightful that I had imagined. Auletta does an excellent job of describing the background, tactics, technical issues, personalities, and legal issues that surrounded this trial. Unlike other reports on the trial, he did not just encapsulate the events that took place in the courtroom. Instead, he spent considerable effort to research, then explain, events that went on behind the scenes - before, during, and after the trial.

The spin that was often portrayed in the media was that Microsoft was being victimized or punished just for being successful. The Microsoft media machine did an excellent job of promoting this view either through tactics such as full-page ads in newspapers or Gate's (and others) frequent appearances on television. While I have never been a big fan of Microsoft, part of me started to believe them. After reading this book however, any sympathy that I had for Microsoft, as it relates to the trial, has been erased. Auletta's recounting of the trial makes it clear that they used their monopolistic power to attempt to control or quash any company that threatened the market dominance of any of their core products. In short, they were unwilling to "play fair" and let the best products win in the marketplace.

Some members of the media portrayed Judge Jackson as someone that may have had a grudge against Microsoft. The facts imply that he started out with the fairly impartial attitude. It was Microsoft's frequent and blatant deception, and their inability to any admit guilt even when such guilt was proven, that frustrated the judge. This frustration was evident in some of the language that he used when he wrote his final opinions and findings.

If you have an interest in technology, business, or just like a good courtroom drama, then I think that you will enjoy this selection. It is insightful and written in style that holds your attention.