The Road Ahead

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Summary: A book to whet your appetite for learning about technology.
Review: Bill Gates, the "nerd" who struck it big, describes technology of the past, present and future. For someone like me, who knew little about computers except word processing and e-mail, the book opened my eyes to the potential use of future technology. From information appliances to credit card wallets, I was amazed at the types of technology I have to look forward to. I teach business classes and have worked from the book in great detail. In addition, the CD Rom which accompanies the book is wonderful. One can "read" the book online and take hyperlinks to further definitions, or see videos of the people Bill talks about, people like Paul Allen and himself. One can even visit Bill Gates' home as it is being built. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants it all in a nutshell, learning about the technology while not being able to put the book down

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Summary: Interesting, informative--technology made easy to understand
Review: Bill Gates writes an optomistic, entertaining and succinct history of the technology revolution of which he and Microsoft were such a significant part. Although some of his analogies and stories seem to be included purely for the sake of his own ego, they do help to make a potentially difficult subject easy to understand, even for the non-technology person. I did wonder what some ot the other companies (IBM especially) think of some of his perspectives of the events of the past. The revisions between the first and second edition with regard to the education chapter show a more humanistic and informed approach to the issues--I got the impression he might have worked with some educators. Or perhaps it really is because of the birth of his child as he stated on page 209. Although Bill Gates' visions of the future are interesting, his present IS the future for most people, therefore, his description of his present is pretty amazing to most of us! I enjoyed this book, and believe in the use of technology to enhance our lives. Unlike Bill Gates, however, I think the issues that we as a society need to face with respect to technology are of utmost importance. Privacy issues, control issues and access are a few of the areas of major concern to me as a generic citizen--maybe these can be glossed over with optimism by the Bill Gates' of the world, but most of us will be effected by them

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Summary: Awesome
Review: If you are into computers this is a book for you!Check it out!

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Summary: What is in the future and why we think it is.
Review: A very good book that helps you understand what is expected forthe future and WHY it is expected to happen. It also gives you a goodknowledge of the history of computer technology. It explanes how technology has affected, and will affect our lives. ^M --- The companion CD Rom is great. It has some awsome video of how our lives are projected to be in the future; as well as info about Bill's new techno-house (a prototype of how homes in the future may be) and the full text from the book. --- I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes computers and technology and wants to know what they'll want to watch out for in the future of the technology and the internet as it come closer and closer to being the true Information Super Highway.

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Summary: Even a Mac user can appreciate it.
Review: This very informative, interesting book offers a comprehensive look at the technology of yesterday, today and tomorrow. More importantly, Mr.Gates gives us his views on how it will affect our education, entertainment, business, communication and more. The best part is, you don't have to be tech weenie to enjoy and understand it. The text is very "reader-friendly" and touches on many subjects outside of computing. (the variety really does keep it interesting). I felt I learned a lot from this book, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in computers or is curious about what the future of technology may hold.

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Summary: I don't believe it but I liked it
Review: Not being one to read much I started skim reading through the book and found after a few days I was reading it cover to cover. Love him or hate him the guy knows his stuff. (If that is business or computer programs is up to you to decide.) Maybe Mr Gates vision of the future is not ready to be shipped yet but if anyone can do it he can. All in all a good book and that is coming from a Mac fan so that is high praise. (He even mentions New Zealand in the book which is worh an extra mark :)

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Summary: It's to your benefit to know what Gates is thinking.
Review: Gates makes some very interesting observations and prognostications. For people like me who work in the computer industry it's very important to know where we are headed, and like it or not Gates has a lot of say about that! I was facinated by the CD which contains not only the text of the book (formatted exactly like the paper pages for ease of going back and forth), but also videos demonstrating how the future might look. Make sure you get the latest paperback version since it has been heavily revised by Gates. My only complaint is it gets a bit repetative

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Summary: Well written. Interesting. Tells us about the man and myth.
Review: I found Bill's book to be informative and entertaining, with out being TOO self-serving. It was informative in that it traced the origins of the "computer revolution" from it very beginning to now and also gives us a possible glimpse of what technology might be like in the future. However, as with all things, there are some things to be commented on. Gates, while telling us what is possible in the future, only tells us from his perspective, not taking into account other companies. He only views the future from Microsoft's perspective. He talks about Microsoft as if it will be THE company for years to come. He does not provide a wide enough spectrum of what is out there for this to be a truly useful guide.

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Summary: Insights into the Future
Review: Bill Gates wrote a clear and concise exploration of the past and the future of computing. He recognizes the weakenesses of his competitors and allies alike. While the media portrays Mr. Gates as a meglomaniac, he does present a compelling case for the future that everyone can understand. While his evaluation of the past is fairly accurate, Mr. Gates does present several ideas for the future that may be hard to believe. His vision does also indicate the dream of the social introvert. For example, the idea of the "Wallet PC" is funny. In his examples, finding a resturant and finding directions, he shows us that he finds these tasks a little too much for his demeanor. Another example is the PC ID tag for parties that would blink when encountering another of the same interests. Introverts needs such technology, most people do not

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Summary: RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED.
Review: Self-serving. Boring. Wrong. He's not even looking ahead on the cover -- he's looking back to the days of over-priced, constantly-crashing, Wintellian PC monopolies, not forward to the days of universal communications, content, and computing (i.e. network-centric computing).