Rating: 
Summary: How technology benefits our lives?
Review: ¡§The Road Ahead¡¨ is written by Bill Gates in 1996. However, I am surprised that most of the content in the book can come true nowadays. For example, videoconferencing, e-mail, e-shopping, e-banking, etc. This book is interesting that we can understand more how computer developed and how it is applied widely in the world nowadays.The content of this book is about how computer developed and what the trend of the information age is. I got the main point from the book is that ¡§How technology benefits our lives?¡¨ We can divide what Bill Gates has mentioned about the benefits of technology in our lives into four aspects: Individual, education, business, and society. Actually, the evolution of computer and the application of e-mail, ICQ, Intranet, etc affected our communication pattern today. Now, we can use the above methods to communicate with anyone all over the world that overcome our physical separation. Therefore, the world today become smaller and people become more aware of what happens outside the world. And this interactive network can be applied in the above four aspects (Individual, education, business, and society) that improve our standard of living. For individual, the Internet is widely used that enhance socialization among people. On-line game, ICQ, and newsgroup, etc provides more kinds of entertainment for us that can help people to reduce pressure and train our intelligence. For education, CD-ROM, World Wide Web, Intranet, e-mail, and educational software, etc can help people to manage information to support thinking and learning, and to assist many education works. For example, students can submit assignments and download academic notes through the campus Intranet and it enables students to keep in touch with other classmates and teachers. For business, e-mail, Microsoft Office, Web page, videoconferencing, software for scheduling, etc can help to streamline the operation in business internally and externally. And new forms of business begin to emerge, which are e-shopping, e-banking and on-line advertising that help to save operation cost and provide new kinds of business for companies. For society, Internet, e-mail, and ICQ, etc help to enhance information exchange and enhance culture exchange, and then enhance our standard of living since technology enables people to work efficiently so that it increases our leisure time with better lives. This book helps me to understand more about how the evolution of technology can bring us so large and good impacts to our world. I am surprising that what Bill Gates said in 1996 can become reality in 2003. We can enjoy the benefits nowadays from the achievement of the people long times ago. Moreover, I learnt how to think and criticize an issue from different angles so that I can analyze an issue in a more objective ways. We can learn this thinking skill from Bill Gates since this book contains many critical thinking by Bill Gates and how he criticized an issue into different angles objectively. This skill is very important for me and it is very useful for my future career. This book is a valuable book that recorded the evolution of computer and how technology benefits our world. Therefore, I believe that people can get many insights in education and business world from this book. I hope that all the readers can also enjoy reading this book and learning how to think and criticize an issue more objectively.
Rating: 
Summary: His Predictions were Pretty Lame
Review: This book was originally released in 1995, and it's quite interesting to read it today and see how close Gates was in his outlook for the future of computers and communications. He does spend a lot of time here talking about the eventual predominance of the internet all over the world and how people were going to be able to do just about everything on the internet without ever leaving home. I guess that was an ok prediction, but certainly no indication that Gates is the great IT prophet who will lead the world in all things computers and electronic communications. Certainly, he does hint in the book that Microsoft software would run almost all the computers in the world, but nowhere does he admit that Microsoft would also just be putting out the same old products every year with a little added color and more confusing, useless features that provide no benefit over the previous versions, but purchase of the new software would be mandatory for your computer to run, even though it will still constantly crash and you'll never be able to get those paragraphs and sub-paragraphs to line up the way you want it to, but you've got no choice because Microsoft has bought up all the other companies or just taken their code and called it their own, so just shut up and be happy.
If he'd put some of that sort of insight in here, than he could rightfully call himself the Prince of The Super Highway or whatever.
Rating: 
Summary: Technology is Only a Tool
Review: Written by the Master of technology, the book THE ROAD AHEAD attempts to define the computer revolution and its impact on the future. As time has passed the computer revolution has taken us to places we have never dreamed of (both positive and negative). And it will continue to do so. Each generation of thought stands on the shoulders of previous thought. I highly recommend reading this book. But I also feel the reader needs to recognize the marketing genius of Bill Gates in writing such a book as this. After reading this work, we each need to stop and question if the revolution in the computer sciences is as really as profoundly important to our society as the revolution in the brain sciences. If I had to chose between my brain and my computer, I would would want my brain anytime.
Rating: 
Summary: Consider its timeline
Review: Readers must keep in mind where technology was when this book was written. Many of the ideas discussed in the book have either come to fruition or will very soon! What is most interesting is the insight into Mr. Gate's thinking and the drive behind it. This more than anything has expanded computing into everyday life, from sophisticated applications to such mundane things as grocery shopping... An interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: This 1996 book is starting to get a little dated
Review: Bill Gates and other Microsoft thinkers discuss the history and future of Microsoft and the PC. This book provides a good summary of the state of play and thinking at the time of publication. Much of the thinking is not particularly new or original, but coming from inside Microsoft it carries some weight. If you do not follow the industry, then this will provide a good overview -- although you might get the impression that Bill came up with all the ideas! The accompanying CD contains a version of the book's text and a view of Bill's famous high-tech home. The CD is really pretty unremarkable though.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible. Bill the Genius Reveals "Secret" to Success.
Review: This is an absoulutely incredible book. Bill, the king of PC and Computers reveals all. I read it twice and cannot believed he reveals the secrets of his success. Microsoft in 1995 had [$] billion in revenue and it now has [$] billion in total sales. What is the secret of the companies sucess. He tells it to you in the first chapter.... No kidding. Granted this is not technical book, no technical presentation on tranistors, C++, coding but he does reveal the secrets of sucess. The "secret" maybe as simple as "standard" The world of computing needs "standard". The PC and Windows was to be the "standard". ...Computers and Communications. This is the world of the future. Lots of great software will be needed for and Bill goes into great detail in book about this.... However, I do not understand the low rating here or how they do not see the "vision" here. Just because it is not esoteric and complex does not mean it not a great vision. ... The PC is now king and queen of the computer world. Both are based on simple ideas and simple solution for the ALL the people to use. Bill is a genius and the world should thank him so that we now have computers... The world of Computers and Communciation will merge and move forward. There will be unlimited computing and communicating powers for every person in the world. Bill is a visionary and this book is where he sets out his vision. Everyone should buy it, read it, and share in the revolution in Computers and Communcations.
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Summary: what a visionary!
Review: Here is a man so visionary he missed the entire point of the internet, and had to go back months later for a rewrite. Brilliant! He gives us such sage wisdom as "the next big advance in computers will be a method of quickly factoring prime numbers." Think about it. A prime means the only factors are 1 and the number itself. You need a fast way to get that?!? More great Bill wisdom: "I believe OS/2 is destined to be the most important operating system of all time." -Bill Gates "If you can't make it good, at least make it look good." -Bill Gates, 1994 (that explains XP then) "The Internet will never be more than a toy for hackers and gamers." -1993 "The internet is central to everything we do." -1996 Yeah sign up for his daily dose of wisdom....... ...lets not even cover the sad state of his companies stolen sowtware.
Rating: 
Summary: A "Vision" from a man with but traces of a soul.
Review: I wish I could have countless billions, influencial relationships with hundreds of businesses, ties to government policy makers, and a brilliant PR machine so I could also "predict" the future. I enjoyed the book although I don't recommend buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Good and easy-reading book for new computer guys
Review: I'd read "Hard drive" and "Business@ The speed of thought". "The Road Ahead" is my third book about Microsoft and Bill Gates. Before I didn't like and know about him very much, only see the name "Microsoft" in almost every softwares in my PC. After I read the story about Bill Gates, the way he build his company, and his vision on the future technology, there're a lot of good things which maybe good and useful for you. Especially you will know more about him, more than his products and his money.
Rating:
Summary: Very Optimistic but interesting
Review: Listen Software Solutions: The author proposed a wide range of ideas and opinions. Some of the ideas didn't seem realistic, but if computation power could match the concepts maybe I'm being unrealistic. However, I did like the history and insight into how Microsoft became a world leader in software development. I found the author's discussion of virtual communities, virtual reality, and education very provoking: the computer becoming an extension of the mind. Tools to assist in conceptualization and learning. This was a very exciting idea. The author seems fascinated with poker: the cost of positioning to get a big payoff. This part of the book was entertaining. Oh well, I like Bill Gates and his book was fun to read.
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