Rating: 
Summary: Kind of old, but still good
Review: I recently read this book and liked it. However, it was published in 1996, and we have certainly become more technologically advanced since then. For example, the Internet has blossomed, and is now more popular than ever. Every day, more and more people are buying computers, especially from Microsoft, and connecting to the Internet. In my view, that is a beautiful thing. But before I get sidetracked, let's get back to the book. This book is definitely not a book for those who become bored by long descriptions of technicalities. Essentially, it is a layman's book for those who want to know more about the history of computers, as well as how computers work, and it also offers a small biography of Bill Gates' life. The biography was okay, in my opinion, but it was the history of computers and the description of how computers work that really got me hooked. My mission after reading the book was to know more about computers, and now I do. I have this book, as well as other computer books, to thank for that. The only minor criticism I can offer about The Road Ahead is that it does boast about Microsoft to some extent, but not a whole lot. Of course, it doesn't actually boast out loud about the company; you have to read in- between the lines a bit. Don't get me wrong, though, all in all, this was a good book. A little old, but still good. For you computer and Internet enthusiasts out there, it would be worthwhile to purchase this book today.
Rating:
Summary: It was interesting to see what's on Bill's mind
Review: The book was without a doubt designed to be more of an advertisement of self and Microsoft, but there is no actual boasting and self-focus there. I enjoyed it. Of course in terms of predicting the future the book failed, still the history of technology and general trends are outlined quite well. Ingenuity and innovation are not the greatest Bill Gates' and Microsoft's strengths, they are very good at making money, bying or burying competitors and using somebody else's ideas. However I must admit that Bill has outstanding entrepreneurial talents and surely can market himself and his company. I was curious what the richest man in the world was about, and I wasnt disappointed. Bill (or his ghost writers) can write very well, readers will enjoy the language and dynamics of the book, and throughout "The Road Ahead" you are very subtly and indirectly lead to believe that Bill has been the main engine in the PC revolution. Job well done.
Rating: 
Summary: A farcical fiction
Review: Though Gates casts himself as a visionary in the world of high technology, his ghostwriters pretend that he has a far-reaching vision into the future. In fact this book has been through two editions. The first edition (written just a year earlier) makes almost no mention of the impact of the internet on the world. Only after the net reared its head did the writers of this novel revise it to include a "vision" of what the internet could be. A good fiction, but Gates the visionary who knows the road ahead? Not quite. Microsoft just wants to own the paving companies.
Rating: 
Summary: History in the making
Review: I keep re-reading this book and recommend it simply because it is a history book of the future, and in re-reading it I discover that since I bought it in '95 so much has changed. And this is what Mr Gates tries to lay out in his book.Beginning with A Revolution begins where he takes us back to Lakeside School in North Seattle nestled in amongst the trees with green fields that remind those who have been there (me in the 60's) of Harvard and Yale, which is where the students there aim for. He then talks about the Information Age and lessons from The Computer Industry. Applications and Appliances, Paths to the Highway CD-ROMs and PC's. and in light of what was to come a warning about Friction and Free Capitalism. Education :The Best Investment and the role of the home PC then Race for the Gold and Critical Issues. The last Chapter was a shot across the ship that I fear some people in the White House and in Congress as well as some business areas turned a blind eye to. Because Mr Gates warned them six years ago that change was coming and it was coming fast and that people better wear their computer seatbelts. That just as many cars makers from the 60's are no more that the same would and has come to society today in 2001.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting look back at what was supposed to be ahead.
Review: This is a great book to read and then ponder the question how could so much potential be held back by governmental red tape, policy and general fear? Look at the economic situation now and the failures of the dot coms and it's not hard to see why so many of them are failing! It's great to have vision, but that without execution is wasted. Most like Gates believe in what they can do, if we would only let them do it so the rest of us could benefit instead of trying to figure out how to keep them in check financially.
Rating:
Summary: Hard Drive of IT
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: The Road in Bill's Head
Review: Bill Gates has accumulated the wealth that he has through being the most successful software pirate in the history of computers. From this reading it is obvious that he hasn't the slightest clue of how any of his products operate. He is the supremely luck 'Mr. Magoo' of the computer and business world, stumbling along into his riches. His accounts of where we came from leave out the glaring details of his 'black-ops'-like business style of bait and switch, the underhanded dealings with corporate America and the outright lies he has pushed upon the public time in and time out. His 'vision' of the future is one of near-perfect optimism, and in this I feel that he is correct. This is the direction that business, the world, the internet and the face of communications is heading. And no matter what he does -- pro or con -- it will happen.
Rating:
Summary: Gates in the Road
Review: Having read this book when it was first published I decided to revisit it given the recent happenings with the Dept of Justice. The accuracy of Mr. Gate's predictions strike me in retrospect including (a) The role of computer (b) The role and cost of the Internet in our lives (c) Hardware predictions -- Smaller, lighter, adaptable. While some of Mr. Gate's predictions have yet to come to fruition (wallet PCs, digital intelligence which "follows/tracks" the individual), the ability to think outside the box is unbelievable. There were times however when Mr. Gates apparent arrogance does show through.
Rating:
Summary: Street Fighting Man
Review: Although some people will dismiss this offhand as being the mad rantings of an evil genius, and yet more people will be entranced by the deeply sensual image of the young, slim Gates on the cover, posing on a road in dashing floppy clothes, it's actually a fairly good account of the history and development of operating systems, Bill Gates, and Microsoft in general. The details of the company's split with IBM over OS/2 seems born of frustration at a missed opportunity, and although the tone is very dry, and the book tends to deal with obvious, opinion-free accounts of fact, it's an entertaining thing to dip into before going to bed. Quite why it has a ...'special surcharge' I don't know.
Rating:
Summary: The road ahead and beyond in the field of computing...
Review: The future is limitless; Bill Gates documents his visions in this excellent book. The Road Ahead offers answers to our fears and expands the imagination in the field of artificial intelligence.
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