Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating subject and a titanic struggle
Review: A fascinating subject, one really gets the feeling this is the cutting edge of technology, of enormous significance for the future. A titanic struggle in the field of "high bandwidth intellect". The anecdotes are at times fascinating,at times drawn out.Some excess detail is given at times,but overall a great read. My wife says "Why can't you make money like that?"
Rating:
Summary: See what happened to MS after 1993
Review: A lot of book exist about the story of Microsoft from its start to about 1993-1994. Until now there wasn't one detailing the events after that year.Starting from the day of the Windows 95 world wide widespread (I just need 3 W words!) it take us on a tour about what happened in the last years, from the legal causes to the main change of road that has taken Microsoft to be a dominant player also in the Internetet market.
The book has its major flaws in the fact that sometimes is not so deep and leaves a lot of things pending. Beside that it talks a lot about how a judge was about to change the ruling of the FTC based on author previous book. I don't live in America but I think that american judges could go deeper that a single book (it seems a sort of free promotion of its previuos book!). Also the parte about Gates marriage is a little to long, but it's fun.
Despite all this flaws the book has one HUGE merit: it's the only that exist now about the subject. I think it's worth reading, but maybe an update release in one year or so would be very appreciated by readers (maybe just one two chapter free of charge on the web would be nice)
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Summary: Behind the scenes look at the King of the Software Industry
Review: A very interesting book that will keep you reading from start to finish. Although the book dragged a little with all the Justice Dept's suits against Microsoft. It was still worth reading. I particularly enjoyed the wedding section of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Just What I've been Waiting For
Review: After reading Hard Drive, the prequel to OverDrive last summer, I was left with a huge gap from where the book left off, to where Microsoft is now. This book fills that gap. For a perosn who really likes Microsoft, ar at least really wants to know what really happens over there in Redmond, this is a great book to read
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this book,Gates's fans, if u had read Hard Drive
Review: Don't miss this book if u had read James Wallace's Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the making of Microsoft empire. Because this book contain Gates's next way to mantain his empire from internet wave. Just like Hard Drive ,this book is well written: Complete and detail but still easy to read and understand. It is still the easiest to read and understand Gates's book compare with other similar book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this book,Gates's fans, if u had read Hard Drive
Review: Don't miss this book if u had read James Wallace's Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the making of Microsoft empire. Because this book contain Gates's next way to mantain his empire from internet wave. Just like Hard Drive ,this book is well written: Complete and detail but still easy to read and understand. It is still the easiest to read and understand Gates's book compare with other similar book.
Rating: 
Summary: Actually In Park
Review: Gossipy, disorganized and poorly written anti-Gates screed. This book is so badly written it's hard to get through it, even for someone who is a knee jerk hater of Chairman Bill (like, well, me). The author meanders about, jumping from topic to topic like a kangaroo, leaving the reader at first dazed and confused, but finally bored and annoyed. Worse, he spends an inordinate amount of time discussing Gates personal life, from the chairman's alleged over attachment to his mother to the birth of his kids. Excuse me, but I'm interested in the business end of Gates' life, I don't care if he wants his mommy. Wallace spends an entire chapter gushing about Gates' Hawaiian wedding and how exclusive and elaborate it was. Doubtless Wallace is envious, I was bored. The anti-trust battles are poorly explained, at best, why did Bingaman refuse to prosecute chairman bill? We can only guess. This book has little to recommend it, although Judge Sporkin thought highly of the prequol, HARD DRIVE. I never read it, and after reading this disjointed mess I don't think I will.
Rating:
Summary: The Whole Story?
Review: I enjoyed reading Overdrive and while initialy reserving judgement on a book that uses journalistic sources rather than references, appreciated alot of the connivery going on. The observation about Philippe Kahn, a long time nemesis who dared, and Bill Gates, being like matter and anti-matter trying to exist in the same space was great.
The Spyglass deal on how the legal manouveurs came about to attain the Mosaic browser and the amazement captured by quotes from the Spyglass people directly involved when they found it was to be distributed "free", was one word: amazing.
The plentiful quotes from all the people involved, and the detail on the deal making involved say with Java, the centrepiece of the next revolution of technology, both in and outside of Microsoft, bespeaks well of the energy this author devoted to his topic and the obvious cooperation he received from everyone involved but surprisingly, the increasingly withdrawn, Bill Gates.
I think however that Wallace should have put more into his closing chapter, leaving a certain empty feeling just after closing the book. I thought a more speculative ending with more on the likely fallout of the dichotomy between Gates balancing anti-competitive restraints on unfavourable change with the favourable change, all within his control, would have been more enlightening.
It is though very disturbing to me that on one heartbeat is portrayed an industry domination resting, like no other that has been attained in US business history but that is just the way indeed it has been allowed to happen. The conclusion from this book and the previous one, makes it shallow, in some way, in that it is very difficult to see anything but an imploding Microsoft, taking down financial markets, in its wake, without this one man, that may in fact be an embellishment. The moxy gamesmanship, the menacing marketing, and the obsessive determinination to beat all comers to a pulp, that Wallace has captured of William Henry Gates III, while I am sure is not the final word on this company it nevertheless is a compelling, disturbing story of either success or excess.
This one I enjoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't really meet expectations
Review: I read Hard Drive and like it a lot. I work with computers and I am very interested in the whole history of how things developed and how MS managed to stay on top. I liked this book, but I have to give it 3 starts because it really didn't keep me interested a whole lot. The part about Netscape and how MS almost totally missed the Internet was great. What is most amazing to me is how they turned it around and blew everybody away, which is not easy task for a company that size. Although the litigation against MS should be mentioned because it's part of the history of the company, the chapters about the lawsuits were way too long and boring. I can imagine that a lot of people gave up reading it after chapter 2, with so many names thrown around. Maybe if I were a lawyer I would've enjoyed more. I would read another book by the author as he did a good job on the research, perhaps in a few years it's going to be about how MS dominated the Internet. Hopefully, it'll be more focused on that subject.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't really meet expectations
Review: I read Hard Drive and like it a lot. I work with computers and I am very interested in the whole history of how things developed and how MS managed to stay on top. I liked this book, but I have to give it 3 starts because it really didn't keep me interested a whole lot. The part about Netscape and how MS almost totally missed the Internet was great. What is most amazing to me is how they turned it around and blew everybody away, which is not easy task for a company that size. Although the litigation against MS should be mentioned because it's part of the history of the company, the chapters about the lawsuits were way too long and boring. I can imagine that a lot of people gave up reading it after chapter 2, with so many names thrown around. Maybe if I were a lawyer I would've enjoyed more. I would read another book by the author as he did a good job on the research, perhaps in a few years it's going to be about how MS dominated the Internet. Hopefully, it'll be more focused on that subject.
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