Rating: 
Summary: Interesting to read but .... only for top people
Review: I find the book to be quite interesting but not really relevant for normal people....I think this book is only meant for CIOs, CEOs, CFOs... they are the one that are able to propose such huge investments in Digital Nervous System !! At the last part of the book, Digital Nervous System is compared against the older methodology "Business Re-engineering" without giving some background about what Business Re-engineering actually means...... Anyway, reader need to have some sense of business before reading this... there are plenty of business terms.
Rating:
Summary: Good book... but Bill does not want to you help out
Review: I found this book rather interesting to read. If you would like to run your own company, or you are just interested in reading about big business... then you will be satisfied with this book. Gates (if he really wrote most of the book) does a great job of citing examples of how technology is impacting business in today's economy. It might even give you a few ideas for making your own business more efficient. However, this book has a major down side. I purchased this book hoping that it can give me insight of where the high tech industry is headed. Gates did not do a good job of presenting this. Instead, I found a book filled with hundreds of examples of how companies integrate computers into their business. It shows how the internet helped big companies move information and expand their customer service, but it does not show what's on the road ahead. I recommend this book because it can help you make the most out of your company using computers. However, if you are looking for the next killer application, don't expect to find it in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Bill Gates - the inventor of the inter net!
Review: I learned a lot from this book. Mr. Gates, the inventor of the computer and the internet gives his thoughts about the future of business. In the future, toasters won't burn our toast unless we want them to. In the future, we won't have to think because Microsoft will do the thinking for us. Microsoft will download their new OS onto our computer and bill us instantly. Great times ahead and I know everything Mr Gates does is in my best interest as a business and a consumer.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book from the first page to the last page. It gives you a great idea of what the business could be in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I'm in the process of reading this book, about 1/2 done. I can only read a little each day for my mind will explode with all the ideas presented.
I'm ordering two more copies for the staff to read.
Rating: 
Summary: "BEWARE The Ides of Tech"
Review: Judging from the news, we may all have our particular opinions about Mr. Gates and his problems with Microsoft, but, that's not the point at this moment. Bill Gates is certainly in a position to hit the proverbial nail smack on the head, with a mighty ball-peen hammer, in many areas. And, like anything else, we the reader will analyse what he says, and either accept it or discard it. I've made My Choice - You will make Yours.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent business book
Review: Simply put, this is a great book about business and business management in the Information Age. It doesn't set out to reveal the future or make promises. Instead, it gives real world, practical advice and plenty of actual case studies for managers to bring their businesses up to speed technologically. Much of the book's value is for larger companies, but I still got a lot of ideas for my company of 15 employees. I read part of this in my MBA program, and I would highly recommend it to any manager, leader, or student of business.
Rating:
Summary: Digital Nervous System
Review: The digital nervous system is built using PC technologies, low cost software, and internet protocols. Specialized companies give choice in terms of chips, system software, business applications, networking, and service. COM/.Net Object technology allows the developer to use the component without having to know the inner workings, extends usefuliness through reusability, and communicates across different networks as three tiered architecture. For example, Merill Lynch presents fifty separate applications as one single interface on the desktop. Middleware serves the purpose too make different applications and systems integrate together. Middleware has the potential to keep all data consistent between different systems. Leaps in PC performance have eliminated the need to deploy incompabile middleware applications. High end PC hardware is compability and the software is a 100 percent compabile. The homogeneous platform is the reason PCs are being accepted as servers. ERP companies are moving to PC technology realizing support for more internet user pools at lower costs. The internet protocol allows software running on PC servers to provide information analysis and business transactions. Out of the box software provides easy to customize applications to meet business needs. Using a three tiered architecture combined with customized software makes customization more possible. Companies of all sizes have PC technology. Microsoft next generation of 64 bit operating system will give Microsoft a larger stake of Unix servers. Microsoft NT has already scaled by Unisys as a Mainframe power equivalent operating system. Microsoft and telecom technology will allow voice and data networks to pass information over fiber lines and be internet based. Savings on infrastructure are significant. Listed companies realizing savings were: McDonalds - predicted savings of 18 percent, Dayton Hudson ($100 million and save at least that amount in operation savings), Lockheed and Martin Marietta (cut IT spending by $700 million over five years - realized in two years), Horizonally integrated computer industry based on PC technology attracts more software development. Software developer build software components reducing the cost of business and providing a rich layer of functionality. Windows standardize operating system insulates the developer from the variablity of the hardware. Selecting PC technology safe quards your software investment and retains hardware preference. In summary, cheap harddrives, massive amounts of memory, faster processors have reduced the cost of PC technology. Rich internet applications can be streamed to browser or client applications using internet protocols. More cities will invest in fiber optic infrastructure bring media, voice, and video to businesses and homes. Combining these two factors: cheap PC technology and standardize Internet Protocols will allow software developers to provide rich business functionality and result in "Free capitalism". We are just beginning to discover what the computer can do for us. There will be many more billionaries in the next generation.
Rating:
Summary: Digital Nervous System
Review: The digital nervous system is built using PC technologies, low cost software, and internet protocols. Specialized companies give choice in terms of chips, system software, business applications, networking, and service. COM/.Net Object technology allows the developer to use the component without having to know the inner workings, extends usefuliness through reusability, and communicates across different networks as three tiered architecture. For example, Merill Lynch presents fifty separate applications as one single interface on the desktop. Middleware serves the purpose too make different applications and systems integrate together. Middleware has the potential to keep all data consistent between different systems. Leaps in PC performance have eliminated the need to deploy incompabile middleware applications. High end PC hardware is compability and the software is a 100 percent compabile. The homogeneous platform is the reason PCs are being accepted as servers. ERP companies are moving to PC technology realizing support for more internet user pools at lower costs. The internet protocol allows software running on PC servers to provide information analysis and business transactions. Out of the box software provides easy to customize applications to meet business needs. Using a three tiered architecture combined with customized software makes customization more possible. Companies of all sizes have PC technology. Microsoft next generation of 64 bit operating system will give Microsoft a larger stake of Unix servers. Microsoft NT has already scaled by Unisys as a Mainframe power equivalent operating system. Microsoft and telecom technology will allow voice and data networks to pass information over fiber lines and be internet based. Savings on infrastructure are significant. Listed companies realizing savings were: McDonalds - predicted savings of 18 percent, Dayton Hudson ($100 million and save at least that amount in operation savings), Lockheed and Martin Marietta (cut IT spending by $700 million over five years - realized in two years), Horizonally integrated computer industry based on PC technology attracts more software development. Software developer build software components reducing the cost of business and providing a rich layer of functionality. Windows standardize operating system insulates the developer from the variablity of the hardware. Selecting PC technology safe quards your software investment and retains hardware preference. In summary, cheap harddrives, massive amounts of memory, faster processors have reduced the cost of PC technology. Rich internet applications can be streamed to browser or client applications using internet protocols. More cities will invest in fiber optic infrastructure bring media, voice, and video to businesses and homes. Combining these two factors: cheap PC technology and standardize Internet Protocols will allow software developers to provide rich business functionality and result in "Free capitalism". We are just beginning to discover what the computer can do for us. There will be many more billionaries in the next generation.
Rating:
Summary: Secrets for success of any company
Review: Thinking that it only relates to the IT industry? If yes, then it's the same wrong assumption that I made in the begining, because in reliaty it turned out to be a solution which can be applied for ANY COMPANY IN ANY INDUSTRY.
Facing tough questions such "How can we compete against organisations bigger than ours worldwide" or "How can we still remain big and agile across our different markets without loosing market share?" (in the case of a big corporation) and finally "How to be ahead in the game by Innovating constantly?"; then this book treats the fundamental issues which enable an organisation to become more efficient regardless of the size of its assets, the nature of the industry and the degree of competition in that same industry.
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