Wireless Imagination: Sound, Radio, and the Avant-Garde

Book Description

Wireless Imagination addresses perhaps the most conspicuous silence in contemporary theory and art criticism, the silence that surrounds the polyphonous histories of audio art. Composed of both original essays and several newly translated documents, this book provides a close audition to some of the most telling and soundful moments in the "deaf century," conceived and performed by such artists as Raymond Roussel, Antonin Artaud, Marcel Duchamp, Andre Breton, John Cage, Hugo Ball, Kurt Weill, and William Burroughs.

Wireless Imagination: Sound, Radio, and the Avant-Garde.: An article from: Notes

Average customer rating:

Wireless Imagination: Sound, Radio, and the Avant-Garde.: An article from: Notes
Stephen Miles
Manufacturer: Music Library Association, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Online Books | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Science & Technology | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on September 1, 1994. The length of the article is 2578 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wireless Imagination: Sound, Radio, and the Avant-Garde.
Author: Stephen Miles
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1994
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: v51 Issue: n1 Page: p65(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Wireless Imagination: Sound, Radio, and the Avant-Garde

Average customer rating:

Wireless Imagination: Sound, Radio, and the Avant-Garde
Douglas Kahn
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQNGY2

Average customer rating:

Nat. Geo. Greatest Pix Review

christmas

Disappointed!

Amazing!

Incredible photos

Through the Lens: National Geographic's Greatest Photographs

Manufacturer: National Geographic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Photojournalism | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Wide Angle: National Geographic Greatest Places

In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits

100 Photographs That Changed the World

Work: The World in Photographs

Life: Heaven on Earth: 100 Places to See in Your Lifetime (Life)

ASIN: 079226164X
Release Date: 2003-10-01

Amazon.com

Since the 10.5 million images in National Geographic's possession won't fit in a book, the 250 in this moderately glossy, minimally costly collection will do nicely. Through the Lens is a stunning collection of photos judiciously apportioned to represent the regions of the earth, the sea, and outer space; humans and nature; and even the history of the medium--a few historic black and whites contrast dramatically with the eye-popping modern color shots that dominate the book. As ever, the esthetic key to their impact is the use of big, emotional pictures with witty little captions, and whenever possible, startling juxtapositions. A Boston matron's faux-fur coat looks just like her pet Dalmatian (the caption identifies them as "spots fans"). The world's widest street (in Buenos Aires) by night looks great next to a grassy highway overpass for grizzly bears in Alberta. The famous green-eyed Afghan refugee poses in a purple burkha with her 1985 National Geographic cover. A Moscow shopper tries on a snowsuit, oblivious to the huge face in the ad on the wall behind him, whose nose he obscures and smile he bisects. A fuzzy shot of a 1907 inventor testing a multiwinged "Katydid" flying machine contrasts with a crisp 1974 shot of Skylab soaring far above fluffy clouds. Often, what's striking is the juxtaposition of ideas. An Arctic wolf making an impossible leap between ice floes arcs in midair, only its reflection hitting the frigid water. A 1935 Model T "surfs" a steep dune in White Sands, New Mexico. Chorus lines of stuffed cane-toad corpses with surreally clothespinned snouts perform on a taxidermist's shelf. Newborns are lined up like bread loaves in Shanghai. A woman in a white chador sits in the Tripoli airport, the white lines of fluorescent ceiling bulbs radiating behind her head like a saint's halo. This isn't the fanciest photo book of the season, but it certainly is a good deal. -Tim Appelo

Book Description

For more than 100 years, National Geographic has set the standard for nature, culture, and wildlife photography. Now, in Through the Lens, 250 spectacular images—some famous, others rarely seen—are gathered in one lavish and beautiful volume.

Through the Lens is divided into geographical regions—Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, the Americas, and Oceans and Isles—with a special section devoted to space exploration. Each geographical section features an outstanding array of photographs that exemplifies the area's unique people, wildlife, archaeology, culture, architecture, and environment, accompanied by brief but informative captions. From Barry Bishop's heroic Mount Everest climb in the 1950s to the glorious wildlife of Asia and Africa, from ancient Maya culture to the Afghan girl found 17 years after her piercing green eyes captivated the world, these are some of the finest and most important photographs ever taken.

Featuring master photographers from the late 1800s to today, including Frans Lanting, David Doubilet, David Alan Harvey, Jodi Cobb, William Albert Allard, Nick Nichols, and Annie Griffiths Belt, Through the Lens is an extraordinary photographic celebration of some of the greatest the world has to offer.

Customer Reviews:

Nat. Geo. Greatest Pix Review.......2007-03-25

I fancy myself to know a good photo when I see one and I was humbled by the really great photos in this book. I suppose it all depends on what you like, but since these are the pix they chose to include and I think they are great, either they or I agree with each other. Buy it. It will amaze you and when you leave it out for discovery, it will amaze your friends!

christmas.......2007-01-15

this item was given(sent)to someone else for christmas...National Geographic has always been a 5star item and I doubt it has changed through the years...the ordering/shipping process was 5star as always on Amazon

Disappointed!.......2007-01-07

The front jacket was beautiful and caught my eye. Being an artist I wanted beautiful photos for source material. What a let down when I received the book! The photos were not even worth flipping through. Many were in black and white. Not the quality I expected from National Geographic. If you want beautiful stunning photos don't order this one.

Amazing!.......2006-12-13

The book was in excellent condition and made a wonderful gift for my friend's birthday. I was extremely pleased. This book is even more amazing than the description can convey. An excellent coffee table book.

Incredible photos.......2006-08-22

The 250 photographs in this book represent the best of the travel, cultural, geographical, and scientific photographs ever taken. Savor these photos, learn from them, or just appreciate them for their beauty. National Graphic sets the standard for photography outdoors, and this book sets the standard for photographers. You can glean an entire photographic education just from studying the images in this book.

Book Description

During a pilgrimage to the oracle Tai Yi-Jun, Miaka is trapped inside a cursed mirror while her evil reflection goes free! Can Tamahome, Hotohori, and Nuriko save the real Miaka? Can Yui, now back in the real world, help her missing friend come home? When Miaka does make her way back to Tokyo, things are not as expected. Fushigi Yugi, a pioneering series, proved that manga for girls could be a hit on TV

Customer Reviews:

Second is as much fun as the first........2005-12-17

Yu Watase, Fushigi Yugi: Oracle (Viz, 1999)

The second entry in Watase's manga series continues the story from the first book. Miaka is still discovering her place in the China of two millenia ago, while her best friend, mother, and brother are searching for her in the present-day world. Miaka, however, has more pressing problems; Hotohori has decreed that Miaka and the three celestial warriors already uncovered need to make a pilgrimage to the sacred mountain to find out more about where to look for the four celestial warriors not yet uncovered. Which, of course, exposes everyone to all sorts of danger.

Oracle, like the first book in the series, is quickly engaging, with likable protagonists, amusing situations, and some unexpected turns. It does have a bit of the confusion factor of some other manga (sometimes it's a bit hard to tell some characters apart, thanks mostly to hair color being variable from frame to frame), but it's kept to a minimum here. Fushigi Yugi is good stuff. *** ½

Great volume.......2005-06-17

This is volume two of Fushigi Yuugi. This is another great volume. Miaka and Tamahome are a great couple with a wonderful love story. In this volume, Tamahome tells Miaka about his past as they share a nice conversation in the lake. Later, Miaka finds herself face to face with a new side of herself and must find a way to rescue everyone, when she is inside a mirror. Miaka finds a way to return to her world and promises Tamahome she will come back. When she comes back she realizes that a lot of time has passed and that time is different in each world. When she is walking through the forest, she sees Tamahome and they hug, happy to be reunited in a very sweet and romantic scene. This is a wonderful volume.

The continuing of one great manga series........2004-12-01

The new character that appears in this book is Tai Yi-Jun. She gave the Universe of the Four Gods to Hotohori. She is pretty scary if you're not used to her.
In this installment, Miaka, Tamahome, Hotohori, and Nuriko go to see Tai Yi-Jun. At the beginning of the book, Miaka doesn't feel well. Nuriko believes that if she goes back to her hometown, she will feel better. So the foursome go to Daichi Mountain to see Tai, who could help Miaka. However, there is one test needed so Miaka can prove if she really is the Priestess of Suzuku. It involves... Miaka's bad side?! Oh no!! No way I am telling you anymore than that, but I will tell you that Miaka succeeds in going back to her hometown.
Highly Recommended.

Average customer rating:

Fantastic

Laugh outloud

Not just for moms...

Mommy Humor at its finest!

Good for a "middle-of-chaos" Mommy laugh

The Same Phrase Describes My Marriage and My Breasts : Before the Kids, They Used to Be Such a Cute Couple...Notes While They Nap
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Mother's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What I've Learned in My Never-Ending Quest to Become a Dalai Mama

The Book of Eleven: An Itemized Collection of Brain Lint

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

One Of Those Days

Brain Lint Note Cards for Moms

ASIN: 0740700502

Book Description

Humorist Amy Krouse Rosenthal's hilarious and nail-on-the-head writing has struck again. Her latest book, The Same Phrase Describes My Marriage and My Breasts, spotlights the lighter side of parenting with a sharp wit reminiscent of the late Erma Bombeck, but with a modern twist. Rosenthal reassures parents that the insanity that comes with raising a child is perfectly normal. It is a delightful book for any parent who has realized that stain-free baby clothes and perfectly behaved children only exist on commercials for Kodak and Downy. Rosenthal's endearing collection of humorous anecdotes and reflections is drawn from her illuminating first years as a mother of three. Being a pregnant working mom means occasionally having a urine specimen hidden in your briefcase for your mid-day checkup. No matter how anal you get, no matter how methodically you put away the toys, the Candyland cards end up in the Lego bin, and Lion King puzzle pieces turn up in your shoes. Daylight savings means that on one Sunday, when it's 7:30 A.M., you still have something like 80 more hours until they go to bed. Forget the instructions of Dr. Spock and open your heart to a woman who proudly survives life with three kids-granted not a single glass from her bridal registry remains intact-and relishes being a mom. At times touching, at other times hysterical, The Same Phrase Describes My Marriage and My Breasts is a must for parents who long ago realized that parenting is just like The Brady Bunch if you eliminate the neatly-wrapped solutions and toss in complete unpredictability and random vomiting.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic.......2007-07-29

Hilariously funny. I read many of the pages aloud to my husband during a roadtrip. I wanted to print every single phrase,every single quote, notation and thought in 180 point font and hang them up on my refrigerator. Loved it.

Laugh outloud.......2007-05-31

This is a delightful funny book about parenting. Sure, a lot of us have been there and done that but few with such hilarity. Even the title makes me laugh. And, if you want more chuckles about parenting, order ParentLaughs: Quips, Quotes, and Anecdotes about Raising Kids ASIN:0517228173

Not just for moms..........2001-12-28

I bought this book for my wife for Christmas. By the time I wrapped it, I had read the whole thing. I'd pick it up, read a little, laugh a lot, put it down and do other things. I kept coming back to it and eventually I found I had finished it.

Rosenthal's notes are dead on and she writes with a style that makes the most mundane things humorous. Sort of a Seinfeld for parents, except as parents you'll really understand what she's talking about. You may even get a little absolution from the book - for example, in a list of confessions she admits she has let sucking the toothpaste off a toothbrush pass as "brushing". Having kids myself, I can completely understand and picture that situation...

Great stuff...it was a perfect stocking stuffer. Guys, this would be a great book to surprise your wife with for no reason.

Mommy Humor at its finest!.......2001-11-29

Need a good belly laugh? Amy delivers the goods! Hilarious quips all parents can relate to and tender thoughts we share. A great gift for a new mom or a constant Mom!

Good for a "middle-of-chaos" Mommy laugh.......2001-05-07

This was very funny and I've recommended it to several other Mothers. However, do not spend your money on her "Book of Eleven" as it does not compare to this book!

Book Description

In his own enigmatic way, Greenaway shows us that you can hide paintings, avoid literature, and if your ingenious avoid listening to music, but you can't avoid architecture.

Average customer rating:

Belly of an Architect
Wim Cdmsim 59615 Mertens
Manufacturer: MSI MUSIC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
ASIN: 6308887137

Customer Reviews:

Wrong........2007-05-16

I lived with vaginal pain till my mid 20s when I discovered that physical therapy, specifically pelvic pain myofascial physical therapy could and did heal my pain. so my years of thinking it was all in my head were wrong. What I had was vestibulitis, vulvodynia and muscle spasms.
Please google Rhona Kotarinos for more information.

when a womans body says no to sex: understanding and overcom.......2004-06-08

I lived with vaginismus up until I was 34 (I am now 35) and I cant imagine that reading a book alone can REALLY help you. For the reviewer who claims that the great women at the Womens Therapy Center are a joke, I dont think you know what youre talking about. They helped me and so many other women overcome this condition, they truly saved my life, and I'm sure I can speak for the other women Ive met there who have said the same. Most women that suffer and have suffered from vaginismus understand that its impossible to "cure" yourself. The women at WTC know what they are doing and they are educated, kind, incredible women. Im sorry that you feel that they are a "joke", it seems that you have looked for answers on this condition for a long time, trust me they have the answers. I wish you luck.

GREAT BOOK!! It's helped our support group ENORMOUSLY!.......2003-07-21

THANK YOU for this book...!

Hope it goes back in print soon!!

It's not a blatant self-promotional tool like the other one put out by the "clinicians" (SOCIAL WORKERS ONLY) at the WTC. What a joke!

HELP ME!!.......2000-10-07

I have been trying to get hold of ANY of Ms Valins books for over a year and a half,does ANYONE know where I can obtain them? I live in Japan and cannot get treatment for this "illness", it has lead to bouts of depression. Please advise me on how to obtain any of her material. Thank-you, from one woman to another.

I AM NOT ALONE ANYMORE,THANK YOU MS. VALINS.......1998-05-30

EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPIERENCES CAN AFFECT YOUR LIFE FOREVER IF YOU DO NOT SEEK INFORMATION AND GET HELP.

When a Woman's Body Says No to Sex: Understanding and Overcoming Vaginismus

Average customer rating:

When a Woman's Body Says No to Sex: Understanding and Overcoming Vaginismus
Linda Valins
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJ8P4K

Customer Reviews:

One of the best if not _THE_ best Friends book.......2000-09-05

I highly recommend you buying this book ... if you can't find it in any book stores around your area then buy it from amazon. The book contains 501 Questions for those of you'se who think you are a Friends Fanatic and these questions range from what number is chandlers and joeys apartment number? to what is Chandlers mum's name?

If you think you can handle the questions then buy the book, but I warn you it is highly addicting and will keep your mind focused on one thing and one thing only...... FRIENDS!

Bubbly, quizzy fun.......1998-09-14

A humorous book on the first season of the Emmy Award winning TV show. No you are not going back to school. This book is entertaining and fun. Test your knowledge of the "Friends" and get a rating of How good a FRIEND you are.

Amazon.com

Hard Drive charts Gates's missteps as well as his successes: the failure of OS/2 and the embarrassing delays in bringing Windows to the marketplace; the highly publicized split with IBM, which then forged an alliance with Apple to battle Microsoft; the public relations fallout over various exploits of Gates; and the investigations by the Federal Trade Commission. Wallace and Erickson also examine the combative, often abrasive side of Gates's personality that has alienated many of Microsoft's rivals and even employees, and led to his being labeled "The Silicon Bully" by Business Month Magazine. They report:

In the early 80's, Microsoft's Multiplan lost out to Lotus 1-2-3 in the marketplace. According to one Microsoft programmer, a few of the key people working on DOS 2.0 had a saying at the time that "DOS isn't done until Lotus won't run." They managed to code a few hidden bugs into DOS 2.0 that caused Lotus 1-2-3 to breakdown when it was loaded. "There were as few as three or four people who knew this was being done," the employee said. He felt the highly competitive Gates was the ringleader.

The first two female executives hired at Microsoft in 1985 were recruited to meet federal affirmative action guidelines so that the company could qualify for a lucrative Air Force contract. One source says,"They would say, 'Well, let's hire two women because we can pay them half as much as we will have to pay a man, and we can give them all this other crap work to do because they are women.' That's directly out of Bill's mouth...." Gates treated one of these executives so badly that she asked to be transferred away from him.

Microsoft managers used the company's e-mail system to secretly spy on employee work habits. Only those employees who worked weekends could collect bonuses. In time word got out and some employees logged into their e-mail on weekends with a modem from home so it would appear they had come in.

Book Description

The true story behind the rise of a tyrannical genius, how he
transformed an industry, and why everyone is out to get him.

In this fascinating exposé, two investigative reporters trace the hugely successful career of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Part entrepreneur, part enfant terrible, Gates has become the most powerful -- and feared -- player in the computer industry, and arguably the richest man in America. In Hard Drive, investigative reporters Wallace and Erickson follow Gates from his days as an unkempt thirteen-year-old computer hacker to his present-day status as a ruthless billionaire CEO. More than simply a "revenge of the nerds" story though, this is a balanced analysis of a business triumph, and a stunningly driven personality. The authors have spoken to everyone who knows anything about Bill Gates and Microsoft -- from childhood friends to employees and business rivals who reveal the heights, and limits, of his wizardry. From Gates's singular accomplishments to his equally extraordinary brattiness, arrogance, and hostility (the atmosphere is so intense at Microsoft that stressed-out programmers have been known to ease the tension of their eighty-hour workweeks by exploding homemade bombs), this is a uniquely revealing glimpse of the person who has emerged as the undisputed king of a notoriously brutal industry.

Customer Reviews:

Intense, highly relevant.......2007-07-21

Delightful book. Its one flaw is its addictiveness, I couldn't put it down which did cost me sleep (I'm an IT professional with an entrepreneur spirit- your results may vary).

The Microsoft/Gates biography is impeccable in its wealth of interesting details and engaging story-telling.

Bill Gates is a fantastic decision maker. He would be as successful selling water or space suits, he just happened to be at the right time in the right booming industry and pushed with his business-business mentality to the limit. Right decision after right decision, the Microsoft journey is a story that any entrepreneur should nitpick and absorb as much as possible.

Of course, his terrible capitalistic drive is a perfect subject for a discussion on morals, social responsibility and related matters, but without a doubt when it comes to maximizing outcome while playing by our economic rules, Hard Drive tells a tale of epic proportions featuring a superhero / villain that rivals the best of science fiction.

Great tracking of a complex personality...........2007-05-13

This is the definitive Book about Bill Gates (and the history of Windows). It covers all the management aspects of how he drove Microsoft and how the work became his life. The man doesn't do business... He LIVES it. And this book describes it in very much detail.

The details includes how Bill "turned over" IBM... Promissing them the OS/2 under the "NT Technology" flag and how he realeased Windows 95 and killed IBM forever from the Desktop business. It also shows Gates apreciation for Older woman (and many that took him to bed). As part of this "private" package, it also explains the problems that He had with Steve Ballmer. How Ballmer was showing poor management and leadership under Gates perspective and how Ballmer got over it and made his loyalty to Gates forever.

I was more interested on the part that explains how Microsoft Windows 1.0 was developed. How disastrous the first Office was compared to the competition and how they managed to "work around" and fix it, by "coping" the competition and improving it "the Microsoft way".

Buy this if you want to know how business can be done... or be "copied".

critical, but admiring: a balanced book, if outdated.......2007-05-03

This is really a story of how Gates led Microsoft to its apex, ending in about 1992. It is well written and a good balance bewteen criticism, an explanation of the business model, and historical detail. The story is, to put it mildly, remarkable no matter what you think of MS and Gates.

While a student at Harvard in December, 1974, Bill Gates III and Paul Allen informed Ed Roberts by telephone that they had invented a BASIC computer language for the MITS Altair 8080, which was the first "personal computer" kit for hobbyists. Could they license it along with each Altair kit, Gates asked, to customers for a royalty fee? It was an audacious proposal, because not only had Gates and Allen invented no such thing, but they neither owned an Altair kit nor did they even know the technical specifications for the Intel 8080 chip. Skeptical of their claim, Roberts replied that whoever demonstrated a working BASIC would win the account: Gates and Allen were in competition, he told them, with 50 other "geeks" who already had made the same claim. Gates and Allen then hunkered down for 8 weeks to write the first BASIC for a microcomputer. The resulting "software", which immediately won over Roberts, was the first application of what would become Microsoft BASIC. Gates was 19.

As the company founders, Gates and Allen shared a vision that virtually every home and every office desk would eventually have a PC on them, all operating with their software. To run Microsoft full time, Gates dropped out of Harvard in January, 1977. Their business quickly expanded beyond the Altair as competing brands of personal computers emerged, including the Tandy from Radio Shack and the Apple II computer; they were also called upon to program BASIC into a number of other electronic devices. All along, Gates' goal was to gain market share, in effect setting the software standard for most, if not all, PC users. As a true believer who intimately knew the product, Gates was the principal salesman, while Allen concentrated on technical development.

During this formative period, Microsoft's corporate culture was established. Perhaps as a result of hiring many of his programmers straight out of university, Microsoft's offices (and later the campus in Redmond, Washington) took on the look and feel of a college campus, that is, an informal and a freewheeling intellectual atmosphere with "late hours, loud music, walls full of junk, anything goes dress, Coke, adrenaline, unbuttoned behavior." Employees tended to be very young with a programmer or engineering mentality; they designed their products for tech-savvy customers - male in their early 20s - like themselves, a kind of fellowship for computer adepts. Like Gates, they loved to play with and program electronic gadgets.

Microsoft hired the brightest programmers with demonstrated practical abilities. Employees were also expected to work extremely long hours as a team toward a common goal, not as strident individualists. Gates encouraged them to develop their entrepreneurial passions, forcefully advancing their own ideas of useful products for new markets. Overseeing it all was Gates, who gained the reputation of a harsh and challenging critic with a relentless drive for excellence, whether to beat the competition or out of fear of falling behind in such a fast-changing industry. As the sole remaining founder after Allen's departure in 1983, Gates remained deeply involved in both technical and business details as well as the general direction of company strategy. Nonetheless, as the principal revenue generators, Microsoft's product groups increasingly became the seats of decision-making power, in spite of Gates' active engagement.

At the end of 1979, Microsoft had $US 4 million in sales. Most of these revenues came from BASIC, which enabled programmers to create applications, such as word processing and accounting spread sheets. The level below BASIC and the other languages under development at Microsoft was the computer operating system, which performed the most elementary tasks required to run computers. With the prospect of providing software to IBM for the basic PC it was planning to market for a reasonable price, Gates and Allen began to acquire the rights to, and then develop, software for a computer operating system. Known later as DOS, it again set an industry standard that would enable Microsoft to efficiently develop languages and software applications in a single engineering environment rather than painstakingly customize them for a variety of incompatible operating systems. This would immensely simplify Microsoft's programming process as well as enhance its efficiency.

As Gates foresaw, this was a near-ideal position to occupy at the moment that the PC market was poised to grow explosively with the introduction of the inexpensive IBM PC, which was made of off-the-shelf components and hence easy to copy, or "clone". With the dual ownership of DOS and several major programming languages, Microsoft became one of the fastest growing companies in the world. By 1985, just prior to its IPO, on revenues of $US 140 million, Microsoft had a pre-tax profit margin of approximately 34%, no long-term debt, and cash reserves of $US 38 million. By 1987, the company surpassed Lotus to become the world's largest software vendor for PCs. Gates was on his way to become the richest man in the world, at least for a time.

However, the ownership of DOS and the programming languages would also, critics later claimed, confer an "unfair advantage" on the company. First, the Microsoft applications groups were accused to obtaining "inside information" from the operating systems group, which enabled them to design their products to function more quickly and smoothly than competitors could. Second, because each change in DOS required competitors to supply their latest products to Microsoft programmers to ensure compatibility, critics charged that this amounted to an inside peek into their strategy at the cutting edge of their capabilities. It was a symbiotic relationship that made many outside vendors - independent companies developing applications to run on Microsoft operating systems -uneasy and resentful. Third, DOS programmers were accused by rivals of inserting "hidden bugs" into the operating system in order to hinder the function of competing products, such as the Lotus spread sheet, damaging their competitive position and brand. The resulting negative publicity did a great deal of damage to the Microsoft brand, which began to be seen as the industry bully.

While Gates insisted that he had erected a "Chinese Wall" between Microsoft's applications division and its Operating System's Group, it was not enough to deter the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from opening a probe into the company for anti-competitive practices that purportedly hurt consumers. By 1991, when the FTC probe became widely known, Microsoft controlled one-quarter of the applications market and dominated the operating systems market with Windows. There was speculation about the imminent breakup of Microsoft into separate companies for these markets, similar to the dismantlement of AT&T. For their part, defenders of Microsoft argued that it was winning because it was better and smarter, presenting its customers with superior products at bargain prices.

This a pretty much where the book stops, which badly dates it. Not only is the story of the anti-trust law suits left untold, but subsequent business developments - notably the internet - are not even mentioned. Thus, this is an excellent early history, but the reader must look elsewhere for more detail. Of the shelf of books on MS, in my opinion this is one of the best, and it was most useful to me for a research project. Recommended.

love your protagonist........2007-04-17

I can never figure why an author would write a book about someone they don't like. In the book "Google" by David A Vise, it's abundantly apparent that the author has a huge admiration for Brin and Page the founders of Google. Thus it made for a great book. Hard Drive comes across as a book that was purely written for the authors to profit and I didn't enjoy it half as much as the Google book, even though Bill Gates is my favourite entrepreneur.

Pretty good read.......2006-11-03

Provides a pretty balanced look back on Microsoft's history up until 1994-95. It's really cool to read this now, given what has transpired since then. Gives great insight into just how driven Bill Gates is, and what he gave up to achieve his success. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated with the early stages of the micro-computer revolution.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books

The true story behind the rise of a tyrannical genius, how he transformed an industry, and why everyone is out to get him.

The true story behind the rise of a tyrannical genius, how he
transformed an industry, and why everyone is out to get him.