Book Description

Admired as a visionary leader and brilliant business mind, fearedas a ruthless and formidable competitor, and loathed as an egomaniac with anexplosive temper, Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison has emerged as one of themost controversial figures in a sea of brilliant, eccentric Silicon Valleyluminaries.

But for such a high-profile character, Ellison maintains an enigmatic air, andhis superachieving, multimillion-dollar company remains a rarely studied entity.Now, The Oracle of Oracle goes behind the scenes to uncover thebreakthrough ideas and winning strategies that have propelled Oracle'sphenomenal growth and breathtaking success.

The book walks readers through Oracle's fascinating history since its relationaldatabase hit the market in 1977, identifying and explaining strategies such as:

* Forge ahead and fix weaknesses--lessons from the early 90s when Oraclederailed, but was nursed back to health. * Grow the Oracle way--by making new products, not acquiring newcompanies. * Crush the competition--it's not enough to succeed; all others mustfail.* Sales today make markets tomorrow--tap into the sales force to developproducts, promote a vision, beat competitors.

The Oracle of Oracle is an intriguing, illuminating read forentrepreneurs who wonder what it takes to build a world-class company fromscratch...for managers and executives who want to integrate Oracle'sphilosophies and culture into their own...and for business readers who relish anup-close report from the battle zones of the software industry. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Good Book, But What Does the Future Hold?
I was a big fan of Ellison's swashbuckling style, iconoclasm, functioning as a much needed and cash rich arch enemy to The Borg from the North, long history of success, but things just don't seem to be the same without Ray Lane kind of functioning as Ellison's superego. The Oracle of Oracle had experienced a great run up until Lane's departure, and companies don't flourish on the cult of a personality alone.

I dumped my Oracle stock a while back, but hope Ellison's seeming spiral into ill advised hubris isn't completely intractable. The story of Oracle and Ellison is more than compelling, and only time will tell whether Ellison's risks in Lane's absence will prove fruitful or fatal.

A final note: Mergers and acquisitions are often great for investment bankers and lawyers, but not necessarily great for shareholders and customers. The bigger the merger and/or acquisition, the bigger the potential problems as well. Seems that Oracle is biting off more than it can chew with PeopleSoft.

Unsophisticated and Misguided
This book was a huge disappointment. The author does not appear to have any previous background on this dynamic industry. This book is not even suitable for a primer as much of Ms. Stone's analysis is not accurate. Having worked for the company, I can attest to the fact that its history is not as simple as portrayed in the book. Stone seems bent on proving that Ellison - despite his rock star ego - is the epitome of a true leader.

Insightful!
Despite recent troubles that might cause readers to quibble with Florence M. Stone's description of Oracle as a "phenomenal success," this examination of Larry Ellison and the company that he created is worth your time. Stone sticks to a single theme: How do Ellison's personal beliefs, characteristics and personality affect the way Oracle does business? In answering this question, the book delves into the brutish outlook of company and founder, which Stone summarizes as, "crush the competition." Oddly, Ellison himself is not present. Instead, we glimpse him only through the words of official spokesmen and journalists. Luckily, these accounts were written after the dot-com collapse, providing the book with a balanced, up-to-date perspective. We from getAbstract recommend this book to all readers, whether your interests are in high tech or general business strategy.

Mindless Drivel
At the outset, it should be pointed out that the publisher of this wretched little book is the American Management Association. There are those who consider their publications to represent the height of business sophistication; others should consider spending their time and money elsewhere.

According to biographical information on the flyleaf, Florence Stone is the "editorial director of Web management communications" at the AMA, "and previously served as the organization's group editor of newsletters and journals." In other words, a glorified administrative assistant. No other qualifications for writing this book are stated, and the content does not suggest otherwise.

Ms. Stone lives in a remarkably simple world. Her basic premise is "Larry Ellison is rich; therefore he is a genius." She totally ignores the more interesting question of how someone who thumbs his nose at conventional business wisdom (much of which is merchandised by the AMA) could have achieved Mr. Ellison's level of success. Here is a man who routinely violates the law, intentionally misleads his customers, abuses and ultimately fires his key employees, and knifes his business associates in the back, yet new candidates for abuse keep pounding on the door, seeking the opportunity to feed Larry's insatiable ego. Why?

That is the key question that Ms. Stone's sycophantic little book fails to address.

an excting look into a great management story
This is a superbly written book that is a real page turner. It tells an exciting story that will reward all budding entrepreneurs who would like to create their own brilliant companies that will change the way we view capitalism and the history of free markets. If you want to achieve success, read this book! ... Read more

Book Description

In this insightful collection of essays, Maurice Wilkes shares his unique perspective on the development of computers and the current state of the art.These enlightening essays discuss the foundational ideas behind modern computing and provide a solid grounding for the appreciation of emerging computer technologies.

Wilkes, one of the founders of computing, has provided enormous contributions to the development of computers, including the design and construction of the EDSAC computer and early development of programming for a stored program computer.He was responsible for the concept of microprogramming.Wilkes also wrote the first paper to appear on cache memories and was an early worker in the field of wide bandwidth local area networks.In 1992 he was awarded the prestigious Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology.

These essays will be of interest to everyone involved with computers and how they arrived at their present state.Wilkes presents his perspectives with keen historical sensibility and engineering practicality.Readers are invited to consider these observations and form their own perspectives on the present state of the computer art.

Reviews (1)

Brief but broad perspective on computer history
This book separates the key events in history from all the noise and hype. After Fred Brooks book The Mythical Man-Month, this is the best brief survey of the subject from one who helped to create it. ... Read more

Book Description

How did the computer industry evolve into its present global structure? Why have some Asian countries succeeded more than others? Jason Dedrick and Kenneth L. Kraemer delve into these questions and emerge with an explanation of the rapid rise of the computer industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

Asia's Computer Challenge makes a systematic comparison of the historical development of the computer industries of Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan and concludes that neither a plan versus market, nor a country versus company dichotomy fully explains the diversity found among these countries. The authors identify a new force--the emergence of a global production network. Reaching beyond specific companies and countries, this book explores the strategic implications for the Asian-Pacific countries and the United states. Now East Asia is faced with a challenge; they must make the move from low margin hardware business to high margin software and information businesses, while Americans must respond by maintaining leadership in standards, design, marketing, and business innovation. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Review from a research student
I really love this book because I'm writing my research thesis on ACER, the Taiwanese PC multinational. This book gives a great overview of the global computer industry as well as in-depth analyses of the individual corporations...it's an interesting read on the newest and most exciting industry in the world - even if you are not formally studying the subject.

Review from a research student
I really loved this book because I'm writing my research thesis on ACER, the Taiwanese PC multinational. This book give a great overview of the global computer industry as well as in-depth analysis of the individual corporations...it's an interesting read on the newest and most exciting industry in the world even if you are not formally studying the subject. ... Read more

Book Description

Can open source software—software that is usually available without charge and that individuals are free to modify—survive against the fierce competition of proprietary software, such as Microsoft Windows? Should the government intervene on its behalf? This book addresses a host of issues raised by the rapid growth of open source software, including government subsidies for research and development, government procurement policy, and patent and copyright policy. Contributors offer diverse perspectives on a phenomenon that has become a lightning rod for controversy in the field of information technology. ... Read more

Book Description

Competing in the high-tech computer market is a lot like a war -- especially if you work at Microsoft. Bill Gates's gladiators -- his engineers, evangelists, and programmers -- were famous for seizing new terrain and new technology, converting nonbelievers, and always winning . . . no matter what the cost. No one took the lessons of Microsoft more to heart than Craig Eisler, Eric Engstrom, and Alex St. John, a trio of software engineers who were willing to do almost anything to conquer a market of their own, even if that meant disregarding procedure and protocol.

Michael Drummond gained exclusive access to their story, and the result -- in this updated edition -- is a revealing glimpse into the world's most successful company. Renegades of the Empire isn't just a tale of technology and power -- it's a story of fascinating science, of high-tech boys and their toys. Even more, though, it's a tantalizing, behind-the-scenes look at how three engineers conquered an empire. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Making of DirectX
DirectX is the software component in Windows 95 (and later versions of Windows) that helps developers build graphics applications. This book beatifully describes the happenings in Microsoft which culminate in DirectX being a component of the operating system. The heroes are three Microsofties, nicknamed the Beastie Boys for their aggressive tactics in getting things done. The book is also a story of these three engineers and in particular about Alex St John. Evangelism to push software to customers, elaborate marketing stunts to introduce software, interactions with Apple and other companies during those times, the anti-trust case, are some of the really interesting parts of the book.

Throughout the book, one gets to appreciate the creative spirit and thirst for better software that drives the engineers. Not only does the book shed light on the psyche of the software engineers involved, it creates an image of what its like within the walls of the software behemoth. Anyone interested in programming will certainly find this book extremely enjoyable and will readily relate to the cause pursued by the programmers in question. If you are not a programmer, you might find it a wee bit uninteresting at places.

I would specially recommend this book to anyone who has done programming with OpenGL or any other graphics library. This book will be a work of history for people into graphics and gaming.

A Must-Read For Anyone Who's Ever Used DirectX
This book is a fascinating read, especially for anyone in the fast-growing and ultra-competitive computer game industry. If you've ever used DirectX, you owe it to yourself to buy this book.

It's all here: the creation of the wildly successful DirectX software platform; the humiliating WinG fiasco; Alex St. John's outrageous publicity stunts to promote DirectX (including the crisis with the cancelled alien spacecraft, or when he convinced several game industry executives to streak through Seattle GameWorks); the obnoxious coders who began the OpenGL wars; and St. John's raucous but ultimately career-limiting final letter to Gates & Co.

Although the book reads at times like an Alex St. John biography, the book's mix of wild stunts, software eccentrics, and high technology is enough to keep any reader thoroughly entertained.

Perhaps the most astonishing and terrifying revelation of all is how long it took Microsoft to take the multi-billion-dollar computer game industry seriously, even after the conception of DirectX . . . a mistake the company surely won't make again.

Pass on this One
If you want to read a book on the egotistical founders of DirectX and Chrome and learn how NOT to manage a technology and your employees then this book is for you. They just happened to be at the right place at the right time and rode the msft wave. Save your money.

Hyperbole of personality overshadows the tech inside.
It's nice to know what happened inside of Microsoft for the DirectX and Chrome development drama, but I found author patronising these warriors in a way which is not convincing. It keeps saying that "they are smart, they are super..." but never really showed me why they were so.

It's a book that doesn't have in depth technical juice, and fails to uncover the business acuman in context.

Real life Microserfs
I was slightly disappointed with the style and the completion of the book. The author seems very smitten with the main protagonist (St Johns) which led to some boring exchanges and I felt ruined some of it.

Being a person that breifly used Chrome (the Java tool released by Microsoft to do graphics on the Internet) before it was pulled I had always wondered about the people and politics behind it.

The history and development of DirectX is interesting as are the characters that shaped it. ... Read more

Book Description

The Microwave Way to Software Project Management takes you on a fast, entertaining and essential tour through the jungle software project managers can and will walk in to. For a lot of readers one conclusion still comes as a big surprise: doing projects is a peoples business. It¡¯s all about keeping everyone involved in the project happy by supporting their stakes. The trouble with stakes is, no one tells you what they are. You have to guess, negotiate, anticipate and manipulate to get past the requirements directly through to the fears and wishes of people. Software project management is more about psychology than technology.

This book presents how in the real world of enterprises the ¡®traditional¡¯ techniques of project management, like Gantt-charting, can be used as communications techniques to keep some persons happy. The Microwave Way is not about knowing you have a deadline, but about how to move it. Naming a date is easy, telling you cannot e it, is the real job.

Book Description

The inside story of how a small band of agitators at Microsoft staged the stunning turnaround that transformed the company from an Internet laggard into such a dominant force that it was declared a monopolist.

1993. When Bill Gates peered into Microsoft's crystal ball, he saw a world of Windows.Then the Internet burst onto the scene, and suddenly Gates's Windows-oriented future didn't look so bright. The Internet was the future of computing--and the world's largest software company wasn't ready for it. In How the Web Was Won, veteran Seattle Times journalist Paul Andrews chronicles the explosive drama and high-stakes gamesmanship behind the most remarkable business turnaround of the 1990s: the story of Microsoft's turbulent journey from Windows to the Web--and of the handful of Internet believers who led the charge.
... Read more

Reviews (3)

Overall, pretty brutal
This book could have been written by Microsoft's PR group, since it so blatantly paints them as innocent coders just trying to better the world and makes no attempt to balance that position by exploring any dissenting opinions. The first few chapters are relatively interesting, covering some of the early internal development that's not widely covered elsewhere, but as soon as he gets near the antitrust stuff, Andrews is so pro-Microsoft that it's tough to believe what he's saying.

How the Interviews Were Won: Sucking up
Bill Gates will like this book. It casts him in a very favourable light. Andrews is consistent - in any issues of argument between Microsoft and its competitors, be they Sun, AOL, Netscape, or a host of other companies, Microsoft is the benevolent company that only wants to do well and the competitors are out to get this well-intentioned, if lumbering, giant.

This book is biased. But such bias is inherent in the format of the work - an insider expose of the history of Microsoft. It is the breadth and depth of information that the author was able to gain for access to internal Microsoft emails and interviews with relevant parties that makes the book the interesting page-turner that it is. That is both the book's biggest weakness and it's greatest strength.

"How the Web Was Won" is filled with Internet Explorer icons. Everything from the cover to the chapter heading are decorated in the (in)famous blue 'e'. When reading this book one would expect that more of it would focus on the actual development of the browser. Instead, the development of the browser is relegated to a single chapter and the remainder of the book is a combination of armchair strategy analysis and a recount of previously published information relating to the so-called "Browser Wars".

Don't look to this book for an independent look at the browser wars. Don't look to this book for a view from the front lines of browser development. This is yet another history of Microsoft from the DOS days to the latest .NET initiative, all coloured by the lens of looking at all developments from the perspective of the internet.

I take notes when I read a book. Based on my notes, this is what I learned from this work:

* Recent events in technology have moved from technology being driven by war to more peaceful societal pursuits - Lockheed Martin vs. Microsoft * IBM failed on the desktop because its software design process was rigid - and that was necessary for "five 9s" reliability on servers

However, they didn't change to the desktop which needed innovation and iteration at the expense of reliability

Microsoft succeeded in supplanting IBM because it used fast iterations on its products to get shipping code at the expense of perfect code.

Microsoft has failed in moving from the desktop to the server-side internet where greater reliability (security, virus-protection) is needed at the expense of features

* NAFTA's chapt.11 charges that Canada Post can't use government-subsidised revenue to finance a business that competes with a private enterprise

Microsoft used Windows money in the browser fight against Netscape

These are my thoughts on this interesting and personable recount of already published information.

Engrossing and Informative
You've all heard of Billionaire Bill Gates and the Merry Men of Microsoft. The story, in light of the recent antitrust ruling, is a good bit of modern history. Although a little too heavy on the biographies of the players, the narraive is well paced and seemingly objective. This book is for all who are using Windows, those who hate it, and wonder all about the Redmond, Washington company and what goes on behind its walls. The story is basically that of Microsoft and how it was about to write off the Internet until it was forced to work with it- and did it so well that the Feds came in (and other companies) want to put a stop to it. Really, this book is well written and entertaining for all those who, like me, want to keep up with the history of this seemingly overnight phenomenon known as the Internet. ... Read more

Book Description

Originally a military and scientific computational tool of a small number of government, scientific, and corporate elites in the late 1940s, the computer has evolved significantly in less than seventy years to become a revolutionary technology and the basis for one the largest industries in America. The Internet, email and personal computer have become necessities in most offices and college dorm rooms and many homes. Narrative chapters trace the emergence and development of the computer industry in the United States as seen in the economic, historical, and social context of its times from the early twentieth century to the present. From punched cards and tabulating machines to the first digital computer companies in the early 1950s, Yost clearly describes how the concept of the computer was born in the late 1800s but did not evolve into the personal computer until the late 1970s and 1980s. The computer has emerged from a relatively narrow scientific computational machine to a vast data processing and communication technology. ... Read more

Book Description

Information technology (IT) is a singularly pervasive field; its applications affect people in all walks of life as few technologies do.This nontechnical and realistic overview increases the reader's understanding of the capabilities and limitations of IT.A recognized authority on computers, Laver equips the reader with sufficient information to critically evaluate proposals for new IT uses.He examines the impact of IT in particular areas and assesses its influence on people and communities.The book concludes with an agenda for anyone interested in IT systems. ... Read more

Book Description

Development of ferrite core memory technology during the 1950s was probably the most important innovation that made stored-program computers a commercial reality. IBM's leadership in this development made possible the introduction in 1964 of the IBM System/360, which was so widely copied that it became a standard for electronic stored-program computers that have become so much a part of American life.

This book provides a rare and candid glimpse into the innovations as well as the immense risks and imprecisions sometimes involved in technical decision making. It identifies the basic characteristics of technology management that the author believes accounted for IBM's success during this period, and gives a balanced view of the contributions by talented scientists and engineers both within and outside the company.

The book chronicles a twenty-five-year period during which IBM evolved from the position of leading supplier of electromechanical punched-card equipment to dominance in the field of electronic computers. It describes IBM's response to the postwar challenge of electronics, its highly successful cooperative effort with MIT on an automated air defense system, the introduction of commercial ferrite core memories, developments and decisions leading to System/360, and the manufacturing problems posed by System/360's success.

An internationally recognized leader in magnetics and computer memory technologies, Emerson W. Pugh is a member of the research staff at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights and author of the widely used text, Principles of Electricity and Magnetism. This book is included in The MIT Press Series in the History of Computing, edited by I. Bernard Cohen and William Asprey. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Thanks for the Memories
Memories That Shaped an Industry by Emerson W. Pugh

A review by Frederick A. Ware

This was a fascinating book, covering the first 25 years of computer memory technology. The story includes technical details, legal battles, manufacturing disasters and personality clashes. It has a definite IBM-centric viewpoint, but that can probably be excused given IBM's dominance of the industry in this time period. The dominance was due in large part to IBM's mastery of ferrite core technology, as the book explains convincingly.

The early stored program computer was critically dependent upon the size and speed of its main memory. After the Eniac project demonstrated the ineffectiveness of patch cables for the (instruction) sequencing of digital calculating machines, it was generally recognized that instructions as well as data must be held in a central memory. The read and write time of this memory would effectively determine the performance of the computer, since an instruction would need to be accessed in every cycle. Several technologies were developed and discarded before the computer industry settled on a relatively robust solution - the ferrite core memory cell.

The book is chronological, with the relevant time period divided into roughly three intervals:

1945-50 Vacuum tube processors with delay line or CRT memories

1950-55 Vacuum tube processors with ferrite core memories

1955-70 Transistor processors with ferrite core memories

The ferrite core memory had a lifetime of roughly two decades before being supplanted by semiconductor memory in (about) 1970.

Chapter one covers the post-WWII period. The emerging computer industry had a number competing groups. Aiken of Harvard and IBM had cooperatively developed a series of electromechanical calculators with punched card sequencing. The Eniac team from the University of Pennsylvania formed the Univac Corporation. The Eckert mercury delay line was the basis of the main store of their early machines. Another IBM group developed the 603/604 series of vacuum tube calculators. They went on to build the IBM 701, a vacuum tube processor with Williams electrostatic CRT's for the main store.

Chapter two describes the early ferrite core experiments. The idea was developed independently by Wang of Harvard (founder of Wang Labs), Haynes of the University of Illinois, Forrester of MIT, Raschman of RCA, and Eckert of the University of Pensylvania all worked on the basic idea in the mid-to-late 1940s.

The basic idea was to build a small ring out of magnetic material which had a large magnetization threshold. Cores would be placed in a two dimensional array with independent sets of accessing wires in the x any directions. A single core is accessed by pulsing one x and one y wire simultaneously. Current pulses in a single x or y wire would be unable to flip a core's magnetization, but the single core addressed by both an x and a y wire would be magnetized in the proper direction (for writing a bit). Reading was destructive - a zero would be written into a core, and a third sense wire would have a different type of pulse depending upon whether the core originally had a zero or one.

Chapter three describes the efforts of an MIT group to build the Whirlwind computer (with core memory) for the Department of Defense. Chapter four describes the follow-on project (Sage). These were the first real-time computers. The Sage processor had a 64x64x36 core memory with a 7.5ns cycle time. It was delivered in 1953. Each 64x64 plane required 40 hours of hand labor to assemble.

Chapter five describes a number of commercial systems developed with core memory. These include: IBM 702 tape buffer in 1953

Sperry Rand 1103 computer in 1954

IBM 704 computer in 1955 (64x64x36 memory)

IBM 709 computer in 1957 (512x256x36 memory)

Initial resistance to core memory disappeared once it was demonstrated that it had a 35x lower error rate than the Williams electrostatic CRT memory. The core cost in 1955 was about one dollar per bit.

Chapter six describes the Stretch computer development at IBM. It was to have a 10MHz processor clock and a 2us memory cycle time (128x128x72). It would have about 100x the performance of the IBM 704, and was developed for the Atomic Energy Commision. It was delivered in 1956. Technology from this project went into the 7090 scientific computer and 7080 business computer. Within a year or two, Ferranti, Sperry-Rand and Control Data Corporation had developed machines comparable to Stretch.

Chapter seven covers the period in which IBM develops the 360 computer family. The goal was a family of five CPUs which had compatible instruction sets, but which spanned a performance range of 100x. They would be delivered in the 1964-66 time frame. They would consist of:

Model 360/30 0.5xIBM709 1 byte/cycle

Model 360/40 1.2xIBM709 2 byte/cycle

Model 360/50 4.5xIBM709 4 byte/cycle

Model 360/60 12.0xIBM709 8 byte/cycle w/ 2-way interleaving

Model 360/70 48.0xIBM709 8 byte/cycle w/ 4-way interleaving

The memory bandwidth spanned a32x range, approximately matching the performance target.

Chapter eight covers some of the legal battles fought over core memory technology. Since much of the early work was done by researchers at different institutions and organizations, multiple cross licenses were required by any company manufacturing core memory. IBM paid about one cent per bit in royalties to MIT and RCA in the 1960's. These continuing payments were one reason why IBM investigated many alternate memory technologies, including: monolithic magnetic films cryogenic memory dual core memory multi-hole core memory plated wire memory semiconductor memory

These other technologies were investigated because of performance and manufacturing cost issues with ferrite core technology. Eventually semiconductor memory became the obvious winner, and has dominated memory technology ever since.

Chapter nine wraps up the story, but leaves the reader ready for an accounting of the last thiry years of semiconductor memory technology. ... Read more

Book Description

The contributors to this study investigate Brazil's encounter with industrial development--specifically electronics-based technology--and examine the lessons that other countries can derive from it. Based on original research, this book focuses on the importance of the producer-user connection, the changing balance between national and foreign firms, and the need for learning in industry and government. ... Read more

Book Description

Hardbound. Newgames are fundamental changes in the conditions of competition and in the way in which we organise our businesses. They involve the creation of new concepts and new ways of thinking about the world around us, whether we be competitors or customers. Such newgame environments can be created by step changes in technology, economics, social behaviour or political and legal conditions.

One of the most dramatic newgames to occur during the last quarter of this century has involved the application of microelectronics technology to the development of the personal computer. This book provides a unique analysis of how the personal computer industry came into being and how strategic competition evolved from its early days up to the present. Looking at winners and losers, it includes consideration of the United States, West European and Pacific Rim markets and discusses how the industry is now forming a global marketplace. In addition, it explains wh ... Read more

Amazon.com

The fortunes generated by America's technology companies--from Hewlett Packard to PeopleSoft--have created tremendous pressure to generate more fortunes. These financial windfalls have resulted from efforts to identify markets that haven't yet been served, create products for those markets, build a dominant position, and then maintain that market share by continually improving the original product while also pursuing new avenues of enrichment. Silicon Gold Rush looks at this new business model and the management style that makes it possible. Gone is hierarchical management. If a new idea can't be implemented until it's gone up a ladder of managers and committees, then there's no point in bothering; a competitor with less bureaucracy will beat you to the market with something similar.

Besides flattening out management structures, high-tech companies have also created an entirely new take on employee relations. The engineer or programmer or salesperson walking out the door at the end of the day carries the future of the business in his or her head. Give that person a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum, and in a wink he or she is working for your competitor. Karen Southwick presents this new business paradigm in plain English, attaching useful, if sometimes bizarre, examples of how real companies deal with these issues. For example, a valued engineer at one company didn't like working in a cubicle--he needed a quieter space. To keep him happy, his company, Ipsilon Networks, built a roof over his cubicle, and gave him a door with a working doorbell. One can't imagine General Motors or Chase Manhattan Bank going this route, but who knows? This may be the model for 21st-century business, and companies that don't learn it could be doomed to the tar pits of commercial history. --Lou Schuler ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Not relevant with all the hypes -- too general
Being a person working in SF bay area, I quickly learned that this book was among the inferiors of the book on the Valley.
The descriptions are too general -- the interviews were too shallow and no specific issues are presented in a clear-lighted manner.

Good selections for books on the Valley I think is "Accidental Empires" by Cringely.

A Couple Years Later, This Is Irrelevant
This is a somewhat entertaining read if you can get over the basic fact that the information is outdated. Almost all of the statistics are from 1998 and some of the companies cited as future stars never realized their potential. It was relevant in 1999 but quickly lost all significance in the dot-com meltdown of 2000 that is still continuing as I write this in 2001. Dot-coms now require a path to profitability and companies just don't engage in the same behaviors any more.

This books still has value for anyone wanting to know some historical background from the times of "irrational exhuberance" but the changes in business priorities that have taken place since this book was written have doomed it to irrelevance.

Insightful!
In light of the recent declines in tech stocks, you must give author Karen Southwick credit - for the most part she's profiled companies that are still around, although they've taken some hits. Southwick synthesizes her observations of Silicon Valley over the last decade or so. She takes a broad and sustained look at the practices of such companies as Ascend, Audodesk, Ciena, Cisco, Crossworlds, Net Noir, Open Market, Peoplesoft, Yahoo and others. Using an anecdotal, feature-story style, Southwick dissects these firms, covering CEOs' personal histories, corporate funding and corporate culture - down to dress code and wilderness team-building exercises. Some stories aren't new (insiders know Yahoo's culture is wacky) and there are some small inaccuracies (i.e. you could challenge Crossworlds CEO Katrina Garnett's argument that turnover is still a massive problem). Nonetheless, whether you're an insider or just an observer seeking an overview of Silicon Valley and its players, we at getAbstract.com recommend this accessible, reader-friendly compilation.

There are some valuable nuggets in this one
Definitely worth a look. Well laid out easy to read with summaries from some of today's leading thinkers.

OK Karen Southwick seems to be using her friends (just look at the back of High Noon to find the same names she cites as experts in this book).

She cites the success of companies such as Cisco, 3Com and PeopleSoft, HP,Intel and Yahoo! There is a lot to learn from these masters (even if it is nothing more than no-one has the whole answer) and Southwick takes us on a journey from start-up, through to marketing (mind she she calls it)and to prospecting. The graphs at the end of her book even show you profiles of the qualities CEOs need to have at various stages of their careers.

I like this book because it has great quotes, e.g. Differentiating your product from others is more important than having the better product, it covers a vast range of topics, it intergrates well with other material (e.g. the work of Geoffrey Moore) and it offers a number of warnings.

Well worth having a good look at

Let me catch my breath
There are enough self-proclaimed "management bestsellers," and this one is too effusive and devoid of original content, from the boxed pundit words of wisdom, to the "terrific" blurbs from the people glowingly spotlighted within. Southwick's myopia is perhaps best captured by her claim that "the Regis Touch" transformed Apple. Maybe it was too long ago to remember, but back then, having an actual product made a difference. The idea that things are now moving so fast that intellectual property doesn't matter any more is ludicrous.

The work seems primarily descriptive, rather than prescriptive, making it ironically backward-looking, and already dated. ... Read more

Book Description

This book integrates technology throughout in order to familiarize anyone new to technology.It goes beyond computer concepts and explores the promises and problems of information technology, how it affects people and society, and the future. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Watch the Errors
I have taught computer courses for over ten years and have used all four editions of Computer Confluence.This book has at least a half a dozen errors which I have pointed out to the publisher.None were corrected.I have seen the 5th Edition and the errors are still there.Buyer be ware.If the instructor can point out these errors to the students the book is quite useful.It is not suited to self-paced learning without a qualified instructor.

Good intro to computers
I used this book for my "Introduction to Computers" class during my first college semester. It is easy to understand and covers all topics of computers. It discusses the history of computers, hardware, robotics, artificial intelligence, software, and other computer topics. There are also several funny moments in this book. I highly recommend it.

Information Technology in a Global Society
The Computer Confluence book by Beekman is the perfect companion to theInternational Baccalaureate course on Technology and it's impact onsociety. You won't find very in-depth information on any specific subject,but you will find well-written, polished overviews on computing and themany ways computers are used.

The text is designed to be mind-provokingand to provide concepts that will survive the status quo of informationtechnology. It is a must-read for anybody who wants a wider perspective oncomputers and where it is all leading us.

Both multimedia sources thatcome with the book: the website and the CD are very helpful. A variety ofuniversity classes list this book as a required text and the review quizzesthat follow every chapter will really help your studies.

An Excellent Introduction to the World of Computing
You won't find very in-depth information on any specific subject, but you will find well-written, polished overviews on computing and the many ways computers are used.

Both multimedia sources that come with the book: thewebsite and the CD are very helpful. I took a class where this book was therequired text and the review quiz that follows every chapter helped mystudies.(Previously released as "A reader from Sacramento,California.")

An Excellent Introduction to the World of Computing
You won't find very in-depth information on any specific subject, but you will find well-written, polished overviews on computing and the many ways computers are used.

Both multimedia sources that come with the book: thewebsite and the CD are very helpful.I took a class where this book wasthe required text and the review quiz that follows every chapter helped mystudies. ... Read more