Microsoft Rising ...and other tales of Silicon Valley

by Lewis, Ted G.

• ISBN13: 9780769502007
• ISBN10: 0769502008
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-02-10
• Publisher: Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Pr

Summary

Ted Lewis delivers a first-hand account of the changing computer industry, a story of Microsoft and the Silicon Valley. Lewis maps the history of computing from 1990 to 2000, a tale of greed and emotion in the fastest growing, mainline industry of the world. In this compilation of columns from Computer, IEEE Internet Computing, and Scientific American, Lewis tries to predict and explain the chaos of Silicon Valley. This book reports the author's personal history through the early 1990's to the end of the decade. These stories often try to predict or explain the chaos of Silicon Valley. Lewis analyzes the high-technology industry and its constant change amid turmoil and upheaval. He also examines the art of software development and deals with innovation and the emergence of a techno-society. The book does not promise any answers, but rather concludes this short journey into the recent past with a number of provoking ideas about the future of hi-tech.

Author Biography

Ted Lewis is CEO, and President of Daimler Chrysler Research & Technology Center, North America, in Palo Alto, CA. Before that he was Professor of Computer Science at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. Prior to 1993, he was a Professor of Computer Science at Oregon State University and Director of OACIS—a University-Industry Research Center created to transfer technology from research into products. Lewis holds advanced degrees in Mathematics (BS), and Computer Science (MS, Ph.D.), and has over 30 years of experience with computers, starting with vacuum tube machines. More recently, he has designed e-commerce systems, web-zines, web-enabled databases, re-engineered large-scale enterprise systems, implemented video, teleconferencing systems for distance learning, defined software products for information appliances, performed technology and marketing assessments of network appliances, and advised clients on product definitions for World Wide Web Products. He has extensive experience in the technical publishing industry, having served as the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Software magazine 1987-1990, Computer magazine 1993-1994, Editorial Board member of IEEE Spectrum magazine 1990-1998, and was elected to the Governing Board of the Computer Society, twice. Widely read in the computer industry, Lewis writes the Binary Critic column for IEEE Computer magazine, and has written the Wired Wired World column for IEEE Internet Computing. He is also an occasional contributor to Scientific American, Upside, and other trade periodicals. He has been a guest of PBS Tech Nation, Ann On-line, Business Commerce Daily, Entrepreneur Magazine, Fast Company, and a number of Silicon Valley TV and radio stations.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
PART 1 The Valley of the Kings: Inside the Computer Industry	1	(82)
Reversals of Fortune	3	(6)
(EIC Message, Computer, August 1994)	5	(4)
The Tombs of Tech	9	(4)
(EIC Message, Computer, November 1994)	10	(3)
Operating System Roulette	13	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, February 1995)	16	(3)
Silly Valley	19	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, June 1995)	21	(4)
A Monopoly Is Born	25	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, August 1995)	27	(4)
Ellison's Folly	31	(8)
(Binary Critic, Computer, February 1996)	33	(6)
How Hits Happen	39	(8)
(Binary Critic, Computer, July 1997)	41	(6)
The Techno Treadmill	47	(10)
(Wired Wired World, IEEE Internet Computing, September--October 1997)	49	(8)
The Rise of Strategy	57	(8)
(Binary Critic, Computer, September 1997)	59	(6)
The End of the Dream	65	(18)
(Binary Critic, Computer, January 1998)	66	(8)
(Cyber View, Scientific American, February 1998)	74	(2)
(In the News, IEEE Software, January--February 1998)	76	(7)
PART 2 The Rise of the Internet	83	(78)
The Latest Dance Craze: Browsing	85	(8)
(EIC Message, Computer, September 1994)	87	(2)
(Binary Critic, Computer, April 1995)	89	(4)
Rumble in Telecommunications	93	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, May 1995)	94	(5)
NetGain or NetLoss?	99	(8)
(Binary Critic, Computer, July 1996)	100	(7)
A Bad Dream	107	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, November 1996)	108	(5)
Revolution in Telecommunications	113	(8)
(Wired Wired World, IEEE Internet Computing, May--June 1997)	115	(6)
Everything Is Going IP	121	(8)
(Wired Wired World, IEEE Internet Computing, November--December 1997)	122	(7)
Who Owns the Internet?	129	(8)
(Wired Wired World, IEEE Internet Computing, January--February 1998)	130	(7)
The United Nations of Cyberspace	137	(6)
(Wired Wired World, IEEE Internet Computing, March--April 1998)	138	(5)
The Year I Shoot My TV	143	(10)
(Binary Critic, Computer, January 1997)	145	(8)
The Internet: From Here to Ubiquity	153	(8)
(Internet Watch, Computer, October 1997)	155	(6)
PART 3 Street Rumble in Software City	161	(54)
The Dark Side of Objects	163	(6)
(EIC Message, Computer, December 1994)	166	(3)
The Big Software Chill	169	(14)
(Binary Critic, Computer, March 1996)	170	(7)
(Binary Critic, Computer, August 1996)	177	(6)
Tiny Beans	183	(18)
(Binary Critic, Computer, September 1996)	184	(5)
(Binary Critic, Computer, March 1997)	189	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, March 1998)	195	(6)
The Trouble with Programmers	201	(14)
(Binary Critic, Computer, April 1998)	202	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, July 1998)	208	(7)
PART 4 When Radical Is Chic	215	(54)
Innovation and the Next Big Thing	217	(6)
(EIC Message, Computer, October 1994)	219	(4)
FutureBusiness	223	(8)
(Binary Critic, Computer, November 1995)	225	(6)
Learning Curves and Strategy	231	(18)
(Binary Critic, Computer, December 1995)	233	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, January 1996)	239	(10)
The Limits of Innovation	249	(10)
(Binary Critic, Computer, April 1996)	251	(8)
The Borg	259	(10)
(Binary Critic, Computer, May 1997)	261	(8)
PART 5 Techno-Society	269	(44)
The Age of Information	271	(14)
(Binary Critic, Computer, September 1995)	274	(6)
(Binary Critic, Computer, October 1995)	280	(5)
Tribalism	285	(8)
(Binary Critic, Computer, November 1997)	287	(6)
Privacy	293	(10)
(Technology News, Computer, June 1998)	294	(6)
(Cyber View, Scientific American, November 1997)	300	(3)
Technology and the Productivity Paradox	303	(10)
(Binary Critic, Computer, May 1998)	305	(8)
EPILOGUE What to Do About Microsoft	313
(Binary Critic, Computer, September 1998)	315