Much of the book deals with the future of e-commerce and how the consumer will win with more choices. Also chapters are dedicated to the benefits to the economy when technology becomes more infused with daily life. In addition, he predicts that computers will become smarter and be able to learn about the user and response quicker, even guessing ahead of time what a user's request might be. Gates feels that it is important to include computers in school, as children can learn better with them.
I felt Gates' predictions were a bit overly optimistic. I also felt that with the coming of this new technology that the end of privacy would result. While Gates does address this issue, I felt that it was treated in a light matter. The book is about 6 years old and his predictions were largely on the money. However, some the products he sees have yet to come to fruition. I didn't I find many of his plans too laughable, but some bordered Orwellian. The audience of the book need not be overly technical to understand the book, only an interest in where computers will take us next is required.
"The Road Ahead" is very much primarily an easy-to-read IT textbook. This book tells you what lies ahead in the future for everyday living world of computers. Will everyone in the world have access to computers in our future? Will everyone gain access to the Internet? Will we be able to walk in a store and pick out whatever we want to, and walk out of the store without being a shoplifter? Read this amazing book and find out the answers to these questions and more.
It also includes CD-ROM containing the complete text of the book, a dictionary with multimedia hyperlinks and an interview with Bill Gates. It is still extraordinary. This CD-ROM illustrates the future of electronic publishing.
I interviewed Bill Gates in 1990 when he visited Moscow for the first time to introduce the very first Microsoft product in Russian language. It was MS-DOS 4.0. Then I wrote several books on MS-DOS and IT for beginners.
Bill Gates was worth "only" $2.5 billion in 1990. It is estimated that hundreds million people today have personal computers in their home. Over ninety-five percent of them are operating Windows Operating Systems. Today Microsoft really enjoys the self-made monopoly. Although many people don't like Bill Gates personally because he's so rich, I wish good luck to Microsoft Corp. and the Microsoft team. And at the same time I also wish good luck to all young entrepreneurs who will start their companies and deprive Microsoft of its reins eventually. This is the capitalism, ladies and gentlemen! This is a great system with opportunities for everyone with guts.
This is a must have book for anyone pursuing a career in computers, the computer hobbyist and the Mac users, too. Get this book today and have it in your library. I highly recommend it, especially to people new to computers and the digital revolution.
The amazing thing about it is that we are already halfway into that utopia now, only 8 years on.
Mein Kampf was published in 1925, the war ended in 1945.
What will the world be like in 1915?
This book is worth reading -If only to show the underlying reason trapped inside everone. Once logic escapes, it becomes, it governs itself.
Gates is not the inverse of Hitler. But where Hitler was wrong in his beliefs, Gates is not.
He's not absolutley right either though!!!
A truly endearing book, fairly well written with a touch of who Bill G. is. Definetly worth a look!
BTW if you ever get the chance to read 'Bill Gates Super Secret Laptop' a Microspoof, DO!! just remember it was made in 98!!
-Scott