Bill Gates: The Road Ahead (1995)
Bill Gates: Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy (1999)



"Microsoft is the company everyone loves to hate -- myself 
definitely included. I admit my prejudice: I grew up on Unix. Got
my first account in 1980 and struggled through the cryptic 
command line syntax.  Graphical User Interface? Hell, there 
wasn't even a visual editor. Writing a document was an excercise 
in troff programming skills.

I didn't really get exposed to Windows until 1993 ... and I hated 
it. I found it to be buggy, unreliable and horribly insecure. Microsoft 
seems to be motivated purely by profit, not technical innovation. 
Like every other Unix bigot, I enjoy a good joke at Microsoft's 
expense (http://www.attrition.org/gallery/ms/)" - taken from _MS Right_ 
by Carole Fennelly
http://www.landfield.com/isn/mail-archive/2000/Oct/0100.html

Before I move onto the books, first a little story from the eyes of someone who for years didn't really experience anything other than MS Windows. This is the Windows generation, that looked at the world through the frames of that all-present MS Windows. In this view, the possibility of a PC sans Windows is near non-existent for there is practically nothing other than MS Windows.

When I first touched a computer (1996) everything was GUI and everything was Windows. There simply wasn't anything else. Never really touched the MS DOS CLI, never had to. I didn't know what a platform was. I didn't even know that there were different OSes, or that there was a possibility of there being something other than Windows. Home PCs, library PCs, school PCs, *all* PCs ran Windows. That's the way the world was.

Two years onward I went to the university. There, it was the same thing: in every computer room I went the PCs ran Windows and that was the way the world was. But then I discovered something very odd: in *one* of the many general computer-rooms, there were a few Macintosh computers. Almost no one ever used them. They just stood there, looking weird and out of place.

One time, when all the Windows boxes were in use, I decided to give that Macintosh a try. Unfortunately, my syllabus on how to use the school's computer-facilities only contained info on how to use Windows. But that Mac...Surely it must be like the Windows PCs? How could it not be? After all, in my worldview, every computer had Windows by default.

Well, the Mac OS had a GUI, so it was like Windows in that sense. But it looked a bit differently, and you interacted with it in a totally different way. To me, that didn't make any sense at all. Why have something that is like Windows, but not Windows itself? I of course didn't have the faintest idea that this Mac GUI existed before Windows. The hardware was old, which made it slower than the Windows PCs, so I decided that I didn't like the Mac. Back I went to the familiar Windows boxes, like everyone else. A few months later the old Macs disappeared and were replaced by Dell PCs with Win95, like in the rest of the computer rooms. I never saw another Mac in the school ever again.

One year ago (2000) the students at my school could still choose between the Netscape browser and MS Explorer. Now, there is only the MS browser. No need to confuse students with different software any more. The syllabus got thinner, the price went down. Everything is consistent and homogeneous now. Everything, except for the choice between the Eudora e-mail client and MS Outlook. For some inexplicable reason, that choice is still there. But most people here use MS Outlook anyway, so I guess they'll get rid of that Eudora pretty soon too.

Now that you know all about the Windows situation in my surroundings, on to the words of the man behind all this. Someone with so much influence, someone whose software has creeped into any and every PC I have seen in my life...certainly he must have some worthwhile things to say?

Bill's books are clearly aimed at a non-technical audience but also clearly not aimed at his customers. They are targeted primarily at marketing folks and managers. Nevertheless, I think that *all* Windows users should get hold of these books and read them. Better yet (idle wish): everyone should get a free copy of each book with his or her newly bought Windows PC. This in same vein that each newly wedded couple got a free copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf in the Third Reich.

Like I said, The Road Ahead is not aimed at a computer savvy audience. Geeks all around the world should get masochistic for a bit and read this book. Some of it will raise the hair at the back of your necks, but the rest...it contains simply too much material to laugh at. Bill's wordings of certain things are hilarious. One of the parts that will get you cracking (pun?) is Bill brilliant definition of "hacker" for all the corporate managers and everyone else reading the book: 


"Because the internet originated as a computer-science 
project rather than a communications utility, it has 
always been a magnet for hackers - programmers who turn 
their talents toward mischief or malice by breaking into 
the computer systems of others."

After a short piece on the 1988 Morris worm, he calms the no doubt panicked readers down with this ever-so optimistic comment:

"There have been occasional breakdowns and security problems, 
but not many and the internet has become a reasonably reliable
communications channel for millions of people."

Yet, just a bit later in the book, he tells us about the bothersome publication of his personal e-mail address in the book "E mail Addresses Of The Rich and Famous" and in a published e-mail interview. This was bothersome because it resulted in an "avalanche" of unwanted mail, some of it in true Going Postal style. But despite the experience, Bill maintains his optimism:

"Fortunately e-mail software is improving 
all the time and it now includes a feature 
that lets me prioritize mail from senders I have 
designated."

One year after this book, he was on Unabomber Angry Johnny's list of targets. I never heard the end of that particular story. I can only hope that Bill was right about his e-mail software getting better.

Other good parts are chapter 2 (obligatory reading for newbie PC users, hence my advocating for the free distribution of this book!) and chapter 3 (how Bill leeched his way up in the hi-tech industry). Please do not skip the part about Bill Gates' state of the art wired house. Bill says that he's now getting mail from people asking him for a guided tour. Mind you, this house was bought with your money. Probably...

Obviously there is some of the expected Mac bashing in the book. But it gets much more interesting when Bill discusses Unix. Unix is referred to in the past tense. Unix was a failure. Unix's "problem" according to Bill, is the fact that "Unix had not become a single operating system, but a collection of operating systems competing with one another". This competition "held back the rise of a strong third party software market.". The Open Software Foundation was also a failure. Too much competition for Bill's taste, again: "All the companies that make up the standards committee are competitors.". Competition in the long term seems to be a bad thing. After a while you should get rid of it.

Business @ the Speed of Thought (B@TSOT, pronounce as "bad shot") was released when the dot com craze as at its peak. While The Road Ahead is the book where Bill assumes the visionary role and predicts the future possibilities of the desktop PC, B@TSOT is a how-to on fully implementing a lot these ideas to power your enterprise. Several ideas he had in The Road Ahead come back crystallized and fully implemented in real life.

Bill begins the book complaining that most companies out there are still using technology in a rather archaic way. They really need to revolutionize the way they use it. Bill feels that information-management is still too conservative, too dependant on old-fashioned hierarchies with various levels of access to the info. Bill wants companies to adopt an attitude towards information that can be best described with the lyrics of Queen: "I WANT IT ALL AND I WANT IT NOW!". For instant information, just add Microsoft.

The "speed" of the title is in reference to the speedy way that the human nervous system is capable of processing impulses. The aim within an enterprise should be that the coordination of information should go as smoothly and as fast as in the human nervous system. Bill calls this the Digital Nervous System, a term he claims to have coined himself.


"You know you have built an excellent digital nervous system 
when information flows through your organization as quickly and
naturally as thought in a human being, and when you can use 
technology to marshal and coordinate teams of people as quickly 
as you can focus an individual on an issue. It's business at the 
speed of thought."

The parallel between (digital) media and the human nervous system actually comes from Marshall McLuhan's "Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man"(1964), someone that Bill Gates apparently hasn't heard of, for he doesn't mention him anywhere. One of the most interesting things concerning this parallel, is Bill's comment that the human nervous system suppresses information that is unnecessary to prioritize other more important information. Elimination of conflicting impulses is something that the Digital Nervous System should implement too. Censorship is apparently a biological advantage for our own good.

Reading the book I got the impression that what Bill Gates is really doing with his crew at the MS labs is a new form of eugenics research, developing the best possible technological pedigree for the benefit of all. The biggest part of his eugenics program is in my understanding the elimination of variation, thus ending the process of natural selection. This will lead to homogenization, centralization and most importantly standardization. Bill stresses that these things are essential to make the Digital Nervous System run fast and smooth.

Bill emphasizes the fact that the customer is the most important thing for a company. One of the chapters is actually called "Touch Your Customers" :-X What he means here is that for a company the customer is the most important means to profit. Obviously the happy customer is not an end in itself, just a handy side effect, because he will be more eager to come back for more business. The same way that his products are a means to and not an end; their only purpose is that of profitable commodity.

Bill has learned the tricks of the trade in dealing with customers from General Motors. He describes GM's philosophy of leasing cars instead of selling them, in order to establish a long-lasting relationship with the client by expanding the transaction time. He goes on to explain how MS does this by obtaining as many of their customers'personal data as possible in order to sell them more MS produtcs. Customer data is not used for product improvement per se, but primarily for campaign improvement. Microsoft hopes to lease its software in the future too, and will use .Net to accomplish this. Permanent transaction time with the client is the aim.

There are some chilling examples of customer data acquisition in order to set up a tightly focused and targeted MS campaign to sell products. This customer data is apparently obtained from both commercial and governmental sources. Bill Gates argues that all that emphasis on protecting customer data is overrated and in the end counterproductive. Customer data shouldn't be so heavily guarded and he advocates disclosure of customer data and other business information. All business leaders, managers, directors of all levels in a company and their *partners* should be able to see it. He calls this the Open Door System. This disclosure will benefit everyone. He insists again and again that this system will increase everyone's creativity and involvement. But remember: If you demand your privacy, you need to demand that others around you mind their own business too.

B@TSOT doesn't have as much Mac bashing as The Road Ahead, but this time Bill uses a different tactique to render Mac useless in the mind of the readers. He says that Mac is just for the desktop of the normal user, but not a business solution. Managers, you don't need that funky colored thing, it will not add anything of value to your business. As for Unix...The Open Software Foundation is again described as a failure at standardization and Unix as something of the past. Bill insistent use of the past tense is telling: Unix *was* used at some large companies and some universities. But all that was then; you can forget about that now. The 80ies, when Unix was still appropriate were the years of quality. But the 90ies are those of re-engineering and that's when Unix lost the race. The current decade is the decade of speed. Unix is hopeless when it comes to speed. Unix is too slow. Microsoft products are modern, contemporary, *fast*. Microsoft products are the products of this decade. Unix does not belong in his world of Fast Business, Fast Information.

The Road Ahead come out in 1995 and to Bill Gates Unix was already totally passé then. He provides proof as to the demise of Unix in four years later. His proof: McDonald's implemented Unix in the eighties, but it turned out that Unix was too complex and therefor it consumed too many resources, which made it too expensive to maintain. Eventually, McDonald's looked for an alternative and found the "web-based desktop standard". The message: you must leave Unix behind if you want to evolve. MS software isn't a choice: it is an evolutionary imperative for the survival of your company.

Other interesting parts are the stories about the American ground-troops using handheld PCs with Windows CE. This is the Intranet of the battlefield, says Bill and yes, even the US war-machine is using the web based desktop standard. Did you read that inforwarrior piece that was linked to from attrition? What did that piece say about the US Army and MS products in 1999?

The antitrust case, which had been going on for almost a year when this book came out, but Bill does not utter a word on that case. Just a few thoughts on that poor little ignorant US government that just doesn't get it. Bill regrets that of all the non-commercial branches in the US, the government is the last one to catch when it comes to IT. How can these retarded people ever start an anti-trust case against something they don't understand? No, they need to understand the mechanics of the market and MS position therein and that will settle them. They need to catch up! MS isn't breaking laws, the laws aren't up to MS's speed! Is it so wrong of MS to run ahead? Now, you should all print out bumper stickers that say "RUN BILL GATES RUN!" and stick them at the front/back of your cars. It is all about speed.

The most interesting info of B@TSOT is in the Appendix. Bill explains the concept of Windows DNA (Distributed InterNet Architecture) and its implementation thereof in all MS products as a blueprint. Read it and cringe. Keep your friends close; put your enemies closer. The rest of you can read the book for comic relief. Know your enemy and have a laugh while doing so.

There is only one more source of comic relief for the computer elite that is even better than MS. That source is of course us, the normal MS software users. Aren't we entertaining, technically untrained, as we are, ignorant of anything else but our own ridiculous technologically impoverished state of being. Our only raison d'être in the computer-age is apparently that of income for MS and that of malicious enjoyment for those technically superior to us. This while we just try to get our work done in the realms of a passive consumer market.

Some of us could revolt out of exasperation, but remember what someone on attrition once said: Teaching someone how to hack is like teaching someone how to be a homosexual. Does a certain predisposition fully guarantee a specific expression? Do you believe in the existence of the gay gene? Some people want its discovery to prove that homosexuality is an essential quality of individuals. Microsoft would want the "hacker genes" discovered too, so that it could correct such a gross error and feel good for doing so. The Digital Nervous System does not tolerate errors.

Bill Gates essentially wants a system that minimizes consumer engagement. Marketing people, he says, should become "consultants", educating consumers to maintain order in the system, telling normal users how to use MS *period*, instead of offering them alternatives. Alienation from and ignorance of the technology that surrounds us users is the real result. What happens to the presence of MS products is thus made extraneous to the will of us who consume the technology, for MS exists outside our influence. This only increases the deeply rooted separation between us and the technology we use. If going against the MS tide is a privilege of the technically privileged, then the idea of us normal users dropping MS software en masse and using something else is an absurd one, impossibly distant because the system we have learned to use does not allow an alternative more participatory model.

For us normal Windows users, with no technical skills, no knowledge of anything else, no gay genes, there is only one message to be obtained from the books: There is no viable alternative to MS. MS is a Darwinian law that cannot be bypassed. You cannot be a homosexual. Only MS can regulate its own survival for maximum benefit by eliminating the very foundations of the game, such as variation and selection. You, the user, cannot do anything but submit to what is best for you. You are just a cell in the Digital Nervous System. When individual cells revolt, they cause cancer. Cancerous cells need to be suppressed at once for the benefit of the rest system.

Socio-economic systems are *not* natural systems and socio-economic imperatives are *not* evolutionary requirements. MS products are *not* a genetic advantage. They are a once desired process that has become an increasingly involuntarily necessary one, tolerated for the sake of immediate efficiency. Translating information-management into pseudo-biotech propaganda like the B@TSOT book is basically a joke that everyone, technically/homosexually skilled or not, should laugh at.



DeeGeneRate, just a cell in the system




Links:

The Road Ahead amazon.com page

B@TSOT amazon.com page

The Road Ahead website.

B@TSOT website.

For MS non-gays:
http://www.detonate.net/media/dancemonkeyboy.mpg



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