Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime

Product Details

• Teach: New
• ISBN13: 9780385527026
• Notes: BUY WITH Courage, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and advice to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Description

A heartfelt, deeply personal book, Showing Up for Life shines a bright light on the values and principles that Bill Gates Sr. has learned over a lifetime of “showing up”—lessons that he learned growing up during the Great Depression, and that he instilled in his children and continues to practice on the world stage as the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Through the course of several dozen narratives arranged in roughly chronological fashion, Gates introduces the people and experiences that influenced his thinking and guided his moral compass. Among them: the scoutmaster who taught him about teamwork and self reliance; and his famous son, Trey, whose curiosity and passion for computers and software led him to ultimately co-found Microsoft. Through revealing stories of his daughters, Kristi and Libby; his late wife, Mary, and his current wife, Mimi; and his work with Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter, among others, he discusses the importance of hard work, getting along, honoring a confidence, speaking out, and much more.

Showing Up for Life translates one man’s experiences over fourscore years of living into an inspiring road map for readers everywhere.

As Bill Gates Sr. puts it:

I’m 83 years old. Representing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and everyone who is a part of it has given me the opportunity to see more of the world and its rich possibilities than most people ever do. I never imagined that I’d be working this late in life, or enjoying it so much.

---

Customer Reviews

A roadmap to generations of giving back and success...MUST READ.
As an person who had a father who "did the best he could not the best there was", I found this book incredibly touching and inspiring.

* For the first third of the book, I laughed out loud at Senior's jokes, awed at the historical perspective (the stories about the Great Depression) like something out of the History Channel, and I cried tears of joy thinking to myself "do families this gifted, yet this caring about humankind really exist...?".

* For the middle third of the book, I listened instructively and intently upon his words of wisdom about hardship and success, love and growth as if I were reading about some new discovery in American Scientific.

* For the last third of the book, I thought to myself for the first time: I could have and raise a family with this many generations of love, too.

If you, too, have difficulty thinking of how you'd form a loving relationship with a spouse (in existence already, or not yet come to you) or how to raise a family that was able to grow in it's values generation after generation, then, I highly, highly recommend this book.

I imagine at the very least, you'll find it to be a light at the end of the tunnel -- at best, you'll find it to be a roadmap.

2010-07-05 (New York, NY, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

I knew immediately I was in for a fun read.
Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime
Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

With a 34-word "Forward" by "Trey" (the name the family called Bill Gates III), I knew immediately I was in for a fun read. In 192-pages, and 49 chapters (averaging less than 4 pages each), Gates Sr. pens a book that can take just a couple of hours to read, but holds your attention throughout because of the light, breezy writing style, the interesting, and entertaining, anecdotes, and the implied instructions on how to live a good life--life's most enduring lessons.

Incidentally, if you want some "juicy" insights into how Bill Gates III (Trey) grew into the kind of multi-billionaire he is today--from a compassionate father's perspective--this book offers a valuable and insightful perspective. It gives you a step-by-step program for raising a multi-billionaire son! (This is the appropriate place for an emoticon that shows a wink!)

This book isn't profound. It isn't particularly illuminating. It isn't the least bit complicated or challenging. As I was reading it, the thought crossed my mind that it was written for one reason only: Bill Gates Sr. is the father of Trey! But, if you're looking for a quick, interesting, engaging book to take up a short amount of your time, this one is an excellent choice.

2010-05-10 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

Philosophy
Each chapter in Bill Gates, Sr.'s book, Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime, conveys a tidbit of wisdom, a family story, an anecdote that provides a building block in the development of one's personal philosophy. Each of us decides how we choose to live, and in Showing Up for Life, Mr. Gates makes it clear that some of those decisions are as simple as deciding whether to be present or not. Most decisions, though, involve a sense of purpose or duty. After reading this book, it's easy to understand why Bill Gates, Jr. looks up to his father, and also easy to understand why philanthropy is of such importance to this family. Any reader who enjoys listening to the wisdom of elders will enjoy this book, and every parent will find something on these pages to emulate in one's own family.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

2010-02-25 (Oak Park, Illinois) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 3

---

handbook for parents
This is a book filled with wisdom and appreciation for the struggles and growth of each family member. It is a wonderful collection of great memories. Each couple or few pages is a fresh story that illustrates a worthwhile experience.

2010-01-21 | mom (Massachusetts) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Great Book
A great read. Nice, short chapters allow you to sneak reading it into a busy day. Refreshing...

2009-11-27 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

Bill Gates (Up Close)

Product Details

• ISBN13: 9780670063482
• Accustom: New
• Notes: BUY WITH Certitude, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and putting into play to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Description

Bill Gates is many things: the richest person in the world; the ruthless businessman who co-founded Microsoft and led it to domination of the computer software industry; and now, the leading global philanthropist. When Gates was born in 1955, no one in the world owned a personal computer. A window had a pane of glass. A mouse was a rodent. As a teenager, Gates realized how computers were about to change the world, and made his fortune by riding that wave; modern teens look to him as their model of how technology can be turned into wealth. Marc Aronson’s biography is a probing portrait of a man whose name is a household word.

---

Customer Reviews

In this book you'll really get a feel for the real Bill Gates and learn the principle of "getting rich fast!"
Bill Gates, a young computer addict, was driven to the point that he would fall asleep over his computer. He was unkempt looking, but it didn't matter to him. The only thing that mattered was computer programming. Perhaps in the back of his head he could hear his grandmother Adelle (Gam) saying, "think smart, think smart!" He was indeed, an extremely competitive young man. He could also be "an extremely annoying person." He later was known to be so obnoxious he would scream and berate his employees. Was this behavior somehow linked to his phenomenal success? What made him turn his life around and become a philanthropist?

When Bill was a teenager, the scenery was a bit different. The elite in the computer field actually welcomed young people into their fold. Dick Gruen indicated that "a young enthusiast was welcomed, not treated as a gofer." Bill, a troubled `tween and teen, later met up with his partner Paul Allen at Lakeside, a private school, where they were progressive enough to have a terminal linked to a computer. Perhaps many of you know part of Bill's story or may think you know a lot about him, but Marc Aronson's main objective in this book is to tell you how he did it. You are in for a rare treat in this fabulous book! You'll even see a couple of pictures of him as a teenage computer guru.

This book is actually a study in how young people can succeed, but the only problem is (perhaps it is possible) that this special individual must have not just a few of the opportunities and qualities Bill Gates had, but must possess ALL of them in order to empower him/herself to the height and success he achieved. I was not particularly familiar with Bill Gates's business life, nor did I have a feel for his individuality, but after this reading this book I feel I know a lot about him and have a good sense as to whom he is. Did you know there was one man who "was not granted a share in the company he had help to create?" You'll have to read the book to find out about him. Whoa!

2009-05-09 | Dragonfly77 (Vermont) | Helpful Votes: 4 | Rating: 5

---

Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire

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.

---

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.

---

Customer Reviews

Setting standards is the key to winning
This book was written in 1992 and covers only Microsoft's first 15 or so years but these were the most interesting and the most instructive in terms of lessons for the wealth creator. There are now many Gates' biographies, but Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the MIcrosoft empire, written by two Seattle journalists still gives the best insights into the early years of Microsoft and what it was like to work under its CEO. Later, after Microsoft had relocated to Seattle to be nearer Gates' parents, he confessed to a fellow programmer his two ambitionsd; to design software that would make a computer easy enough for his mother to use and build a company bigger than his dad's law firm. Today, powering 90% of the world's PC's, Windows may have revolutionised PC, but marketing played a vital part in its establishment as the industry standard. Last but not least, what really set Gates apart was the boldness of his vision-"A computer on every desk, and Microsoft software in every computer"-and his natural brilliance as a businessman.

2009-07-22 (Australia) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

---

Great Biography
This book will give you a great understanding regarding how Bill Gates became what he is today. From the High School days with Paul Allen, developing the first Computer code for a PC at Harvard, the move away from the association with Altair (and the floundering founder), the move to Redmond, buying the DOS program and outsmarting IBM, it is an informative and fascinating read.

2009-03-13 | donstr (Seattle, Wa) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Very Detailed and Descriptive Book
This book was extremely detailed. It told from what courses he studied in college, to the small summer jobs he had while at Lakeside.

2009-02-24 | BPS (usa) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

---

Very enlightning
This book is wonderful reading. Of course, I like Bill Gates and this makes it more interesting. The reader will find himself wanting to continue reading the book through without putting it down. Great Job, Well written, Very Interesting!!!!

2009-02-19 (Delbarton, WV) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Hard Drive is No Mega-Flop, But Not Amazing Either
This is a decent book on how Bill Gates and his business team built the Microsoft empire. The good aspects of this book include the following:

* The emphasis on how Microsoft was not built in a day but with many, many long days and lots of innovative thinking. This book illustrates how hard Gates worked.

* The portrayal of how relentlessly competitive and ambitious Gates is, be it at efficient programming, dominating the various software markets, studying higher mathematics or playing poker with his buddies.

* The specific details of the growth of Microsoft, as a company, up until the time of the book's publication.

* The implicit theme of how Gates never stops thinking.

Unfortunately, there are several aspects of this book that I disliked. These include the following:

* The writing is repetitive and often very stream-of-conscious. This book reads like a 250-300 page book diluted into a 400 page book.

* There is a lot of negative commentary about Gates' personality. First, this negative illustration seems to be done without providing the proper context. Gates is often portrayed as very immature. In this book, Gates is described as frequently issuing direct attacks on the intelligence of his employees during meetings and in private communication. He is also portrayed as immature through negligence, such as when he, presumably inadvertently, left his dirty laundry thrown about on a hotel floor for a top executive of his company to collect.

Although these incidents may be true, the authors should have emphasized that Gates is an enormously successful executive who is *only* in his twenties. While this does not excuse the described behavior, it does provide context for it. Needless to say, these immature outbursts would be appalling if they were committed by a seasoned executive in his early sixties.

More generally, this image of Gates conflicts with the image I gathered of him through other means. A friend of mine who worked at Microsoft described Gates as routinely hosting interns in his mansion for dinner, magnanimously forgiving a new employee who accidentally dented his car and graciously answering a personal e-mail concerning the artwork in his home. The Gates I have heard of through my friend, and the one who runs the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, does not fit the mold of the Gates described in this book.

I am not challenging the veracity of the information contained within, I am just surmising that the negatives sound like a few bad habits that Gates may have grew out of.

2008-08-11 (Washington D.C. area) | Helpful Votes: 5 | Rating: 3

---

Bill Gates: Billionaire Computer Genius (People to Know)

Description

Presents a biography of the math whiz kid who grew up to co-found Microsoft, the world's leading computer software firm.

---

Customer Reviews

The Perfect Biography
I bought this book for my son who had to do a biography report on someone. He's in 5th grade and loved this book. He thought it was the perfect choice for a book about Bill Gates. It wasn't too young, but it wasn't too adult and difficult to understand. I'm very glad I made this purchase.

2008-01-14 (Pennsylvania) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

BiLL Gates BiLLionare Computer GeNius
Bill Gates
Billionaire Computer Genius
Joan D. Dickinson

Have you ever dreamed of inventing something all your own and making millions, billions, even trillions of dollars off of it? Imagine being an ordinary school boy from Washington who would soon find him self in an extreme position of power; the richest man on the planet. Bill Gates was born on October 28th, 1955, and raised in Seattle, Washington during his youth and adolescent years. He lived with his mother and father in the suburbs of the city. As a teen, he attended a Lakeside Private School. The school was among the first to have the first computers invented available for student access. To no one's surprise, Bill and a few of his friends were the first to take an interest in these new machines. They signed up to visit the computer lab whenever they could get a chance, simply so they could learn more about these great wonders. Bill was always extremely intelligent in school. He became so skilled at computers and how they work, that he was already a skilled programmer at the age of thirteen.
However, Bill did see a few problems with computers and the way they worked. During the 197o's, computers were a long way away from what they are now. For one, they were the size of a very large room. They were so immense in size that you could actually walk around inside them. And second, if one small part of these machines broke, the whole machine would shut down. After graduating from Lakeside, Bill was enrolled in Harvard University. While there, he created a programming unit of BASIC for microcomputers. However, shortly afterward he dropped out of Harvard to devote of all his time to computer programming. He went out on a limb and began his own company in 1975 called Microsoft. From then on Bill Gates has invented numerous ways to make the personal computer a great experience for everyone. To this day he remains the richest man on the planet. He is the CEO and chairman of the Microsoft Software Company. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in software and technology. It would easily be enjoyed by children ages 9-15.

This book was a very interesting read. Even though most biographies come off as boring, this one struck me by surprise. The author does a great job. The book takes the reader through all of the hard work Bill Gates had to endure to get to where he is today.

Another reason why I enjoyed this book was because of the author's choice of wording. It made the book more enjoyable to read. Also, the author's usage of details in the story made it more interesting.


However, what I didn't like about this book was the fact that it was almost too easy to read. It seemed as though it was meant for an elementary school student. But then again maybe it had to be written that way so that people like me could understand all that computer programming talk.

Overall though, this book was a 10. It was interesting, detailed, got to the point, and was easy to understand. It keeps the reader interested in what task Bill Gates would try to accomplish next. If you like reading about the development of computers, Bill Gates is definitely the person to read about since he had such a significant role in creating the computers we all know and love today.

2006-12-15 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Very informative and easy to understand
This biography of Bill Gates had a lot of interesting facts about his entire life. It explained how he got started and how his company evolved. It also told about his family and his college years at Harvard. Many of his friends and associates are mentioned too. The book gave a little bit too much information at times but for the most part it was well-written. The author made Gates' work easy to understand even for someone who doesn't know much about computers. I believe this book would be great for a younger crowd to read but not for someone over 14 or 15. It is just on too low of a reading level. Since the book was written in 1997, it is somewhat outdated also. Other than that I liked the book a lot.

2001-10-17 (Harrisburg,PA USA) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 3

---

A great book
[...] but the book was great. It had a lot of interesting info.

2001-07-26 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

A great book for young readers
I enjoyed this book, but would most likely not reccomend it to anyone over the age of ten or eleven. It was interesting but was published in 1997, therefore it is not 100% up to date.

1999-10-11 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

---

Creative Capitalism: A Conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Other Economic Leaders

Description

Bill Gates is more than the world's most successful capitalist; he's also the world's biggest philanthropist.

Gates has approached philanthropy the same way he revolutionized computer software: with a fierce ambition to change the rules of the game. That's why at the 2008 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Gates advocated a creative capitalism in which big corporations, the distinguishing feature of the modern global economy, integrate doing good into their way of doing business.

This controversial new idea is discussed and debated by the more than forty contributors to this book, among them three Nobel laureates and two former U.S. cabinet secretaries. Edited by author and columnist Michael Kinsley, Creative Capitalism started as a first-of-its-kind online conversation that brought together some of the world's best minds to engage Gates's challenge. From Warren Buffett, who seconds Gates's analysis, to Lawrence Summers, who worries about the consequences of multiple corporate objectives, the essays cover a broad spectrum of opinion. Judge Richard Posner dismisses Gates's proposal as trumped-up charity that will sap the strengths of the profit-maximizing corporation, while journalist Martin Wolf maintains that the maximization of profit is far from universally accepted, and rightly so. Chicago Nobel laureate Gary Becker wonders whether altruistic companies can survive in a competitive economy, while Columbia Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps argues that a little altruism might be the right prescription for a variety of market imperfections.

Creative Capitalism is not just a book for philanthropists. It's a book that challenges the conventional wisdom about our economic system, a road map for the new global economy that is emerging as capitalism adapts itself once again to a changing world.

---

Customer Reviews

Outstanding!
In 2008 Bill Gates advocated that big corporations integrate doing good into their way of doing business. "Creative Capitalism" begins with that proposal, and follows with a number of individual comments, both pro and con.

Gates points out that capitalism harnesses self-interest in helpful and sustainable ways, but only on behalf of those who can pay. Profits are not always possible when business tries to serve the very poor. Thus, there needs to be another market-based incentive - recognition.

Recognition enhances a company's reputation and appeals to customers; it also attracts good people to the organization.

Potential Creative Capitalism Mechanisms: Tiered pricing (eg. for vaccines used in both the developed and third world) is one existing mechanism. Priority for approval reviews of a for-profit drug can be offered to companies that also develop a new drug for a neglected disease such as malaria.

Warren Buffett, normally a strong Gates supporter, however, had other perspectives. He pointed out that emotional public reactions can be a problem - eg. donations to pro-choice efforts. Further, corporations donating a specified percentage of profits/revenues to "cause X" are only successful in the short run, though they do raise awareness.

Michael Kinsley raises other problems. Eg. giving priority in new drug approval reviews begs the question of "Why the delay to start with?" Perhaps it is due to important cautionary concerns; or, it simply may reflect a need for an improved review process or the need for greater funding. Then there's the manipulation potential - eg. ExxonMobil spent 3X as much publicizing its support for Masterpiece Theater as it did for the actual support.

Others asserted that Gates' ideal only works where there are sustainable (protected) profits - eg. new product, monopoly, etc.; that there aren't that many products with a unique demand in Third-World vs. developed countries (probably literally true, though the former's emphasis on extremely low-cost can also be construed as constituting unique products); that business already has an incentive to help the poor via seeking out low-cost producers (eg. China); that "Corporate Social Responsibility" people are typically woolly-headed and ineffectual; that foreign charity can reduce the pressure for good government in poor countries; and that businesses should instead stop trying to circumvent markets working well via tariffs, quotas, subsidies, etc.

Larry Summers' also had an interesting insight. Wanting to harness the profit motive to meet the social objective of increased home-ownership, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were employed. The illusion that they were doing virtuous work made it impossible to build a political case for serious regulation. On the other hand, market discipline as nearly non-existent given the perception that their debt was government-backed. Meanwhile, complaints of social failures were met by claims of a need to perform for shareholders. Thus, accountability for both objectives was largely lost.

2009-01-07 | Pragmatist (Phoenix, AZ.) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

---

Creative Capitalism-A creative way to express diverse views
Timely subject. Excellent collection of differing points of view from people that should know.A quick and provactive read.

2009-01-06 (LA,CA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

---

The Road Ahead

Description

---

Customer Reviews

The Future?
Bill Gates is always an interesting character and read just because of who he is.

In this book he tackles what he thinks will be the future of the internew and what he calls the "information highway." This he believes is the future.

He is highly optomistic about what the future has in store for us on this highway.

He believes we are at the crossroads of this highway and what it will become and he offers suggestions as to what it should be and how we should get there.

Anyone interested in computers and the internet will find this an interesting read.

J. Robert Ewbank, "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

2010-03-07 | It's Me (Mobile, Alabama) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

Dated but Valuable Reading
It is amazing that this book is nearly 15 years old, and further that Bill Gates was so spot on with the current technology that we see today. It is a good read to see both the vision of this truly amazing entrepreneur, as well as to get an idea of how to think about technology enabling daily life. Listen to what Bill gates says about the future of technology in your life - the past would indicate he knows what he's talking about.

2009-04-12 (Mill Creek, WA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

The road for my success
The Road Ahead
Cheung Yin Fan (50266271),
City University of Hong Kong,
Department of marketing

Description of the book

¡¥The road ahead¡¦ is written by Bill Gates, which includes some life style of Bill Gates and his experience on running ¡¥Microsoft¡¦ company, how to interact with his partner and friends. The most important is how Bill Gates foresees the future trends of information technique and captures the opportunities in order to meet the customer¡¦s requirement.

Moreover, I can see how human¡¦s intelligence can create a better life in future and how Bill Gates foresees the customer¡¦s needs in the future.

In order to have a better life and work efficiency, human create and innovate the high techniques. From the development of binary 0,1 to graphic personal computer (PC) windows, human keep on innovation to improve and upgrade the quality of PC to improve the life standard in different aspect and meet different customer¡¦s individual needs.

Individual

With the convenience use of PC, people can use PC to connect with internet. Through the internet, people can communicate with their family and friends, who stay in a long distance, through ICQ, newsgroup and bulletin board in a cheaper and faster way. It can help to enhance the socialization and build a closed relationship with each others.

In the entertainment, the online games and video show would be a good entertainment at home. Therefore, people can enjoy their own times at home rather than outside.

In the customization, people can do their financial activities through e-banking that time-saving and more efficiency to get the updated financial information. To enhance the personal usage in internet, most websites provide with personal email and album accounts.

Education

Education would get a huge of benefits in the high technology era. Student can earn through internet, with an example, search information on it, communicates with friends, teacher and parents through web cam, ICQ and email.

The most important is that student can learn interactively and get the global information in order to develop their global sense.

Business

In this decay of high technique innovation, business has been made a big change. Nowadays, most industry use e-business and PC instead of written paper to increase their work efficiency.

Due to the rapid growth of PC usage, the new business is created such as Website firm, e-shopping and e-banking. Those new businesses can give customer to shop and do the financial activities more effective and efficiency.

Society

The widen use of internet can enhance the information exchange so that library and government information are free for citizens. Moreover, the PC can help the government to manage the population problem in a faster way.

Learning insight

I get a lot of benefit in the book, it is not only the benefit on using PC and internet, but also I can learn what the considerations on running a business are.

I believe that there are no company can be a leader forever. To increase the competitive power in the market, keeping innovation would be a critical success factor.

First of all, we should keep consider the customers¡¦ needs and competitor¡¦s action. In order to get more new idea, the company better absorb the opinion of employees.

The most important is that we should seek an opportunity and have a dream. Just likes Bill Gates, he have a dream to allow everyone to have a PC at home. The dream is a motivation to boost him to keep innovation on his business. Moreover, Bill Gates is so talent to seek an opportunity to learn and develop his business.

Also I can learn how to think in positive way. While the development of PC rapidly, most people have a doubt on the benefit of PC. Some people may worry that PC will replace human intelligence. PC will enlarge the relationship gap between human. However, Bill Gates have a positive mind, he think PC would be a good tool for people to work more effective and efficiency. Moreover, PC is created by human, it cannot replace our intelligence, but due to the convenience use of PC, human can upgrade their intelligence and be concerned on the complex question.

For my own opinion, PC gives me a lot of benefit of study. I can check email to communicate to my teacher and receive more updated information. Through viewing the websites, I can get another kind of entertainment such as the online movie show. And I always use PC instead of written to paper. At night, I always cheat with my friends through ICQ and so I can have more discussion topic to talk with my friend .Therefore, PC would be a valuable award of human intelligence and one of my necessities.

Some parts are good

1. Good content

In the book, there are a lot of arguments about the benefit of PC. Through argument can help me to refined and rethink why we need PC.

2. Foresee the future

Bill Gates likes to foresee the future trends of the high technique business. I also get a refresh feeling from his insight since his thinking is so innovative.

Some parts need to be improved

1. History description should have more pictures

Due to the generation gap, I really do not understand what binary command (0,1) is to run the computer. To better understand the development of PC, the editor is better to give some photo on it.
2. Well organization should be done

Since the book is about the development of high technique PC, some organization would not flow so smoothly. Therefore, it is better to restructure the story by year or different kinds of events that the readers are easier to follow.

2003-11-10 (Hong Kong) | Helpful Votes: 5 | Rating: 4

---

How technology benefits our lives?
¡§The Road Ahead¡¨ is written by Bill Gates in 1996. However, I am surprised that most of the content in the book can come true nowadays. For example, videoconferencing, e-mail, e-shopping, e-banking, etc. This book is interesting that we can understand more how computer developed and how it is applied widely in the world nowadays.

The content of this book is about how computer developed and what the trend of the information age is. I got the main point from the book is that ¡§How technology benefits our lives?¡¨ We can divide what Bill Gates has mentioned about the benefits of technology in our lives into four aspects: Individual, education, business, and society. Actually, the evolution of computer and the application of e-mail, ICQ, Intranet, etc affected our communication pattern today. Now, we can use the above methods to communicate with anyone all over the world that overcome our physical separation. Therefore, the world today become smaller and people become more aware of what happens outside the world. And this interactive network can be applied in the above four aspects (Individual, education, business, and society) that improve our standard of living.

For individual, the Internet is widely used that enhance socialization among people. On-line game, ICQ, and newsgroup, etc provides more kinds of entertainment for us that can help people to reduce pressure and train our intelligence.

For education, CD-ROM, World Wide Web, Intranet, e-mail, and educational software, etc can help people to manage information to support thinking and learning, and to assist many education works. For example, students can submit assignments and download academic notes through the campus Intranet and it enables students to keep in touch with other classmates and teachers.

For business, e-mail, Microsoft Office, Web page, videoconferencing, software for scheduling, etc can help to streamline the operation in business internally and externally. And new forms of business begin to emerge, which are e-shopping, e-banking and on-line advertising that help to save operation cost and provide new kinds of business for companies.

For society, Internet, e-mail, and ICQ, etc help to enhance information exchange and enhance culture exchange, and then enhance our standard of living since technology enables people to work efficiently so that it increases our leisure time with better lives.

This book helps me to understand more about how the evolution of technology can bring us so large and good impacts to our world. I am surprising that what Bill Gates said in 1996 can become reality in 2003. We can enjoy the benefits nowadays from the achievement of the people long times ago. Moreover, I learnt how to think and criticize an issue from different angles so that I can analyze an issue in a more objective ways. We can learn this thinking skill from Bill Gates since this book contains many critical thinking by Bill Gates and how he criticized an issue into different angles objectively. This skill is very important for me and it is very useful for my future career.

This book is a valuable book that recorded the evolution of computer and how technology benefits our world. Therefore, I believe that people can get many insights in education and business world from this book. I hope that all the readers can also enjoy reading this book and learning how to think and criticize an issue more objectively.

2003-11-05 | eicheese11 (Hong Kong) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

---

Awesome
If you are into computers this is a book for you!Check it out!

1997-03-23 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---