Hard drive
by James Wallace · first published 1992
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Detailed business history of early Microsoft and Bill Gates, valued as an engaging read on the company's growth; often cited as a go-to biography for anyone interested in the tech industry's founding era.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Chronicles the career of "Chairman Bill" Gates, the computer whiz kid who commands the powerful Microsoft computer software empire.
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Mentions per year
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…attitude that no matter what they do, regardless of it's significance, they give it all they have. They want to win (using some subjective definition of winning). I highly recommend reading James Wallace's "Hard Drive" (http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-Empire/dp/...) which provides some insight into Bill Gates. Regardless of your thoughts about the man, I think it is an extremely interesting read.…
on “Successful people are successful” ↗It's out of print now, but "Hard Drive" by James Wallace and Jim Erickson tells it: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-Empire/dp...
on “CP/NC – a CP/M-compatible operating system” ↗- Build by Fadell - Hard Drive by Wallace - The Inmates Are Running the Asylum by Cooper These three books are some of the best books in their respective categories. All three are about product design in a way. Build is about the…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023” ↗…"epistemological". For example, "How Life Imitates Chess" by Garry Kasparov [5]. I don't know who created this title for the book though. Many autobiographies, in general, or good business biographies such as "Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire" [6]. [1] https://avc.com/category/mba-mondays/ [2] https://mba-mondays-illustrated.com/ [3] https://avc.com/2010/08/commission-plans/ [4] https://www.amazon.com/Only-Paranoid-Survive-Exploit-Challen...…
on “DIY MBA: My Reading List (2019)” ↗…recommend to read "Idea Man", Paul Allen (Microsoft cofounder) autobiography. You will realize there was an incredible Bill Gates before the IBM deal. Also check the non-official chronicles of Bill Gates in "Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire" [2] (1993). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea_Man [2] https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-Empire/dp...
on “My journey into personal computer software development in 1983” ↗I read Hard Drive by James Wallace and Jim Erickson a couple years ago. It was written between Windows 3.1 and 95. Super interesting to read Microsoft history from the perspective of that time period. I loved it.
on “Microsoft employees recall their early years” ↗I recommend reading "Idea Man" [1] by Paul Allen, Microsoft's cofounder, to understand the deep and early involvement he and Bill Gates had with computers. I also recommend Hard Drive (1992) [2] for a deeper look into the business side of Bill Gates. Regardless of any negative opinions about him, I believe Bill Gates was/is in a league of his own. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea_Man…
on “CP/M creator Gary Kildall's memoirs released as free download” ↗…Dawn of Cyberculture - https://www.amazon.com/The-Friendly-Orange-Glow-audiobook/dp... Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age - https://www.amazon.com/Troublemakers-Silicon-Valleys-Coming-... Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire - https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-Empire/dp... Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture - https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Cult...…
on “Ask HN: Material on early computing history and innovation?” ↗…Heller) - Be the Business (Martha Heller) Stories - Made in America (Sam Walton) - Shoe Dog (Phil Knight) - The Everything Store (Brad Stone) - Built from Scratch (Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank) - Hard Drive (James Wallace) - Steve Jobs (Walter Isaacson) - Elon Musk (Ashlee Vance) - Creativity, Inc. (Ed Catmull) - The Ride of a Lifetime (Bob Iger) - Valley of Genius (Adam Fisher) - The Idea Factory (Jon Gertner) -…
on “Ask HN: What books helped you in your entrepreneurship journey?” ↗…DEVELOPMENT / ENTREPRENEURSHIP / INNOVATION Christensen, Clayton (1997) Innovator's Dilemma Stone, Brad (2013) Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon Wallace, James and Jim Erickson (1992) Hard Drive: Bill Gates and Making of the Microsoft Empire Walton, Sam with John Huey (1992) Sam Walton: Made in America Wilson, Mike (1996) Difference between God and Larry Ellison: Inside Oracle Corp POLITICAL…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗I've just finished reading "Hard Drive" a book written by James Wallace and Jim Erickson (Jun 1, 1993) about the early days of Microsoft and it's founder Bill Gates. I have to say that it was a fantastic read and certainly one of my favourite…
on “Best Business Books (Recommendations included)” ↗Nobody has written a modern, high quality, comprehensive biography of Gates. I'd recommend these three: Hard Drive (1993), by James Wallace Gates (1992), by Stephen Manes Idea Man (2011), by Paul Allen Idea Man is available for $5 on the Kindle right now and is an excellent read, however Gates is only a secondary…
on “Bill Gates Resume (1974)” ↗…The Wires Kenneth Roman - The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising Walter Isaacson - Steve Jobs Alan Deutschman - The Second Coming of Steve Jobs James Wallace - Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire Alice Schroeder - The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life Richard Branson - Losing My Virginity
on “Ask HN: Biographies recommendations – both Westerner and Non-westerner” ↗"Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire" (1992) https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-Empire/dp... http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41611.Hard_Drive Mostly re-read the parts…
on “Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?” ↗…was born in 1981 and I clearly remember the fear and awe Microsoft inspired in 1995 :) . There were articles about how Bill took things personally and crushed competition. I read the 1992 biography "Hard Drive" ( http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-Empire/dp/... ); Bill was kind of a role model back then (a successful and well-known technologist). Edit: See also ojbyrne's comment: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1596737
on “What Happened to Yahoo” ↗