
How the Web was won
by Paul Andrews · first published 1999
3mentions
2recommended by
2HN commenters
2009–2017first – last mentioned
100% recommend
In How the Web Was Won, veteran Seattle Times journalist Paul Andrews chronicles, for the first time, the most remarkable business turnaround of the 1990s: the story of Microsoft's turbulent journey from Windows to the Web - and of the handful of internet believers who led the charge. Taking the reader into the mind of Microsoft, Andrews reveals how the company struggled first to comprehend and then capitalize on the Net. How twenty-two-year-old Internet hound J. Allard was shocked to learn that nobody at Microsoft seemed to know anything about networking computers when he arrived in late 199
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How the Web Was Won: How Bill Gates and His Internet Idealists Transformed the Microsoft Empire It portrays what I'd call "an idealized" version of events in that it's a fairly positive account of Microsoft's battle to…
on “Ask HN: Favorite true story tech book?” ↗…lawsuit, Microsoft WON the browser case 2-1 on appeal. So bundling wasn't actually illegal, as alleged. I watched all this closely at the time. It is also well documented in several books, including How The Web Was Won, Competing on Internet Time, and the great High St@kes, No Prisoners.
on “Docker and Microsoft partner to drive adoption of distributed applications” ↗…story very closely at the time. Microsoft was much more co-operative than Netscape in the early days. It was one of Microsoft's advantages when Netscape was winning and running on pure arrogance. See How the Web Was Won, High Stakes No Prisoners and a few other books for details. Microsoft did introduce ActiveX, which Mozilla considered supporting, and then decided not to.
on “Chrome Won” ↗