In search of stupidity
by Merrill R. Chapman · first published 2003
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Readable, funny history of early PC software, told through the marketing blunders that sank WordStar, Lotus and Novell, and how Microsoft won by waiting for rivals to err. For anyone into tech business history.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A humorous book that takes a look at some of the most influential marketing and business philosophies since the 1980s and, through the dark glass of hindsight, provides an educational and entertaining examination of why they didn't work for many companies.
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There is a chapter on WordStar in "In Search of Stupidity" by Merrill Chapman. In it Chapman says that this was due to internal and external confusion and competition between WordStar and Wordstar2000. The book is a great read by the way.
on “What ever happened to Wordstar?” ↗Factually not true. I suggest you grab a copy of "In Search of Stupidity by Merrill Chapman": https://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Stupidity-Twenty-Marketing-D... Most of these companies from the 80's and 90's foot gunned themselves into oblivion or were bought by companies that…
on “Ask HN: What Happened to Borland?” ↗One of my favorites is "In Search Of Stupidity", by Merrill Chapman. It talks about the marketing mistakes that ultimately killed a lot of top tech companies.
on “Ask HN: Books on Computer History” ↗I think it's about time Merrill Chapman penned a new and updated edition of "In Search of Stupidity" geared towards internet tech firm calamities and stuff like this.
on “When Excite nearly bought Google” ↗Borland gets a lot of mentions in this book, which is very interesting as well as entertaining: "In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters" http://www.amazon.com/Search-Stupidity-High-Tech-Marketing-D... I'd highly recommend it. Technology changes, but people don't.
on “Why did Borland fail?” ↗…is a great read. It's a particular favourite what with being an ex-Data General field engineer (maintained and fixed Nova 3/4 and Eclipse S/130/140's and associated peripherals). I can also recommend "In Search of Stupidity:Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters" which about how the old giants of the early PC software industry (Ashton Tate, MicroPro et al) made colossal mistakes resulting in their extinction. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1590597214
on “Ask HN: How to learn about the history of computing?” ↗One of my favorites this year, particularly in non-fiction, is In Search of Stupidity by Merril R. Chapman [0]. It's an amazing look at the history of microcomputers and the ensuing software market with a particular eye on what made certain companies fail. Chapman worked for sometime…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗The answer is well-documented in Merrill R. Chapman’s book “In Search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters” Terrible title but great book. Basically Microsoft dominated every software category by waiting for the #1 company to make a dumb mistake. They…
on “Ask HN: What Happened to Borland?” ↗In Search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters by Merrill R. Chapman. I came across this book upon one of the discussions here on HN and it provided me with historical insights about driving forces…
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗At this point it appears as if ARM is run by former Nokia Kodak and Yahoo executives. For similarly innovative tech strategies I suggest the book “In search of stupidity” by Merrill Chapman
on “Qualcomm says ARM to prohibit proximity of CPU and 3rd-party modules in one chip” ↗…great book is “Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer” (Second Edition) 2nd Edition by Paul Freiberger (Author), Michael Swaine (Author) And I like as well a book from Merrill Chapman. “In search of stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters”.
on “The Joy of Computer History Books” ↗…knowledge that is encoded in the previous version. For anybody interested in the topic, I recommend the number of case studies presented in: https://www.amazon.com/Search-Stupidity-Twenty-Marketing-Dis... "In Search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters" See about new rewrite of Wordstar simply not having the printer drivers that the previous had, and also other features people already expected, leading…
on “Things You Should Never Do (2000)” ↗…is one tough competitor, no doubt about it. But evil and maniacal is frankly ridiculous. MicroPro, Novell, Lotus, etc., all failed due to their own decisions. For in-depth information, see the book "In Search of Stupidity".
on “Bill Gates takes part in Reddit's Secret Santa” ↗…your A game when dealing with Microsoft. But the complaints that he was 'evil', when you drill down to see what the actual complaint is, just seem to fade away. Most of it seems to be simply envy. See "In Search of Stupidity" by Chapman. P.S. I was in the industry throughout that era, and competed directly against Microsoft in programming languages.
on “Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective” ↗Seems like you've been around long enough to have read In Search of Stupidity. Lots of great stories in there, including one about a super famous tech person who once said the browser is too slow and will not ever be a viable place for apps. :)
on “Flutter 2” ↗