Sweating Bullets
Notes about Inventing PowerPoint
by Robert Gaskins · first published 2012
80% recommend20% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Written by PowerPoint's inventor, this first-hand account details how the product was designed and built. It offers a fascinating look at software development history and product design.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
PowerPoint was the first presentation software designed for Macintosh and Windows, received the first venture capital investment ever made by Apple, and then became the first significant acquisition ever made by Microsoft, who set up a new Graphics Business Unit in Silicon Valley to develop it further. Now, twenty-five years later, PowerPoint is installed on over one billion computers worldwide. In this book, Robert Gaskins (who invented the idea, managed its design and development, and then headed the new Microsoft group) tells the story of its first years, recounting the perils and disas
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Recommended reading: https://www.amazon.com/Sweating-Bullets-Notes-Inventing-Powe...
on “The Improbable Origins of PowerPoint” ↗…examined/reviewed/quality-checked, then imaged to 35mm slides, and finally shipped back to the manager. In comparison, ugly manager slides in PowerPoint really are a huge productivity boost. Robert Gaskins' book Sweating Bullets about the early history of PowerPoint history is a fascinating read: http://www.robertgaskins.com/powerpoint-history/sweating-bul...
on “Microsoft Office could be a bigger productivity drain than Candy Crush” ↗I can really recommend Sweating Bullets: Notes about Inventing PowerPoint[1]. Written by Robert Gaskins, inventor of PowerPoint, I found it enjoyable and interesting to learn the history and design decisions behind a product most take for granted,…
on “Ask HN: What are the best unknown books you have read?” ↗A great book on this topic is Sweating Bullets by Robert Gaskins, the inventor of PowerPoint. It's amazing how little the core of that program has changed since it was first introduced.
on “Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation” ↗If you’re interested in more on this, I highly recommend the book Sweating Bullets by Robert Gaskins, the inventor/PM of PowerPoint.
on “Dennis Austin, the software developer of PowerPoint, dies at 76” ↗If you want to read about the development of PowerPoint by its visionary, you can checkout the book Sweating Bullets by Robert Gaskins: https://amzn.to/3PvTvF0 Dennis Austin was the lead developer and Gaskins was the idea guy/manager.
on “Dennis Austin, the software developer of PowerPoint, dies at 76” ↗In "Sweating Bullets: Notes about Inventing PowerPoint" PowerPoint creator Robert Gaskins tells how he designed and developed the most famous slide presentation application. The book is available at the author's site: https://www.robertgaskins.com/powerpoint-history/sweating-bu...
on “Ask HN: Recommendations on books and docs on tech companies/people? (Repost)” ↗For a look at this, checkout the book Sweating Bullets by the creator of Powerpoint: https://amzn.to/2IOfGE9
on “Mitch Kapor Introduces Lotus 1-2-3 Spreadsheet (1983) [video]” ↗"Sweating Bullets", "Almost Perfect" (http://www.wordplace.com/ap/), "The Autodesk File" (https://www.fourmilab.ch/autofile/e5/) and "Show Stopper!" were a few books that I think pair very well, and as a developer who…
on “Dennis Austin, the software developer of PowerPoint, dies at 76” ↗…facing a difficult task myself! I’ve enjoyed all of these; they were all recommendations from HN. Showstopper - Windows NT Losing the Signal - BlackBerry Made in Japan - Sony Piloting Palm - Palm Sweating Bullets - PowerPoint Folklore.org - Early Apple. The “Mac Folklore Radio Podcast” [0]. Has a few interesting stories of people innovating and solving challenges. [0] https://macfolkloreradio.com/
on “Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things” ↗I am reading the book "Sweating Bullets: Notes about Inventing PowerPoint (2012)" on the iPad https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15745202 and it seems that PowerPoint kind of "solved” the first half of interactive classroom information…
on “Laptops Are Great, But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting” ↗In addition, the inventor of Powerpoint has written an entire book on its development including this anecdote in great detail called Sweating Bullets[0]. [0] https://amzn.to/2wPhmtU
on “Ask HN: What are some great posts or articles about history of computing?” ↗Robert Gaskins, co-creator of PowerPoint, has a personal website with info about PowerPoint: https://www.robertgaskins.com/ One can also download the "Sweating Bullets..." book in PDF form for free from his website (listed in the PowerPoint History section on the main page of his website): https://www.robertgaskins.com/powerpoint-history/sweating-bu...
on “Dennis Austin, the software developer of PowerPoint, dies at 76” ↗