Found 3 comments on HN
pjmorris · 2014-02-06 · Original thread
Three I'm familiar with, all recommended:
'Gates', Stephen Manes [1]
'Show Stopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft', G.P. Zachary [2]
'Microsoft in the Mirror', Karin Carter [3]
But I agree with the parent that 'Programmers At Work' is a great book.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Microsofts-Reinvented-Industry-H...
[2] http://www.amazon.com/Show-Stopper-Breakneck-Generation-Micr...
[3] http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Mirror-Nineteen-Insiders-Exp...
CurtMonash · 2014-01-20 · Original thread
There was one excellent biography of Bill quite some time ago. The part I could verify personally (and there was a lot) was almost all correct, and whatever the exceptions were weren't bad enough for me to recall them now.
I don't see it on my shelf now, but I think it was http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Microsofts-Reinvented-Industry-H... The cover looks familiar, the year is about right, and I have a vague memory of the author being named "Steven".
Some more context: In "Computer Chronicles" memorial episode, they too did not know who set the high price.
I remember coming upon a website of someone in the industry that asked Gary Kildall, "Who set the high price?". Gary said it was him.
I don't know if the page is up. I also don't know how to find it. I'm betting it's somewhere in the Internet Archive.
Even before OSes, Gates would argue with Allen: "If we give away our programming language for free, we will have high market share!" Allen would reply, "We would also go broke." Source: Andrews and Manes' "Gates": http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Microsofts-Reinvented-Industry-H...
Grabbing market share, low prices... combined w/ Scott Oki's strategic thinking (barriers of entry, legal contracts as competitive tool, from book "Microsoft Generation" http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-First-Generation-Library-Edi...), and MSFT's motto, "We set the standard", it would make sense that MSFT would do it's best to price the OS as low as possible for long-term gain.
Also, there was a Pascal-based OS, but most people forget about that one.