Breaking Windows

Breaking Windows by David Bank

Only the second book I’ve read on Microsoft, and the first which actually pieces together all the information from the antitrust trials (the stacks of emails, in particular). David Bank is the Wall Street Journal’s Microsoft reporter, so also has several interviews with high-level executives to draw from.

It’s quite interesting to see how the external perception of Microsoft as a unilateral juggernaut is very much at odds with the internal view: the infighting between the Windows team and the Internet team being the main focus of the group. The fact that Microsoft may never own a platform the way they own the PC again being the bone of contention.

What seems to be emerging over in Redmond is a Microsoft that is prepared to compete on open standards, but is still intent on owning all the key pieces of infrastructure (sign-in, billing, drm, etc) that are required to make this ubiquitous, interconnected world we are aiming for (and I am hoping to see in my lifetime). One company owning this digital infrastructure, would, of course, be Bad News™.

The book was reasonably enjoyable, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend you buy it. If you see me, ask to borrow it instead.