A Different Kind of Reading List
I
love biographies. I am really a sucker for stories related to the
creation of great software and hardware. These books provide me with
inspiration that great things are possible.
Here are some of my favorites:
Revolution in the Valley
The
Apple Macintosh is arguably one of the greatest software/hardware
creations of all time. This book (one of my favorites) contains a ton
of stories told by the people that created the Apple Macintosh
computer. Its origins started on the web site www.folklore.org. Check out this web site for stories of the Mac.
Postmortems
One
of my favorite magazines is Game Developer Magazine. The reason it is
my favorite is because of the monthly column called Postmortem. Every
issue highlights the process of creation of a game pointing from two
perspectives. What went right and what went wrong. Game developers face
the same issues that line of business developers face: tough deadlines,
new tools, process problems and other recurring themes from our
profession.
This book contains dozens of these postmortems culled from the magazine over the years.
Showstopper
The
creation of Windows NT marked one of the greatest milestones in the
history of Microsoft Windows. This book by Pascal Zachary tells the
stories of the architects, designers and developers of Windows NT. With all the problems with Windows Vista Microsoft should put Dave Cutler back in charge (read the book and you'll know why)
High Stakes No PrisonersBefore www.myspace.com
(the web site where every page looks like a ransom letter) there
existed an application that enabled neophyte developers create there
own web pages (that also looked like ransom letters <G>) with
just a few simple clicks and a very intuitive interface. This book
documents the process of creating Microsoft FrontPage. Microsoft did
not originally create Microsoft FrontPage. Microsoft FrontPage was
purchases from a company called Vermeer. This book shows the process
that Vermeer went through when creating. FrontPage. It also gives a
history of some tools we still use today. FrontPage extensions anyone?
Making the Xbox
The XBOX is one of the best things to come out of Microsoft in the most recent history. (With the exception of the .NET of course <G>) This book documents the creation of the first XBOX. It discusses the design work, the production process and risks involved in creating something truly great.
I like this book because it reinforces the idea that great things come from small teams.
Soul of a New Machine
This
book was the inspiration for the book Showstopper. It documents the
creation of the Data General minicomputer. This book, written in
1981(practically the dawn of the computer industry as we know it) tells
the story of creating a new 32bit minicomputer this book is all about
the blood sweat and tears that come with creating something great.
I Sing the Body Electronic
There
was a day when creating content for CDs (yes CDs) was a new and
innovative field of work. Anyone remember the game Manhole? This book
documents the process of creating a new children's multimedia title at
Microsoft.