When you strip away the luster, novelty, & excitement surrounding the newest generation of computer software -- multimedia software on CD-ROM -- you find a world not of high-tech efficiency but of simple human muddling. Moody discovered this when he spent more than a year shadowing a team of Microsoft developers working on a children s compact disc to be called Explorapedia. He watched the struggle to achieve the perfect blend of technical innovation, artistic charm, & educational content. Offers a lesson in what it takes to manage the exhilarating & turbulent process of turning a computer into a multimedia art machine.
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Review:
An outsider is allowed into the labyrinth to watch a Microsoft multimedia project from conception to partial completion. If you are interested in understanding Microsoft's strengths--and weaknesses--breaking into new markets, this is a must-read book.
From Publishers Weekly:
Freelance writer Moody spent the year from December 1992 through December 1993 with six members of a Microsoft unit that was developing a children's multimedia reference product named Sendak. As he was given virtually unlimited access to the group, Moody is able to present a week-by-week account of the trials and tribulations of each team member as they try to make Sendak a viable product. In describing the inner workings of Microsoft, Moody reveals a company not immune to the corporate politics and personality conflicts that afflict huge companies, but one that nevertheless is willing to push the boundaries of technology, driven by chairman Bill Gates's obsession with staying ahead of the competition. Indeed, Moody's accounts of meetings with Gates are compelling. A fast-paced read that does not get bogged down in technical jargon, the book suffers from one flaw: Sendak was far from finished when Moody's year with Microsoft was up, so he describes its completion and launch?the product was shipped in November 1994 under the name Explorapedia?in relatively few pages. 50,000 first printing.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherDiane Pub
- Publication date1995
- ISBN 10 0756757584
- ISBN 13 9780756757588
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages311
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Rating