The Road Ahead: 9living and Prospering in the Information Age

I have been listening to Bill Gates' audiobook titled The Road Ahead regularly for the past 15 years since it was published. I have been amazed to see his predictions actualize so accurately and gradually over the past fifteen years although some of them have yet to be actualized. In the book / audio book the author explains how he got involved in information technology from the time he was a college student, what the developments were in the field until then. He proceeds to describe what the further developments likely to happen were in the 15 years ahead around the world in many different aspects of information technology and how our lives would change as a result. As I write these lines on March 27th 2009 I am amazed to see how accurate his predictions were. However, are we better off as various societies around the world as a result of these revolutionary advances in information technology particularly in communications technology ? I would be the last person to suggest that we go back to an age without personal computers, internet and cell phones. However, it upsets me to see that like many other technological advancements the unfavorable effects have been too many. In his book Bill Gates talks about for example the dangers of internet to children but that they can be controlled by parental controls provided by software to prevent children from accessing harmful websites. He also comments that he disagrees people will become individuals spending too much time online with much less social interaction. However, careful observation during the past 15 years reveals that this is exactly what has happened ; parental control software have not been sufficient in preventing especially adolescents from accessing harmful websites, too many people surf the net for too long unproductively. In fact this gave rise to a new type of psychological disorder named internet addiction. It is true that the internet and cell phones have enabled us to do many banking and other transactions much faster without having to wait for hours in lines in front of bank tellers etc. Thanks to the internet and e - mail technology like many people I was also able to find some of my high school mates of 34 years ago on the other side of the globe and start corresponding with them again. Many years ago it would have been very difficult to find them and corresponding with them through traditional post would have taken weeks. Thanks to e-mail we can exchange mails several times a day despite the fact that we live on different continents of our planet. But what are people doing with the time saved ? The purpose of technological advance is to speed up monotonous and repetitive tasks that take too much time that could otherwise be used more creatively. Is that happening ? Not very much. Because too many people use the time saved surfing unproductively on the internet or watching TV without a purpose. If the saved time had been used to develop social relationships, exercise, hob

Written by the Master of technology, the book THE ROAD AHEAD attempts to define the computer revolution and its impact on the future. As time has passed the computer revolution has taken us to places we have never dreamed of (both positive and negative). And it will continue to do so. Each generation of thought stands on the shoulders of previous thought.I highly recommend reading this book. But I also feel the reader needs to recognize the marketing genius of Bill Gates in writing such a book as this. After reading this work, we each need to stop and question if the revolution in the computer sciences is as really as profoundly important to our society as the revolution in the brain sciences. If I had to chose between my brain and my computer, I would would want my brain anytime.

I read the first edition of the book a few years ago. It was also translated into Russian in 1997. And now when I'm reading "Business @ Speed of Thought" I take a look into the second edition of "The Road Ahead" and read it again. Considering that this book was written in 1995-96, the predictions he made are quite remarkable in their prophecy. The founder of Microsoft presents his vision for the future in which he sees the digital technologies of the coming years changing the way we buy, work, learn, and communicate. And this man definitely knows the future."The Road Ahead" is very much primarily an easy-to-read IT textbook. This book tells you what lies ahead in the future for everyday living world of computers. Will everyone in the world have access to computers in our future? Will everyone gain access to the Internet? Will we be able to walk in a store and pick out whatever we want to, and walk out of the store without being a shoplifter? Read this amazing book and find out the answers to these questions and more. It also includes CD-ROM containing the complete text of the book, a dictionary with multimedia hyperlinks and an interview with Bill Gates. It is still extraordinary. This CD-ROM illustrates the future of electronic publishing. I interviewed Bill Gates in 1990 when he visited Moscow for the first time to introduce the very first Microsoft product in Russian language. It was MS-DOS 4.0. Then I wrote several books on MS-DOS and IT for beginners. Bill Gates was worth "only" $2.5 billion in 1990. It is estimated that hundreds million people today have personal computers in their home. Over ninety-five percent of them are operating Windows Operating Systems. Today Microsoft really enjoys the self-made monopoly. Although many people don't like Bill Gates personally because he's so rich, I wish good luck to Microsoft Corp. and the Microsoft team. And at the same time I also wish good luck to all young entrepreneurs who will start their companies and deprive Microsoft of its reins eventually. This is the capitalism, ladies and gentlemen! This is a great system with opportunities for everyone with guts.This is a must have book for anyone pursuing a career in computers, the computer hobbyist and the Mac users, too. Get this book today and have it in your library. I highly recommend it, especially to people new to computers and the digital revolution.

This effort illustrates the future of publishing, I would hope. I will definitely pay extra for the multimedia CD experience. The book is just the multimedia text, and comes across as bland when read alone.The CD is a rich multi-media experience that was an enjoyable trek through my past (I've been a software developer since the 60's) and gives strong glimpses of the future I'm currently involved in making happen.

AVOID THIS!What a bad book. It doesn't even mention the Internet. It's just Bill trying to tell the world how great he is, and how great M$ are.The new Business @ the speed of thought is just as bad. Business @ the speed of M$ products would mean going OUT of business