New Book On Microsoft Promises Irreverent
Insider's View
By Mark Boslet
PALO ALTO (Dow Jones)--A new book offering an irreverent insider's
view of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) promises to add to the company's
public-relations headaches.
The narrative, written by a former Microsoft software developer and the
estranged daughter of the company's top publicist, is to hit stores May
20, just as the company's antitrust battle with the Justice Department is
likely to reignite.
The 304-page book, titled "Barbarians Led By Bill Gates: Microsoft from
the Inside," paints a very different picture of Microsoft than the one
normally sketched by Microsoft executives and followers of the
company. Described alternately as a wellspring of marketing brilliance or
an evil empire, Microsoft is undeniably the dominant force in the world
of personal computing and universally seen as the master of its own
destiny.
But such is not the case, according to "Barbarians Led By Bill Gates,"
written by 13-year Microsoft veteran Marlin Eller and Jennifer Edstrom,
daughter of public relations executive Pam Edstrom. Microsoft is neither
business genius nor evil empire, and just as often, things happened by
chance, the book says.
"Barbarians Led By Bill Gates" explores 15 years of the company's
business practices, and its research created hours of taped interviews
with software developers that could draw the interest of government
investigators.
Co-author Eller worked at Microsoft from 1982 to 1995 and is now
chairman at Sunhawk Corp., a Seattle digital music publisher. Eller was a
lead developer of the initial version of Windows, and the book follows
his career and interactions with executives such as Gates and Steve
Ballmer.
Eller did not return a call seeking comment. But William Patrick, senior
executive editor at the book's publisher, Henry Holt & Co., called Eller a
"Microsoft loyalist" who enjoyed the company's early days working
"elbow to elbow" with Gates, but who left when the company grew too
large.
The book is a "story told by the guys in the trenches," Patrick said. It is
not the story of Bill Gates' genius, but of a lot of smart people who often
had to fight management to get things done, he said.
Jennifer Edstrom, also a co-author, grew up with the Microsoft culture.
Her mother, who also didn't return a call seeking comment, runs
Waggener Edstrom, Microsoft's public-relations agency.
"I watched my mother create the Bill Gates myth in the early 80s, and
I've watched her spin the Microsoft image ever since," Jennifer Edstrom
said in a printed statement. "But Marlin and I have gotten to the people
who actually designed the software and wrote the code...and they have
quite a different story to tell."
The book presents evidence that the Windows 95 operating system and
the company's Internet Explorer browser were conceived as unrelated
products, a point that could interest antitrust regulators. The Justice
Department has accused Microsoft of unfairly using its monopoly in
operating systems to get computer makers to sell Internet Explorer
instead of Netscape Communications Corp.'s (NSCP) competing
Communicator.
The case will return to Appeals Court next week amid reports that the
Justice Department is considering expanding its complaint.
The book also details how Microsoft missed the start of the Internet
market, but was able to roar back against Netscape, in much the same
way it engineered a come-from-behind victory against Go Corp. in pen
computing. It delves as well into the question of much the original
Windows interface borrowed from rival software developed by Apple
Computer Inc. (AAPL) of the Macintosh.
As to the tape, "The Department of Justice simply should have talked to
Marlin and Jennifer a long time ago," Patrick said. "If they had, they'd
now have a much deeper understanding of the Microsoft culture that
landed the company in all this hot water in the first place. They'd also
have hours of taped conversations with key, hands-on developers
happily spilling the beans."
A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company hasn't been given a copy of
the book, which Henry Holt is keeping carefully under wraps, and can't
comment on specifics.
The authors are entitled to their opinions, said spokeswoman Claire
LeMatta. |
