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Idea Man
by
Paul Allen
“The entire conversation took five minutes. When it was over, Bill and I looked at each other. It was one thing to talk about writing a language for a microprocessor and another to get the job done….If we’d been older or known better, Bill and I might have been put off by the task in front of us. But we were young and green enough to believe that we just might pull it off....more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published March 1st 2011)
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Great story about the founding of Microsoft from it's cofounder Paul Allen. I've read a few books about Microsofts history before (such as Gates), but it was fascinating to hear it from the horses mouth.
What stuck out for me was that Paul and Bill were on the cutting edge of software ever since they first saw a computer as teenagers. Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers mentioned the fact that having access to a computer at that time was a huge advantage, and Paul's story confirms that. The world only...more
What stuck out for me was that Paul and Bill were on the cutting edge of software ever since they first saw a computer as teenagers. Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers mentioned the fact that having access to a computer at that time was a huge advantage, and Paul's story confirms that. The world only...more
Paul Allen. Nice bloke, really. Maybe a bit of an accidental billionaire, but it's hard to grudge him the cash. He pretty much changed the world, after all, even if he was, as he admits, merely standing and building on the shoulders of giants. Money isn't everything though, and this is another of those life stories where the music of Neil Sedaka plays in the background as a soundtrack: "I miss the hungry years, we never had a dime...."
I think you'll have to be a bit of a geek to be really grippe...more
I think you'll have to be a bit of a geek to be really grippe...more
Биографии известных деятелей ИТ-индустрии в последнее время становятся все более популярными. И у этого есть в том числе объективные причины - пионеры индустрии и новых технологий достигают более чем зрелого возраста, а некоторые увы нас покидают. Если вы вдруг не читали биографию Стива Джобса, то очень рекомендую, там по-моему максимально объективно рассмотрены и его достижения, и методы работы, и взаимодействие с сотрудниками, коллегами и конкурентами.
Однако на этот раз мне в руки попала автоб...more
Однако на этот раз мне в руки попала автоб...more
It was interesting to finally read the life and times of Paul Allen. He's always seemed to be in the shadows. Some parts of the book were slow/boring but that comes from my bias to really want to hear more about his memoirs around high technology.
You can tell in the book that he's trying to make a name for himself especially since everyone equates Microsoft to Bill Gates (mostly). It was impressive to see how many fields of interest Paul has and the contributions he's made to a variety of fields...more
You can tell in the book that he's trying to make a name for himself especially since everyone equates Microsoft to Bill Gates (mostly). It was impressive to see how many fields of interest Paul has and the contributions he's made to a variety of fields...more
dea Man A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft by Paul Allen
Paul Allen founded Microsoft with Bill Gates. They went to the same high school together and were close friends. They also were part of the early history of personal computers. Microsoft was founded on the program BASIC. One of the reasons it grew to prominence was also because it designed the disk operating system for IBM.
Paul Allen does an excellent job describing the relentless drive behind people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. I l...more
Paul Allen founded Microsoft with Bill Gates. They went to the same high school together and were close friends. They also were part of the early history of personal computers. Microsoft was founded on the program BASIC. One of the reasons it grew to prominence was also because it designed the disk operating system for IBM.
Paul Allen does an excellent job describing the relentless drive behind people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. I l...more
A fascinating look into the development of software and the partnership of Paul Allen and Bill Gates. They both needed each other because of their different strengths and weaknesses. Paul is more of an inductive thinker and needs someone to keep him tethered to realistic possibilities. Bill is more pragmatic and more of an overall business thinker. Needless to say, both are brilliant, successful, hard workers, and extremely generous with their time and money.
I enjoyed the first half of the book...more
I enjoyed the first half of the book...more
What a great 'fly on the wall' peek into the start of Microsoft. I was surprised at the scope and number of bad investments he made. Personally I could have skipped the sports chapter. Allen seems like 'just a guy' even with his heaps of $$$ he still is in awe of certain musicians he admires. And can't quite seem to grasp the immensity of his wealth. How terrific that he survived his 'wake-up' calls and could go on to enjoy his money and put it to good use. What a fantastic role model.
I supposed...more
I supposed...more
I am from Paul Allen's home town and have often seen his yachts and wondered what they are like inside so this book was interesting.
More interesting was hearing his perspective on Microsoft's early days and his important work on mapping the brain. Music has always played a big role in his life and he has a recording studio on both his boats... and submarines. He tells of his fascination with space and his intelligence shines through. Being a major Hendrix fan he tells how Jimmi rocked his world...more
More interesting was hearing his perspective on Microsoft's early days and his important work on mapping the brain. Music has always played a big role in his life and he has a recording studio on both his boats... and submarines. He tells of his fascination with space and his intelligence shines through. Being a major Hendrix fan he tells how Jimmi rocked his world...more
This book on paper seems like the perfect match for me:
-My Industry
-My Town
-My High School
-My Sports teams
But the story just didn't satisfy. The backstory of Microsoft is mildly interesting but not detailed enough to really stand on its own. Plus Allen's open contempt for Gates seems a bit overdone; even if he is just being completely honest I'm not sure why he pays Bill so many back-handed complements and outright jabs. What's in it for Paul except a desperate attempt to claim his rightful plac...more
-My Industry
-My Town
-My High School
-My Sports teams
But the story just didn't satisfy. The backstory of Microsoft is mildly interesting but not detailed enough to really stand on its own. Plus Allen's open contempt for Gates seems a bit overdone; even if he is just being completely honest I'm not sure why he pays Bill so many back-handed complements and outright jabs. What's in it for Paul except a desperate attempt to claim his rightful plac...more
1 like · like · see review
Though not even half way through this book, it has been a lot of fun to read so far. I am sure the book is jaded with Paul Allen's take on things, but it has been fun to look back and be reminded of things from when I was a kid. I grew up with the technology mentioned in this book.
I remember going with my dad, in the Orange Pinto Station Wagon with Wood Paneling, to Computerland in Tigard, Oregon where my dad purchased an Apple II. I remember my dad took that computer with him on business trips...more
I remember going with my dad, in the Orange Pinto Station Wagon with Wood Paneling, to Computerland in Tigard, Oregon where my dad purchased an Apple II. I remember my dad took that computer with him on business trips...more
May 11, 2011
Hippopottoman
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
library
Pretty good. I don't read many memoirs, so I don't have much to compare it to. Heck, I'm not even sure what I was hoping to get out of the book. I enjoyed the early bits about Allen and Gates's partnership. The story of the early growth of Microsoft was pretty interesting. I think I was expecting something a little more The Social Networky than I got, but I wasn't disappointed with the story.
After that, the book became a laundry list of Allen's endeavours and experiences since Microsoft. This is...more
After that, the book became a laundry list of Allen's endeavours and experiences since Microsoft. This is...more
I picked this up out of curiosity, because I had worked with Allen's father, whom I remember as engaging but very quiet, and who was ill-served by our organization. The book itself wonderfully captured Seattle as it changed through my time there, the Microsoft craziness, and the "hobbyist" period of personal computing.
The author presents himself as a man who is able to spot trends, willing to follow them to see where they might go, and (with all that Microsoft money) set up projects to help l...more
The author presents himself as a man who is able to spot trends, willing to follow them to see where they might go, and (with all that Microsoft money) set up projects to help l...more
Paul Allen's memoir made me nostalgic for the early days of the computer industry. Finding the love of programming with mainframes like DEC's PDP series, using punched cards with assembly language, long nights in the computer lab. In high school Allen started learning about computers and programming along with his freckle faced buddy, Bill Gates. The story of how they went from programming on timeshared mainframes in Seattle to working on BASIC for the Altair Computer is fascinating. While Gates...more
This was a book by the man who started and co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates. I was interested to hear how they started Microsoft and learn why he split up with Bill and left Microsoft. It was interesting to hear how he spent his time and and money once he left Microsoft. He is a single man who has several billion dollars and I thought it might turn into a book about a selfish man who has too much money and not enough time to spend it all, so he's pouring it down the drain into many self-cent...more
Can this much ego and hubris be rolled into one person? I leave it to all who read his memoir to decide. Whatever you think of him personally, he, along with Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and a handful of others changed the way we view the world. Along the way, he became incredibly wealthy and in this book he not only touches on the beginning of Microsoft, but enumerates all of the ways he's spent his billions of dollars -- often doing good, but he has also indulged himself as well on a grand scale. H...more
The first half of this book is Paul trying to prove that he is right. He details how Microsoft was started and the relationship he and Bill had. Allen comes off as an extreme jerk, a difficult thing to achieve in your own memoir. Allen tries to take credit for nearly every leap in technology for the past 30 years even if another company achieved it. He tends to claim he had the idea long before other companies executed them. If he did great, but why then did Microsoft not execute them. Durring t...more
"It was okay" sums it up for me. Allen is interesting both for his place in developing Microsoft, as well as for the more tabloid interest in precisely how you go about spending so much money, and the book adequately covers both. But it is a fairly pedestrian autobiography, and like many, is not particularly introspective or illuminating on Allen's true character, but paints him in the light he sees himself (quite flattering). There is no real depth of analysis, personal insights - but he does g...more
I enjoyed the Microsoft Origin story told for the first time by a co-founder who did a lot of the work. This book belongs in a Baby Boomer Time Capsule - Allen did all of the archetypical things that boomers are reputed to have done. He runs out of steam at the end, talking about his possessions a bit too much, but that's easy enough to skim. He has gotten re-energized technically by brain research recently, and that's great to read about; I too have become interested in that in recent years.
Pau...more
Pau...more
An easy read. It was fun rereading the Microsoft story from Paul Allen's perspective, but there is a lot more to Paul Allen than Microsoft. After we get through the Microsoft phase (a very interesting story in itself), we find out about all the other projects and interests Paul Allen has been involved in: The Portland Trailblazers, the Seattle Seahawks, DreamWorks, Charter Cable, SETI, SpaceShipOne and the X Prize, the Allen Human Brain Atlas, Wired World, habitat preservation in Africa, his inv...more
Feb 08, 2012
Dave Ward
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biography,
non-fiction
Idea Man: A Memoir by the Co Founder of Microsoft by Paul Allen (Portfolio/Penguin 2011)(Biography) is the most upscale version of "Vanity Publishing" that I've ever run across. Disclaimers aside: certainly, he's an interesting guy, and of course his accomplishments merit a platform. But gee whiz, all he ever did was be in high school at the right place at the right time in Seattle when an eigth-grader named Bill Gates transferred into the school. As he states near the end of the book, he only i...more
I suppose, a tale of two books. The first half of Allen's memoir provides for a better understanding of the man and a much needed alternative take on the founding of Microsoft. An insightful and relatively balanced exploration of how both he and the company developed over time. The second half, life after Microsoft, offers little more than a recounting of his hobbies, interests, and second guessing of others. While providing for a few worthy anecdotes, the later chapters tend to come off as self...more
This book was a surprisingly fun read. The first half is about Paul working with Bill Gates to found Microsoft. This is a great source of the inside scoop on that adventure and the story is well told. The second half is about Paul Allen's other endeavors his successes and failures as one of the world Richest men. This is a great book to read along with iWoz and Steve Jobs.
What an awesomely great memoir for a such an influential man! I went into this book thinking it would only be about Microsoft. Once the discussion shifted away from Microsoft, I started to wonder what the other half of the book would be like. I was incredibly surprised at how awesome this man really is. He has had his hands in everything from basketball and football franchises to music museums to human genome research and everything in between. This guy makes me want to go out and conquer the wo...more
I enjoyed parts of this book, other parts I found to be lacking in direction and structure, but, perhaps that was Allen's goal (a free-flowing of his consciousness) it is, after all, partly auto-biographical.
I have to confess I enjoyed the sections with Bill Gates the most. This seems to be an honest, objective approach of Gates (Paul pointed out his talents as well as his flaws).
Paul grew up in a middle-class setting. He was precocious and his parents noticed his innate ability in science and...more
I have to confess I enjoyed the sections with Bill Gates the most. This seems to be an honest, objective approach of Gates (Paul pointed out his talents as well as his flaws).
Paul grew up in a middle-class setting. He was precocious and his parents noticed his innate ability in science and...more
It was ok.
Just ok.
The book started out interesting. It was entertaining to read about the first days of Microsoft, but then he bought a sports team. Whenever sports becomes involved, my interest wanes.
Since this is about a computer guy, I will provide some pseudo computer code to describe this book
Function ReadBook ("Idea Man")
{
'Begining part about microsoft
ReadBook.Interesting = true
'Second half of book about sports
ReadBook.Interesting = false
}
Just ok.
The book started out interesting. It was entertaining to read about the first days of Microsoft, but then he bought a sports team. Whenever sports becomes involved, my interest wanes.
Since this is about a computer guy, I will provide some pseudo computer code to describe this book
Function ReadBook ("Idea Man")
{
'Begining part about microsoft
ReadBook.Interesting = true
'Second half of book about sports
ReadBook.Interesting = false
}
Being a few years behind Mr. Allen it was very interesting to read where he talks about a number of the early PC’s and programmer’s from the beginning and realizing that I actually remember a number of these or have worked on them, or with the companies. But when he starts talking money it tends to blow you away. If you have lived in Seattle all your life, like I have you always end up either knowing someone who has worked on Allen’s house, seen the yacht or seen him at an event having a great t...more
Highly recommended to almost anyone. Fascinating story with lots of little lessons to pick up on. The Microsoft stuff is interesting, but I felt that what he's done since then is more interesting. Like funding Spaceship One, and trying to create research incubators for medical and science research to solve problems no one has a clue how to solve. If I had a gazillion dollars like this guy, I think that I would spend my time, energy and talent in very similar ways.
It just goes to show you the importance of educating our children and providing them dreams. How many besides Paul Allen were inspired by the Seattle World's Fair? There are a lot of chapters that themselves could have been turned into books. An interesting man and an interesting life, I enjoyed the blend of tech history and to learn more about his impact on the NW region. Strange to learn that I've now been at MSFT longer than he was!
This book was a very interesting look into the history of Microsoft and other industries and endeavors that Paul Allen had a part of. While I thought the information was good, at times the timeline skipped around seemingly randomly. It was very hard to place the events on a timeline, especially in the second half of the book once it goes beyond his career at Microsoft.
I was very disappointed with the book. The greatest achievement Paul had was his initial day with Bill Gates at Microsoft. There is nothing too interesting in these early days except his complaints on Bill's aggressive style. At the end of the MS era he basically has a lot of money and little interesting work left to do. My humble recommendation is to skip this one!
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reader Questions for Paul Allen | 9 | 46 | Apr 17, 2011 11:04pm |
started Microsoft with Bill Gates. He is founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc., the company that oversees his business and philanthropic activities.
Allen started Microsoft with Gates, a childhood friend, in Albuquerque in 1975. He was the company's chief technologist until he left in 1983.
Since then, Allen has become one of the nation's leading philanthropists and continues the search for knowledg...more
More about Paul Allen...
Allen started Microsoft with Gates, a childhood friend, in Albuquerque in 1975. He was the company's chief technologist until he left in 1983.
Since then, Allen has become one of the nation's leading philanthropists and continues the search for knowledg...more
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“For the most part, the best opportunities now lie where your competitors have yet to establish themselves, not where they're already entrenched. Microsoft is struggling to adapt to that new reality.”
—
3 people liked it
“Here's what the death knell for the personal computer will sound like: Mainly I use my phone/paid, but I still use my PC to write long e-mails and documents. Most people aren't there yet, but that's where we're headed”
—
2 people liked it
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Apr 27, 2011 05:42pm