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Hardcore Software: Inside the Rise and Fall of the PC Revolution
WHAT IS HARDCORE SOFTWARE?
To be hardcore is to be wildly optimistic about what can be achieved tomorrow while harshly pessimistic about what works today. Creating software is an art. It is computer science and engineering. It is inspiration, and perspiration. It is inherently individual yet relies on a team. Most of all, building software is a group of people coming together to conjure something into existence and turning that into a product used by billions.
That is hardcore software.
HARDCORE SOFTWARE shares the ups and downs of building massive software projects used by billions of people around the world including Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows. The scale of the software increases as the narrator and participant grows, starting as an individual contributor on pioneering tools for building Windows applications then rising to leading Microsoft Office and then Microsoft Windows. Sinofsky shares his experiences creating and managing successful software as well as the lessons that come from failure. We learn the inside story of how Microsoft tackled the challenges of the rise of the internet, the creation of Windows 95 and Office 95, and the wildly successful pivot to building enterprise products as Sinofsky works for Chairman/CEO Bill Gates as technical assistant and then as a member and eventual leader and executive of the Office team. Following this is a period of challenging management and morale through the development of Office 2007 and Windows Vista. Sinofsky then moves to managing the Windows team and sees the team through the creation of the successful and stabilizing Windows 7 product followed by the controversial and ultimately unsuccessful product aimed at competing with Apple, Windows 8. Readers are offered a front row seat in the development of everything from the too-early to work Microsoft paperclip assistant, Clip-It, to the bold and successful redesign of the Office user interface, the re-energizing that came with Windows 7, and the attempted strategic reach of Windows 8. Through all of this, candor and insider are the words that best describe the colorful and detailed analysis of what went well and what could have gone better.
To be hardcore is to be wildly optimistic about what can be achieved tomorrow while harshly pessimistic about what works today. Creating software is an art. It is computer science and engineering. It is inspiration, and perspiration. It is inherently individual yet relies on a team. Most of all, building software is a group of people coming together to conjure something into existence and turning that into a product used by billions.
That is hardcore software.
HARDCORE SOFTWARE shares the ups and downs of building massive software projects used by billions of people around the world including Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows. The scale of the software increases as the narrator and participant grows, starting as an individual contributor on pioneering tools for building Windows applications then rising to leading Microsoft Office and then Microsoft Windows. Sinofsky shares his experiences creating and managing successful software as well as the lessons that come from failure. We learn the inside story of how Microsoft tackled the challenges of the rise of the internet, the creation of Windows 95 and Office 95, and the wildly successful pivot to building enterprise products as Sinofsky works for Chairman/CEO Bill Gates as technical assistant and then as a member and eventual leader and executive of the Office team. Following this is a period of challenging management and morale through the development of Office 2007 and Windows Vista. Sinofsky then moves to managing the Windows team and sees the team through the creation of the successful and stabilizing Windows 7 product followed by the controversial and ultimately unsuccessful product aimed at competing with Apple, Windows 8. Readers are offered a front row seat in the development of everything from the too-early to work Microsoft paperclip assistant, Clip-It, to the bold and successful redesign of the Office user interface, the re-energizing that came with Windows 7, and the attempted strategic reach of Windows 8. Through all of this, candor and insider are the words that best describe the colorful and detailed analysis of what went well and what could have gone better.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 23, 2023
Well done, Stephen. An enormously thoroughly researched tome on the rise and fall of PC as a platform, and Windows and Office as the dominant software players on it.
At times, there are a maybe too many linear details, Microsoft IDs, etc for an outsider to follow as a casual read, but this depth will keep this book relevant for historians for a long time. And the honest self reflection in the end brings it all home.
At times, there are a maybe too many linear details, Microsoft IDs, etc for an outsider to follow as a casual read, but this depth will keep this book relevant for historians for a long time. And the honest self reflection in the end brings it all home.
July 10, 2024
I’ve always been an Apple user and only followed Microsoft’s evolution from the sidelines, and even then, only at a glance.
Very interesting to see the parallels and crossovers between the two platforms and their approach to evolving their software stack throughout evolutions and revolutions in software- and hardware.
Very interesting to see the parallels and crossovers between the two platforms and their approach to evolving their software stack throughout evolutions and revolutions in software- and hardware.
July 9, 2023
It’s long, too long, but honest and full of knowledge on success and failures on software product design, team management and the PC industry.
October 7, 2024
"I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.". This can summarize how I was feeling as I read this book. It's long. Very long. Too long. The book goes into details that are irrelevant. There are also a lot of Microsoft insider details (for example, always putting the Microsoft login names) — which makes you feel this book targets ex-Microsoft employees.
The topic is interesting. The studied timeline is good. The author was definitely in the arena during that period. He also reflects a lot and gives an opinion that seems very honest. I appreciate his take and the honesty that comes with them.
I learned about his Microsoft started the business. Grow the office business. Failed with Vista and ultimately, lost the mobile era, which led to the downfall of the PC business.
I like the message, not how it's delivered — we could get the same information and the same conclusion with 80% to 90% less content.
The topic is interesting. The studied timeline is good. The author was definitely in the arena during that period. He also reflects a lot and gives an opinion that seems very honest. I appreciate his take and the honesty that comes with them.
I learned about his Microsoft started the business. Grow the office business. Failed with Vista and ultimately, lost the mobile era, which led to the downfall of the PC business.
I like the message, not how it's delivered — we could get the same information and the same conclusion with 80% to 90% less content.
January 29, 2025
At 1,000 full-size pages, there is nothing small about Steven Sinofsky's book.
Hardcore means being starkly pessimistic about the current state of the code (I would call that realism), while simultaneously keeping a very optimistic outlook of what can be achieved — paraphrasing the dedication page, this is how the art of software is to be pursued.
I particularly enjoyed the discussion of Cairo — it was hard for me to understand what was happening back then (in my own defense, I was in high school!).
Hardcore means being starkly pessimistic about the current state of the code (I would call that realism), while simultaneously keeping a very optimistic outlook of what can be achieved — paraphrasing the dedication page, this is how the art of software is to be pursued.
I particularly enjoyed the discussion of Cairo — it was hard for me to understand what was happening back then (in my own defense, I was in high school!).
March 21, 2024
It is hard to describe this Sinofsky tome of Microsoft hisotry annals as anything other than Hardcore in its own right - a very dense, very detailed historical account from a single perspective. Naturally biased, but also naturally intimate this provides a unique view into a large slice of Computing history, history that was shaped by Microsoft and those competing with it.
A story worth sharing, even if its likely the single longest story ever told in computing
A story worth sharing, even if its likely the single longest story ever told in computing
October 8, 2024
Holy smoke, what a lot of pages!
An incredibly detailed deep dive into the early days of Microsoft Office development and Windows Visa through 8. If you're into this sort of information, Steven provides a lot of information that you've probably never read before. But it's definitely a biy thick and overly wordy for the amount of material it covers.
Full review on: https://puf.io/books/hardcore-softwar...
An incredibly detailed deep dive into the early days of Microsoft Office development and Windows Visa through 8. If you're into this sort of information, Steven provides a lot of information that you've probably never read before. But it's definitely a biy thick and overly wordy for the amount of material it covers.
Full review on: https://puf.io/books/hardcore-softwar...
December 21, 2024
Absolute gem. Allow you to become a fly on the wall during a lot of successful and failed projects made by Microsoft over the years and understanding the reasoning behind some very controversial Windows and Office features.
December 30, 2025
Whew! I'd been wanting to read this for a while on account of overlapping briefly with SteveSi in Office, and loved the preview chapters on his Substack - but found this a slog to get through, and could really only recommend it to ex-Softies or others with some personal connection to those times.
March 3, 2024
I was at MSFT at the same time Steven was so it was nostalgic for me and thus I appreciated it. For anyone who didn't work there, it seems too much of an MSFT insider's narrative to be useful.
April 6, 2024
Incredible depth and detail. As a self proclaimed Microsoft nerd I loved every minute. Packaged throughout are some leadership insights and product development musings that I found quite interesting.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews