High Stakes No Prisoners

High Stakes, No Prisoners is a sharp, brilliant insider's account of the way Silicon Valley really works: the sharks, powerful incumbents, and old-boy networks who play hardball all the time and the geniuses who make the products that have changed the world. Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very cool, very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. A mere twenty months after starting the company, he sold it to Microsoft for $133 million, making a fortune for himself and his associates. FrontPage now has millions of users and is bundled with Microsoft Office. But getting there wasn't always fun. High Stakes, No Prisoners is the book about the Valley and reflects Ferguson's unique experience not only as a successful entrepreneur but also as a policy analyst, computer industry consultant, and academic. Reveals A Great Internet Success Story High Stakes, No Prisoners is a highly personal account of what it really takes to win as a high-technology startup, especially in the Internet industry, where any speed below warp nine doesn't get you to takeoff. From securing venture capital to getting both the strategy and the technology right, from dealing with Microsoft's power to working with some of the quirkiest, smartest people on the planet, it's all here. The Valley story has never been told with this much depth and honesty. Reports from the Trenches of the Internet Wars Vermeer was right in the middle of the battle between Microsoft and Netscape. Both companies wanted to either acquire Vermeer or kill it. Skewers the Sacred Cows of the Valley Yes, Microsoft declared war on Netscape, butthe latter's demise was caused as much by itself as by Microsoft. Ferguson, for example, sees Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape, as arrogant, ignorant about technology, distracted by politics and glamour, and running a company in partnership with a twenty-three-year-old who'd never held a serious job before." Here's Netscape as it has never before been revealed. Explains the Real Problem with Microsoft Microsoft's business model is unquestionably one of the great creations of American business. But its power has become so great, its behavior so unrestrained, and its abuses so dangerous that intelligent action has to be taken. Ferguson's analysis of what must be done is a major contribution to one of the most important public-policy questions of our time. Silicon Valley is the crown jewel of the American economy and a critical driver of American technology. It's electric, addictive, vulgar, full of brilliance, brutally fair and brutally unfair, fiercely competitive, often dishonest, tremendously exciting, and utterly unique.With High Stakes, No Prisoners, the real story has finally been told--with frankness, insight, and great wit.

Charles Ferguson's hilarious, hard-boiled journey into the heart of high-tech darkness has become the signal book of the start-up generation. Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. Ferguson took a good idea, started a company, and sold it to Microsoft for $133 million -- all in less than two years. High Stakes, No Prisoners is both a blistering inside account of how he did it and a brilliant tour of the brutally competitive and utterly unique world of Silicon Valley. - Publisher.

Baker Somerset was a Scotland Yard Detective sent to Ottawa to help solve a brutal kidnapping case. After the suspect put four bullets in her, she decided to stay in Ottawa and open her own detective agency. One morning, the body of a British diplomat is found at her office door. Hunting his killer, she learns the murder is tied to the kidnapping that brought her to Canada, and in the process, she unearths bribery, fraud, and illegal activity in the military arms and equipment industry. With billions of dollars at stake, the perpetrators play rough; willing to kill anyone who stands in their way. As the risks to her life and career multiply and bodies begin to pile up, Somerset enlists her friends: Duchess “Keys” Brown, a vivacious Jamaican computer guru; Joe Manning, a martial arts expert; and Charles Stroud, her old Scotland Yard partner. They sift through a maze of conflicting evidence, numerous dead ends, and frightening danger to bring those responsible to justice. ONE BAD DAY AFTER ANOTHER is a book for crime and mystery enthusiasts. Infusing the fast pace and high stakes of modern thrillers and hard-boiled detectives’ ‘take no prisoners’ attitude into the traditional mystery genre, Folsom delivers a nail-biting story.

This work examines the relationship between the rapid technological and economic growth characteristic of high technology districts and their distinct labor market institutions - short job tenures, rapid turnover, flat firm hierarchies, weak internal labor markets, high use of temporary labor, unusual uses of independent contracting, little unionization, unusual employee organization (e.g., chat groups, and ethnic organization), unequal income, minimal employment discrimination litigation, flexible compensation (especially stock options), and heavy use of immigrants on short-term visas. The author suggests that while these distinctive labor market institutions are somewhat unorthodox and may present legal problems, they play essential roles in high growth.

New models for distributing, sharing, linking, and marketing information are appearing.

Now newly updated, America's Kingdom debunks the many myths that now surround the United States's special relationship with Saudi Arabia, also known as "the deal": oil for security. Exploding the long-established myth that the Arabian American Oil Company, Aramco, made miracles happen in the desert, Robert Vitalis shows how oil led the US government to follow the company to the kingdom, and how oil and Aramco quickly became America's largest single overseas private enterprise. From the establishment in the 1930s of a Jim Crow system in the Dhahran oil camps, to the consolidation of America's Kingdom under the House of Fahd, the royal faction that still rules today, this is a meticulously researched account of Aramco as a microcosm of the colonial order.

Find the most lucrative markets of the future by looking to the past Some of the biggest technological innovations in the world have followed similar market and social patterns - scepticism is replaced by enthusiasm; venture capital is supplied; many companies are started and their stocks rise. But as the technology is developed and financial reality sets in, companies disappear, stocks collapse, and naive investors lose money. Through exhaustive research, Alasdair Nairn captures this pattern and examines the impact that some of the greatest technological inventions of the past 200 years have had on financial markets and investors' fortunes. Each chapter explores a different technological innovation, and provides valuable insights on how to apply these lessons to appraise the 'new technology' companies of the future. Some of the key historical episodes examined include: - electric light and its commercial exploitation - the railway boom in Britain and the United States - the development of the automobile industry - the discovery and early development of crude oil - the rise of the PC - the wireless world - the Internet and dotcom bubble. Don't be left behind when the next technological innovation revolutionises the market. With Engines That Move Marketsyou'll learn how to recognise the familiar patterns unfolding in today's economy so you can profit from these market-shaping events.

What qualities does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? Are some business ideas better than others, and how can I pick the one that's right for me? How do I obtain financing to start a business? How do I write a successful business plan? What is the secret to finding and keeping customers? How do I find, hire, motivate, and retain great employees? For answers to these and other critical questions on the minds of every entrepreneur and aspiring business owner today, there is no better source than those who have been there and done it. Few entrepreneurs have achieved the level of business success realized by the gurus covered here. Now you can find out what they have to say about the most practical aspects of starting and succeeding in the business of your dreams. The Guru Guide(TM) to Entrepreneurship is an indispensable source of inspiration and ideas for anyone who runs, or dreams of running, a business of their own. Some of the Gurus you'll meet: Paul Allen, cofounder, Microsoft Corporation J. Walter Anderson, cofounder, White Castle Mary Kay Ash, founder, Mary Kay Cosmetics Jeff Bezos, founder, Amazon.com Richard Branson, founder, the Virgin Group Charles Brewer, founder, Mindspring.com Warren Buffett, owner, Berkshire Hathaway Ben Cohen, cofounder, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Michael Dell, founder, Dell Computers Debbi Fields, founder, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Inc. Bill Gates, cofounder, Microsoft Corporation Earl Graves, founder, Black Enterprise Steve Jobs, cofounder, Apple Computer, Inc. Herb Kelleher, founder, Southwest Airlines Phil Knight, cofounder, Nike Corporation Ray Kroc, founder, McDonald's Corporation Edwin Land, founder, Polaroid Corporation Charles Lazarus, founder, Toys "R" Us Bill Lear, founder, Lear Jet Corporation Tom Monaghan, founder, Domino's Pizza Akio Morita, cofounder, Sony Corporation Fred Smith, founder, Federal Express Thomas Stemberg, cofounder, Staples, Inc. Dave Thomas, founder, Wendy's International, Inc. Jay Van Andel, cofounder, Amway Corporation Sam Walton, founder, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.