If you are looking for a good overview of this substack, see Introducing Hardcore Software.
The following is a chronological table of contents of all posts for Hardcore Software. Each post will link to what came before and what comes next (once that post is out) or you can come here at any time and read the stories in order. You can also use this page as a quick way to find what you’re looking for if you want to share a post with a friend or co-worker.
Each chapter represents a series of posts, usually about five to ten posts. The links will be filled in as posts are mailed out. Threads/Ask-Me-Anything posts will also be listed here as they are added.
Prologue: Becoming a Hacker (1982-1989)
Chapter I (1989-1990)
Chapter II (1990-1993)
Our BillG Review
Password NeXTStep
Strategy for the ’90s: Windows
Reformed Oopaholics
End of the Beginning
Chapter III (1993-1994)
Executing on the Expansive Vision of Bill Gates
Good to Know
Filling the Void Left by IBM
Competition, Architecture, and Left Field
Microsoft’s Two Bountiful Gardens
BillG the Manager
Cairo: Innovation versus Shipping
EMS: Expanding Breadth versus Coherency
New Ideas and IQ for the Information Superhighway
ThinkWeek
The Expense Report
Chapter IV (1994)
Discovering “Cornell is WIRED!”
Trapped
Blue Suede Pumas
Demonstrating the Internet
Internet Offsite
In the Middle
Chapter V (1994-1995)
Synchronizing Windows and Office (the First Time)
Winning the Suite
The Office Product Unit, OPU
Office94, Office96
Chapter VI (1995)
Delivering Office as One Product (the First Time)
Working with Chicago
Red Squiggles
Capone
Designed for Windows 95
Start Me Up
Chapter VII (1995-1997)
Creating the First “Real” Office
Massive Scale
Enter, Clippy
DIM Outlook
Our First Big M&A Deal
Incompatible Files
Chapter VIII (1998-2000)
Prioritizing a New Type of Customer
Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing
Orgs, Reorgs, and a Code Name
Pizza for 20 Million People
Go Get This Rock
We Have a Vision
HTML: One of the Most Destructive Things
Bloat, First Attempt
Outlook Storage, First Attempt
Steve and Steven Get New Jobs
RTM
Steven-San . . . Mother Tree
Chapter IX (1999-2001)
Expanding Office in the Enterprise
Enterprise Agreements
Synergy Times Two
From Vendor to Partner
ILOVEYOU
Watson, Come Here
Split Up Microsoft
Managing a Verdict
Dawn of .NET
Enter SharePoint
Outlook Storage, Take Two
MYR-CDG
Office eXPerience
Chapter X (2001-2003)
Building an Entire Product Line
Office.NOT
NetDocs
Notes on Tablet PC Innovation
**DO NOT FORWARD**
Outlook Pride, Finally
Transitions
Chapter XI (2003-2006)
Betting Big to Fend Off Commoditization
Defining Bloat
Well, How Did We Get Here?
Perfecting the Design
We Love It
We Need Sub-second Keyboard Access
We Must Have Classic Mode
Chapter XII (2006-2007)
Living the Odd-Even Curse
Office Hours
Who Is on Our Team?
The Curse
Decision Making
Agile Execution
Discipline Excellence
The Reorg Pivot
Planning Big Bets
Rebooting the Ecosystem Relationship
Ultimate Speedbumps
I’m a Mac.
Chapter XIII (2007-2010)
Making the Best Windows, Yet
Netbooks Falling from the Sky
All Things D-Day
Welcome to Windows 7
The Golden Master
Launching Windows 7
Chapter XIV. Reimagining Windows from the Chipset to the Experience
Seventh Time’s a Charm, Maybe?
Facing Disruption
To Worry or Not?
The Magical iPad
A Plan
Chapter XV (2010-2012)
Missing the Revolution
Chipset
Platform
Experience
//build It and They (Might) Come
Surfacing a New Device
Epilogue: The End of the PC Revolution (2013)
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