“ Microsoft Slaves” ( eng. Microserfs ) is a Douglas Copeland novel published in 1995 . It first appeared in the form of a short story in a Wired magazine review article in January 1994 and was subsequently expanded into a full-fledged novel .
| Microsoft slaves | |
|---|---|
| Microserfs | |
| Author | Douglas Copland |
| Original language | English |
| Original published | 1995 year |
| Translator | N. Feduro |
| Publisher | AST |
| Release | 2004 year |
| Pages | 492 |
| Carrier | Book |
| ISBN | 5-17-022993-3 |
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Written in the early 90s , it depicts the lives of people working in software development and the impact of work on their relationships and lives. The novel is presented in the form of diary entries by the narrator. Thus, it is similar in style to a modern blog , although it was written earlier than they were widely used on the network.
Copeland returns to many of the ideas and thoughts disclosed in Microsoft Slaves in the 2006 JPOD novel.
Summary
The novel begins with a quick look at the lives of Microsoft employees, the people who created the programs used in most offices around the world. Microsoft is shown as a feudal corporation, with Bill Gates as the owner and employees as slaves.
The heroes of the novel live in Seattle , the working atmosphere invades their personal life, their daily daily routines are completely dependent on the software release cycles. When one of them decides to leave Microsoft and establish his company in Silicon Valley , others support this opportunity. They leave stability and security for the sake of the unknown in the new company. The heroes are guided not only by the chance to create a successful software product, but also to be “number one”: to be the first in something, to release version 1.0, etc. In addition, changes in their lives give rise to the development of them as individuals.
Criticism
The Russian translation of the book, made by N. Feduro, received the “ Paragraph ” antipremy as the worst translation of the year [1] .