The OS wars. It is a period of mounting tensions. The empires of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs careen toward an inevitable battle over proprietary software—only one empire can emerge as the purveyor of a standard operating system for millions of users. Gates has formed a powerful alliance with IBM while Jobs tries to maintain the purity of his brand. Their struggle for dominance threatens to engulf the galaxy. Meanwhile, in distant lands, and unbeknownst to the Emperors, open source rebels have begun to gather...

Veterans from computer history, including Andy Hertzfeld , from the original Macintosh team, and acclaimed tech journalist Steven Levy , recount the moments of genius, and tragic flaws, that shaped our technology for decades to come.