The meaning of Overdrive

I am reading a book entitled "Overdrive and the race to control cyberspace". But I don't know the meaning of "Overdrive" in this context.

My guess is that this is about "drive" or "passion" in the field of computer software industry. By adding "over" to the word "drive", the meaning is "more than just passion" or "driving very hard".

Any comments are welcome.

Thank you.

Hello... anyone? Could you help me, please?

Well I’m not exactly a linguist but I reckon I can answer this one.

The term “overdrive” comes from automobile transmissions. The overdrive is a device that allows the transmission to be “bypassed”. That is, when shifted into overdrive the drive shaft rotates at the same speed as the engine crankshaft. This gives the car a faster speed at the “top end” without blowing the engine (it gets better gas mileage too)

I can’t tell the specific context from what you wrote but I would assume that you are correct and that in this context it means "driving very hard" (or fast).

Thanks. Your explanation is understandable.

FYI, this book is about Bill Gates and his company, Microsoft. Microsoft's business is in software industry.

I hope that my guessing is not wrong....