True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

Triumph of the Nerds
A superb genesis story about that most essential invention, the personal
computer. Before it was an industry, the personal computer
was a strange hobby for nerds, who were definitely not cool back
then. In three parts, tech gossip columnist Robert X. Cringely gives
a very personal, breezy, witty, and remarkably lucid technical summary
of the origins of Microsoft and Apple. Even better, he focuses
on the forgotten founding companies and figures who did not
make it. Cringely turns this story about hardware into one about
humanity. By taking you step by step through the process of invention,
counter-invention, claim of theft, bankruptcy, and bad timing,
you see how accidental success was for the winners. And how vital
their ability to listen to the technology. This classic documentary series
should be required watching for anyone who uses a computer
– that is, everyone. It’s that good.
By Robert X. Cringely
1996, 165 min.
Available from Amazon
Rent from Netflix
Steve Jobs hams it up in front
of a white board in the very
early days of Apple. Cringely
soaks in a hot tub overlooking
the Pacific with Jim Warren,
pioneering computer conference
impresario. Cringely
demos the first personal computer
operating systems taken
from his personal collection
of old computers stored in his
garage (below).
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