Sunday, August 31, 2008
posted 10:01am
"Triumph of the Nerds"
Well I wasn't sure if I would even post this month, nothing has caught my eye, but then, right at the end, I found: Triumph of the Nerds. Now back in the middle of June I picked up Pirates of Silicon Valley on DVD, it's a great movie about the struggle to create the personal computer, focusing on the rivalry between Apple Computer and Microsoft; but after watching Triumph of the Nerds I can see that it's inaccurate, I guess that's why it's called a docudrama. Triumph of the Nerds is a PBS documentary about the history of the personal computer, told in three episodes that are hosted by Bob Cringely. It covers everything from the Altair 8800 to Windows 95, since it was shot in 1996, and has a ton of interviews with everybody from Ed Roberts to Bill Gates. There are also a lot old photos and vintage footage that help fill in the visuals while people like Steve Wozniak, Paul Allen, or Steve Jobs explains what was going on at the time. It really is the best documentary out there about the early years of the personal computer, and if you're an enthusiast about this stuff, you should get a copy for yourself.

- D