The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires
The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires
| 22 June 1996 (USA)
The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires Trailers

It happened more or less by accident; the people who made it happen were amateurs; and for the most part they still are. From his own Silicon Valley garage, author Bob Cringley puts PC bigshots and nerds on the spot, and tells their incredible true stories. Like the industry itself, the series is informative, funny and brash.

Reviews
WasAnnon

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

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Dotsthavesp

I wanted to but couldn't!

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Calum Hutton

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

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Logan

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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ebiros2

This is a story of few very talented people working from their garage launching a mega billion dollar empire. The grass roots development of personal computers in the '70s and '80s are captured in this excellent program. From the development of Altair 8800, Apple II, and launching of Microsoft to the IBM PC, bringing about the change we know today as computer revolution, this program details the early history of personal computer development from an insider's view. All major historical events concerning the early computer revolution is treated fairly and in an unbiased way making this an excellent documentary on history of personal computer development, but it is also presented in a entertaining way that even an average couch potato can enjoy. The major players are all there and there are many good personal interviews which brings insights as to how the event really took place. A priceless piece of computer history in a three hour program.

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PeteRoy

This 2 parts documentary tells the history of the PC and how it developed from big limited box to small advance GUI based machine. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Xerox P.A.R.K researchers all speak about the PC. With the excellent host of Bob :)Very well made. A must see if you love computers.

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tinker2002

The production of the PBS miniseries "Triumph of the Nerds" as documented by journalist and self professed gossip columnist Robert Cringely is a campy trek through the personal computer revolution. The 3-hour narrative covered many of the notable characters responsible for the PC's development such as the inventive geeks, aspiring college hackers, social radicals, corporate marketeers, and leading up to the inevitable war of wills to bring about global, political, and economic change. The miniseries is as much about the personal computer revolution as it is about the one-upmanship ideology of bringing a better mouse trap to market. Piracy is deemed a good thing by the very players that use corporate legal methods to protect themselves from that very end. By means of reverse engineering, misapplications of patent rights, cleverly worded legal disclosure documents, so called `Virgin' engineers and outright theft of intellectual property; it is a sordid affair indeed. The story reads like a checklist in the PDA of Machiavelli's `The Prince'. It seems that `The Prince' is alive and well in the 21st Century.I would highly recommend this film to any geek or geek-in-training. Look also for "The Pirate's of Silicon Valley"

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Joe Ekaitis

And we have THEM to thank for all of this.Your humble author can't help but wonder how Bob Cringely got the likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Paul Allen and others in front of the cameras for an honest look inside the slightly twisted minds that begat the personal computer.At 3 hours in length, "Triumph of the Nerds" isn't just a PBS miniseries. On home video, it becomes an epic. And why shouldn't it be? The personal computer has an impact on our lives equal to that of the light bulb and the automobile. But in the case of the PC, most of the people responsible for its creation and worldwide influence are still alive. These are flesh and blood humans, not fading historical sketches like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison."Triumph of the Nerds" was originally produced as a 20-year retrospective on the personal computer. But the PC will be 25 years old in the year 2000. I can't wait to see Bob Cringely's follow up.

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