|
YOUR COMMENTS: CONTINUED
Outstanding! Every once in awhile, PBS really knocks my socks off with a program. This was one of them. Being the daugther of a former Apple employee and a Macintosh user, I was fascinated with the entire story. Learning about the threads that all came into play to create a reality was fascinating. I hope you will re-run it! Also, kudos for the program awhile back about building a Boeing jet. Also a program that I felt I actually bonded with! Thanks!
I was lucky enough to have been flipping through the channels last week and came upon "Triumph of the Nerds" I had heard it was going to be on but had forgotten. Thank you for the most "Outstanding" show I have ever seen in a documentary. It was very entertaining, informative and fun. I'm an electrical engineer and have always marveled at how this whole computer thing got started. I admire men like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who took their companies from two men all the way to the top. Again, thank you for an absolutely terrific show!!! Mitchell Friedman Hillsborough, NJ
Thanks for this great web page! I had channel surfed into the first hour of the program the other night and was riveted. Tried to find the book at my local bookstore last night, but didn't have enough information. You certainly solved that for me. Thanks. I love the web when it answers questions that are driving me crazy. The program was fascinating! As a "Macintosh lover", I agree with those who say Mr. Cringely shouldn't dismiss us so offhandedly. Apple must have a future. There are a lot of us out here who love it. I use a Mac lab with my fourth grade students and you should see how easily and quickly they are producing amazing multimedia products! Thanks again! Nancy Cortland, Ohio
PBS is to be commended for producing Triumph...It provided an extraordinary overview of the rise of an industry that has in a very brief time changed the social,economic and to a gretv extent the political landscape, Bravo-I hope that my local affilate will soon replay the series as I would definitely watch it again. mike van ryn troy,n.y.
Great job! Liked the interviews with principals telling their versions of what happened, how it happened, etc. Missed the first part ecause I discovered it late. Looking forward tonight [Sat., June 15] to seeing the entire program. Think you guys should spend some PBS funds to promote what you have on the air.
Thanks for this web site. Looks good. Works. Without it, I wouldn't have learned that TV12 is airing "Triumph" again tonight. Haven't checked the TV listings in the papers yet. Keep up the good work.
I've never written a message like this; like many people, I'm afraid, I only write mail when I am unhappy. I happened to catch the last hour or so of the "nerd" show. Bravo! "Is this PBS?" I kept asking myself. You guys did an "outstanding" job on that show! I am a
39 year old guy who has lived through much of what was presented. Programs which
'attempt' to illustrate what happened, and still is happening, almost always miss
their target. The shows were written from 'an outsider's' point of view. You guys
definitely did not! You did your homework.
If you can e-mail me with your next showing I'd love to know. "Mission
Accomplished!"
I thought the program was very good. However my main complaint regarding the program's content was Cringley's assertion that because there are fewer Mac software title's on retailers shelves then Apple will no longer be a player in the computer arena. You would think that after he had conducted all of his research into the computer industry he could have grasped the concept that MicroSoft has not really created anything in the past 20 years. They have merely bought or stolen ideas of other companies. Maurice Schendzielos Waite Park, MN
I was a pre-adolescent nerd too and this show was great! In The sixth grade my three best friends and I started a BBS which ran for 4 years in my hometown, we hacked the phone company with black boxes and we were computer nerds just like the ten year old you featured. I could totally relate to your special and it was refreshing to see the documentary so acurately cronicle the events that transpired to bring us the PC as we know it today. Koodos for letting Steve Jobs tell the truth about Gates - how he 'stole' DOS for Digital Research and Windows from Apple's Lisa/Machintosh projects (who stole the GUI from Zerox). How hipocritical of Bill to damn 'software pirates' when he is Blackbeard himself! Congratulations on an EXCELLENT documentary. ** PLEASE continue it as a series! ** The evolution of the Internet woudl be a great place to start! Aaron Michalove
Fascinating age we live in. The amazing thing is that this is all happening before our very eyes, yet we hardly even notice it. The obsessive drive that has taken us where we are, is a specatcular event! Good job Dave Geisert Ft. Collins, CO
I thought the show was fantastic. I got into loads of trouble with my wife because I couldn't leave the set and clean up the messes the kids were making.
I always knew that Bill Gates stole "Windows" from the Macintosh, but I never knew that Steve Jobs stole it from Xerox. The show was loaded with information like that. The only complant I've had is reading some of the other comments here. Specificly, the avid Mac users that seem to have misinterpreted Cringely's comments on the fate of Apple. My father rought home the first Mac back 1984. He still has it and prefers it to his IBM clone. Cringley noted that the Macintosh has filled a nitch in the field of graphical designs. I don't think that even Windows 2000 will be able to take that away. The brilliant hardware of the Mac cannot be corrected by the software of Windows.
The greatest and best documentary I have ever seen and probably I will ever see for the rest of my life."Triumph of the Nerds" perfectly illustrates that very few computer experts in the world know the entire history behind the PC's creation.Furthermore, "Triumph of the Nerds" informs computer users worldwide that they should learn to deeply appreciate what these pioneers have done to create a technological revolution that began in this great country of ours. Patrick Mar Oakland, California
I was working in the Silicon Valley when it all started. I worked at IBM in the late 79's, and at Xerox-Diablo Systems in the early 80's. Whenever I went over to Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, I would look at the Altos which was all over the center on everyone's desks. In graduate school, I got my first look at the Apple II, because my professor, Woody Liswood at Golden Gate University, used it to demonstrate statistics. I purchased my first computer back in 1981 with the Apple II Plus and the reason I got it was due to the VisiCalc spreadsheet which was a god-speed in my business. Back then, I paid $2000 for the Apple II Plus, $500 for a 360k floppy disk drive and controller card. The second floppy disk drive cost $400. I added a Zilog Z-80 card for another couple of hundred. 360k floppy disk drives cost $30.00 per box. I used the Z-80 card to run WordStar! In 1982, I purchased a IBM PC, with @2 - 360k floppies. Later, I would upgrade the PC into 1.2 floppies, a 20meg hard drive. This PC would be with me for 12 years, as I upgraded it constantly. It went through several configurations....Intel 386 card, several floppies, 3 hard drive drives, etc. When modems came out, I paid top dollar for the Hayes modems....300 bps, 1200 bps, 2400 bps, 9600 bps, 14.4 bps, 28.8 bps. In the early days, I stayed in touch with all the computer software, attended the West Coast Computer shows, joined Applecore in San Francisco. Went to software vendor and hardware shows, got free software, computer tips, etc. All in all, I've owned 8 different microcomputers. I've grown with the industry, two of them laptops, PC's, Macintosh, etc. Now, I'm with a Pentium 90, with 16 meg, @2 1 gig disk drives. It's been a long, long trip since 1981...and I've been in touch with it all the way.
I worked for various high tech companies in the Silicon Valley. The craziest
place was Intel, the lamest was DEC. The best was Xerox. The 2nd best was Lam
Research. The silliest was Electronic Arts! I worked for software, hardware, chip
makers, silicon conductor capital equipment manfacturers, etc. It's been wild!
And it will continue!
Terrific program! I started programming in the mid 70's and today I teach computer to kids from ages 3-12. What I found amazing when I was a High School graduate, these kids take in stride. The nerds certainly did triumph. I plan to tell this story to my students next school year. I am working on a lesson plan using the transcript. This Web site is excellent. Thank you! Michelle Mock Corona, CA
First of all, I admit that I own a Mac, so that will explain this right away. After watching the show, which I really liked, I was a little irritated by the conclusion that was made about Apple's future. You said, "Apple...is in trouble. It is now a fading force in the PC marketplace." I believe that Apple's future, although it may seem grim at present, is not doomed. There are currently over 56 million users of Macintoshes world-wide, and even if they only have 10% of the computer world, that's not something to be lost easily. Also, as Steve Jobs said at the end of the show, "If you talk to people who use the Macintosh, THEY LOVE IT! You don't hear people LOVING products very often." I know that any computer user, who likes to use computers not just for video games, who owns a Mac, will always chose a Mac over a PC if they can, because it's just a better computer. In fact, with the soon introduction of Copland (the Mac's System 8) and the recent licensing of the Mac OS, more software for the Mac, cheaper prices through clones, and perhaps an even easier interface should bring even more completely loyal users to Apple. Dave Thurlow Bozeman, MT
Outstanding show.....I haven't seen anything put it all together since the book "hard Drive" Very much needed to understand how it all went together. Thanks MUCH! Is it my imagination, but was everybody afraid of Bill? Whenever they interpreted his comments, they always said "in my opinion" Kinda funny, huh? Eric J. White Columbia, PA
You have chronicled the important years of my life...including my computer hobby as well as my career in the computer industry. I want to buy a copy, but I've vowed to not purchase any more videos until they're available on DVD. Put me on your list when the DVD is available. David Price Dunstable MA
What an excellent program! This should be included as part of all "Computer 101" courses. I currently work in the high-tech industry and thought I knew a lot about computers, but this show truly showed me that I was missing out on the basic history of the industry! This show was not only educational, but very appealing to those who may turn away from anything "technical, nerdy or having to deal with computers." Congratualations on another job well done, PBS! Peter Gorman Cambridge, MA
What a wonderful documentary! I have spent my entire career in the technologies and have never seen, or read, anything as thorough, comprehensive and accurate. Thank you for creating and continuing this capture of history for all living humans and those yet unborn. This is truly significant. Cheryl Gordon Holliston, MA
Gates and Job irritate me a lot with their big egos and inordinate amounts of money. But I also know that, if it weren't for them, I would not be sitting here at home writing this to you on my Mac PC. I guess it takes a certain kind of person to make fundamental changes like the pc "revolution." Marianna Scheffer Portland, OR
Just curious- does Cringely consider himself a nerd or a hippie? The program was riveting, which is truly amazing considering the usually dry subject matter. I'll be looking forward to the next installment in ten years. David Altizer Memphis, TN
Great Show! Recommend viewing the video in a room or cubicle without windows with an unlimited supply of sodas. D.S. Indianapolis,In
i just wanted to say congratulations for the program wich i had the opportunity to watch ( the whole family watched , actually ). i'm a graphic designer and use a mac and i learned a lot about the history not only of the mac but the pc in general . hopefully you can continue transmitting such quality programs . thanks . . . Anonymous mexico city , mexico
To read more comments click here.
|| Comments || Q & A With Bob || Nerds Home || PBS Online || |