Les cinglés de l'informatique

Journalist Robert Cringley's 3-hour saga of the personal computer is a sprawling, gutsy masterpiece that tells it like it is, presenting for viewer approval(or disapproval)the characters, places and anecdotes that are part of the birth, growing pains and refinement of "that damn box", as some folks might call it. It's all there: software, hardware, geeks, nerds, money, power, ambition, hunger, anxiety. Highly recommended viewing, without a doubt.

If you're a woman watching this, be prepared to be discounted. You will be repeatedly reminded that your gender disqualifies you from being interested in computing.

I found these clips on YouTube, it's a 3-part documentary about the rise of computers/internet from about 1976 to 1996. Definitely worth seeing if you're from this era and still want to know more about it. All the great names pass by, like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc... The documentary is made by Robert Cringely, a sort of "insider" to the whole booming of silicon valley. He deliver's a lot of accurate information, in my opinion, with a bit of humor here and there. So it's also fun to watch as well. And seeing as computers and the internet are the best things to come along since sliced bread, this is a MUST SEE! ;-)

Cringly does an excellent job of keeping one interested with humorous anecdotes and trivia. It must have been quite a task getting these innovators on camera. Cringly should come up with an update. It will be interesting to see his take on Netscape, Napster and scam IPOs.

First of all, this doc is from 1996. That being said: it chronicles the rise of the personal computer/home computer beginning in the 1970s with the Altair 8800, Apple II and VisiCalc. It continues through the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh revolution through the 1980s and the mid 1990s at the beginning of the Dot-com boom. The film ends before it all crashes in the late 1999s. But what the heck.