telengard
Junior Member
Stuck in the 80s
Posts: 51
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Hi!
Nov 8, 2005 12:20:04 GMT -5
Post by telengard on Nov 8, 2005 12:20:04 GMT -5
Glad to see there are forums now to discuss the show and retrocomputing. Haven't listened to the latest episode but enjoyed the previous one and it got me wondering about classic computer books. I plan on getting the new Commodore one Earl talked about and have read others like Zapp, and most of the arcade game related ones (supercade, etc). Are there any other books out there worth reading?
Hanging out on Q-link on it's 20 year anniversary was a total blast and kinda surreal. Kudos to the folks who worked hard on that!
~telengard
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Hi!
Nov 8, 2005 14:16:26 GMT -5
Post by thurstan on Nov 8, 2005 14:16:26 GMT -5
Well one I can certainly recommend and I am surprise Earl didnt mention this is Fire in the Valley. This is the book that the film Pirates of Silicon Valley is based on. Really interesting read and is revised every so often.
Accidental Empires by Robert Cringely is also a great book on the history of the microcomputer.
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telengard
Junior Member
Stuck in the 80s
Posts: 51
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Hi!
Nov 8, 2005 16:38:19 GMT -5
Post by telengard on Nov 8, 2005 16:38:19 GMT -5
Well one I can certainly recommend and I am surprise Earl didnt mention this is Fire in the Valley. This is the book that the film Pirates of Silicon Valley is based on. Really interesting read and is revised every so often. Accidental Empires by Robert Cringely is also a great book on the history of the microcomputer. Hi thurstan, Thanks for the ideas. I've already read "Fire in the Valley" which is very good. I have not read Accidental Empires though. I'll have to pick that up. ~telengard
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Hi!
Nov 8, 2005 23:01:41 GMT -5
Post by retrobits on Nov 8, 2005 23:01:41 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Fire in the Valley is a great book![/glow]
(ooo, that glowing text is pretty cool. Hadn't tried that before...)
I have talked about that one, but it's been a while (back in episode #4). I've read it more than once, and will likely read it again.
Still waiting on my "On The Edge" Commodore book. I think it shipped last Thursday. Hope I get it in time to have some more things to say on the show this weekend.
I've never read Accidental Empires. Guess I need to check that one out. I also requested a book at my library this week - it's called "A History of Modern Computing", by Paul E. Ceruzzi. Covers things all the way back to Eniac - now, that's retro!
Oh, also, I agree, that really was fun on Q-Link this past weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed that! ;D
- Earl
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Jan 17, 2006 4:10:19 GMT -5
Post by miner2049er on Jan 17, 2006 4:10:19 GMT -5
I haven't read this book but I saw the film Pirates Of Silicon Valley.
I'm partway through On The Edge at the moment which is just fantastic.
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Hi!
Jan 17, 2006 11:06:06 GMT -5
Post by thurstan on Jan 17, 2006 11:06:06 GMT -5
On The Edge is on my birthday list in a few months.
I saw Pirates of Silicon Valley whilst on holiday in Holland and it was on the movie channel many years ago. It stuck in my mind and trying to get hold of a copy
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Hi!
Jan 17, 2006 12:19:23 GMT -5
Post by Golan Klinger on Jan 17, 2006 12:19:23 GMT -5
While Pirates of Silicon Valley is amusing, it isn't historically accurate and should be viewed as fiction. If you want a more accurate telling of the Silicon Valley story you should check out a couple of documentaries by Robert X. Cringley (the author of Accidental Empires). The first came out in 1996 and was called Triumph of the Nerds and it was followed up a couple of years later by Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet.
In addition to the aforementioned Accidental Empires and Fire in the Valley, both of which are fantastic books, I would recommend "Hackers" by Steven Levy. All three are mandatory reading for anyone even remotely interested in computing. Oh, and while I'm making suggestions there is a book called "Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet" which is an accurate and well written history of the Internet. It's worth reading too.
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Hi!
Jan 19, 2006 4:20:55 GMT -5
Post by thurstan on Jan 19, 2006 4:20:55 GMT -5
yes Fire in the Valley is very good always a good read. Pirates of silicon valley is definitely amusing, but it does give you a feel of the way things were and an idea of what the personalities of jobs and gates were like. accidental empires is very good too, more digestable than fire in the valley.
triumph of the nerds made it over here on tv but the follow up didnt sadly.
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