You won't walk away with a degree in business or psychology after watching "Silicon Cowboys." But this documentary leaves you with a curious feeling that you've earned college credit in both, and gotten a few laughs as well.
Silicon Cowboys
They risked their future to create ours...
2016 · 1h 17m · UNRATED
Documentary
Directed by
Jason Cohen
Overview
Launched in 1982 by three friends in a Houston diner, Compaq Computer set out to build a portable PC to take on IBM, the world’s most powerful tech company. Many had tried cloning the industry leader’s code, only to be trounced by IBM and its high-priced lawyers. Explore the remarkable David vs. Goliath story, and eventual demise, of Compaq, an unlikely upstart who altered the future of computing and helped shape the world as we know it today.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
A zippy, compact history of the rise and rise of Compaq Computer Corp.
Cohen solicits commentary from a range of tech entrepreneurs and aficionados (including Chris Cantwell, creator of Halt and Catch Fire); their excitement is contagious, fueling a dramatic rise-and-fall business tale.
Although we know the outcome, "Silicon Cowboys" feels like a suspense thriller.
These former-Texas Instruments-employees-made-good are a likable bunch, especially in their particularly Texan way of recalling every major milestone in terms of what they were eating or drinking at the time.
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