Triumph of The Nerds (1996) - Movie Summary

The first true nerds were young men who obsessed over computer programming. They would stay up for days at a time to program, not talk to anyone, smell terrible, and fell in love with computers. They developed the first more or less working computers and some applications, better operating systems and such. Nerds created programs for fun, tried to take over the computer market, and continued to expand their knowledge.

The first computer developed by these nerds was developed in a garage in Silicon Valley. Every one of them built a version of a computer in their garages.Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs developed the Altair which worked by flipping a series of switches. Many programmers enjoyed this version, but thought it to be too annoying to work with. Grace Hopper developed COBOL which made it possible for them to advance much easier. More people created applications that made the display more attractive, and more fun.

With all the computer companies existing in the world, new companies could not really take off. Many of the major companies competed for ownership of the world’s computer users. IBM was in trouble, and in order to save themselves, they thought up a new idea: use non IBM products. That worked quite well, but Bill Gates (Microsoft) was still the wealthiest man in the world. So IBM called upon Bill Gates to create an operating system for them. All knew that Microsoft would be a million-dollar company soon. Compaq also developed and got a part of this action.

Bill Gates went on to become extremely successful. His goal was to have his software running on every computer existing. His promotional launch of Windows 95 was amazing, he cut down those who stood in his way, and made his version much better. Gates used pictures instead or words in order to make his OS more intriguing. Steve Jobs became a leader in the personal computer world, unlike Bill Gates who developed Operating Systems. Steve knew soon all computers would have graphical interfaces much like these, or better. Steve knew the Apple 2 was running out of steam, and they and to do something else. Steve Jobs had launched a revolution. Mac also bought Adobe which developed a better graphic interface. Then, Apple got rid of Steve Jobs, the worst things they could have done.

In the time since this video was developed, Apple grew larger and developed the iPod. This iPod, the better MP3, which was better than the CD or tape player, or record player, sent Apple to the top of the chain. Apple created the special Mac (Macintosh) laptop. Microsoft continued to develop new operating systems such as Windows XP and Windows 7. Both of these launched and were spectacular. Though Apple was mostly known for selling iPods, they still developed computers. Microsoft and Mac continue to compete for the computer market. Steve Jobs also passed away.