Product Details

• Actors: Robert X. Cringely, Douglas Adams, Sam Albert, Paul G. Allen, Bill Atkinson
• Writers: Robert X. Cringely
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: Ambrose Video Publis
• VHS Release Date: July 16, 1996
• Run Time: 165 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304170408
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,800 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

It happened more or less by accident; the people who made it happen were amateurs; and for the most part they still are. From his own Silicon Valley garage, author Bob Cringley puts PC bigshots and nerds on the spot, and tells their incredible true stories. Like the industry itself, the series is informative, funny and brash. Some of the episode participants include: Bill Gates (Chairman of Microsoft, the richest man in the world), Steve Jobs (Hippie co-founder of Apple Computer; CEO of NeXT Computer; and the man who wanted to change the world), and Steve Wozniak (Co-founder of Apple Computer; engineering genius, practical joker).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still a great show, but the Ambrose edition is not complete!, October 28, 2004

By 

Sean Breazeal (Mt. Pleasant, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Triumph of the Nerds (DVD)

Triumph of the Nerds is still one of the best public level documentaries about the origins and development of personal computers from their beginnings in the mid-70's on through the IBM/Apple years and into the mid-90's with the launch of Windows 95. It is dated somewhat, especially at the end with the forecasts about the future growth of the internet and what it would mean to PC and Mac development and the world. Nothing was truer then than remains today, predicting the long-term future of the computer and internet industry is simply impossible.

What troubles me with this edition by Ambrose is that they have apparently sacrificed bits and pieces here and there for some unfathomable reason. The main points are all still there, but some of the side stories and flavors have been cut. Examples include Steve Wozniak's description of his early interest in electronics in finding an old AT&T phone company manual to learn to hack into the phone system to call the Pope. It cuts Steve Jobs' description of his early experiences with Bill Gates, saying that the original version of Word was "just terrible but they kept at it...", and someone whose name I can't remember describing the early mainframes and trying to use one as "you were lucky if your entire city had one mainframe, and, if your company had it, there would only be one." These are the ones I noticed right off, I'm sure there are others and they are minor things, but it's troubling that a company buys the rights to a show and edits it for whatever reason rather than simply giving us the whole deal.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sociopaths, egomaniacs, hippies and nerds., September 19, 2000

By 

Joseph Ekaitis "author of Collinsfort Village" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Triumph of the Nerds Gift Set 3-Pk [VHS] (VHS Tape)

And we have THEM to thank for all of this.

Your humble author can't help but wonder how Bob Cringely got the likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Paul Allen and others in front of the cameras for an honest look inside the slightly twisted minds that begat the personal computer.

At 3 hours in length, "Triumph of the Nerds" isn't just a PBS miniseries. On home video, it becomes an epic. And why shouldn't it be? The personal computer has an impact on our lives equal to that of the light bulb and the automobile. But in the case of the PC, most of the people responsible for its creation and worldwide influence are still alive. These are flesh and blood humans, not fading historical sketches like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.

"Triumph of the Nerds" was originally produced as a 20-year retrospective on the personal computer. But the PC will be 25 years old in the year 2000. I can't wait to see Bob Cringely's follow up.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good show but both the DVD and VHS are editted, May 13, 2006

By 

5150 (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Triumph of the Nerds Gift Set 3-Pk [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I am in agreement with several of the reviews that indicate the DVD version is editted. Sadly, so is the used VHS copy I purchased. Maybe it was once available on VHS uneditted but not anymore. Beyond the scenes already mentioned as missing, additional scenes include more background on the Mac team and Steve Job's recruitment for the team; early discussions at Apple to make the Mac open source; and an extended scene about the "Microserfs". By my count there are 21 edits (large and small) which add an additional 15 to 20 minutes. I see no reason for the edits since they could easily fit on a videotape or stereo DVD. I am guessing Bob thought he improved the pacing of this program by the edits and a few are more "politically correct." But I am still waiting for the full version. In the meantime, I will keep my old broadcast edition.