Silicon Cowboys (2016)

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I think you probably needed to be around during the time that this documentary is set in to fully appreciate how great this show is. If you weren't, it is still a fascinating look into the past to help the younger folks hopefully appreciate much of what they have today, and just take for granted. I was a young adult when all of this was taking place, and had the privilege of owning one of the Compaq "portable" computers. I'll always remember a lady at the airport asking me why I was carrying my sewing machine on my trip (since most people had never seen a portable computer at the time) she had no idea it was actually a computer.I couldn't stop watching this show, as it took me back down memory lane and made me remember how much fun those golden days were of getting a PC that had a 'turbo' button on them. Great job on this documentary. Well worth the time to watch it!

Entertaining, intelligent 77 minute documentary about the surprising rise of Compaq computer – the almost off-handed 1981 brainchild of three young Houston friends – to become a serious rival to the seemingly untouchable giant, starchy, old-school IBM. If there's not a lot of emotion or deeper levels to the doc, there's certainly a likable humanity to these not-so-corporate types who succeeded while creating the kind of relaxed, egalitarian company culture we now see as commonplace in the computer world, but at the time went against everything about how you were supposed to run a 'serious' company. Maybe not a film to run out and buy, or one that will call out for multiple viewings. But I was never bored, and I was happy to get a look at this recent piece of modern business and cultural history.

I found this to be an extremely interesting documentary about a company that I grew up knowing a lot about. Compaq Computers was founded about 10 minutes from where I grew up, and I went to school with several of the children of the executives that are featured in this film. Even though I was young when they started, I remember vividly when Compaq first made their big splash by creating the portable PC - it was huge news that a local company was taking on IBM and succeeding. There was a buzz in the area, especially as they started expanding and hiring more and more people... and expanding into a huge complex nearby. While I had a pretty good understanding of the overall story of the rise of Compaq, this movie gave me a much more intimate look inside at how the story played out. You see exactly how these gentlemen took what seems like a simple idea and were able to create one of the fastest growing companies of all time, and the sacrifices that had to be made to achieve it.

"Silicon Cowboys" is a new documentary from Jason Cohen and Steven Leckart and it's about some modern history that most of us just take for granted. It's all about the rise of the Compaq computer company as well as the death of IBM in the PC market…hardly the stuff to excite everyone. Most folks don't really care about the history of computers—they just want their iPhones and PCs to work. But if you are like me, a bit of a geek as well as a retired history teacher, then seeing this film is a must.The film begins in 1981. Three friends are all working for a computer industry giant at the time, Texas Instruments. The three would love to start their own company but they aren't even sure what that company would sell! They'd talked about opening a Mexican restaurant but finally settled on going into the personal computer business. Little did they know that the world would drastically change based on this choice.Up until this time, the IBM Corporation had near sole possession of the personal computer industry. While a few tiny companies sold computers for home use, all the computers used by companies were IBM mainframe, mini and microcomputers. So, the notion of this new company, Compaq, fighting to get into the microcomputer market must have seemed ludicrous. But somehow, these guys succeeded…even if their first 'portable' computer weighed as much and was larger than a sewing machine! How they then managed to eventually beat IBM is amazing and it's just something you'll have to learn when you see this engaging documentary.Okay…I am a geeky history lover. But you, too, may well enjoy this film if you give it a chance—particularly if you are old enough to remember these old days of computing when many folks just thought the home PC would be a fad! The film is well made, always interesting but also works well because most of the people involved in creating Compaq were available to be interviewed and seemed to genuinely like talking about these times.