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Q & A WITH BOB CRINGELY: CONTINUED
Great show on the nerds Bob! 1. What kind of manuals did the first programmers (circa Eniac) have? Were they really tables matching a given operation like addition for example with some equivalent long string of 1s and 0s? Did the 'computer runners' use those tables to switch vacuum tubes on or off? What was a day on the job for a computer runner like? I'm not old enough to know, but my understanding is that it was as you describe.
2. If Bill Gates helped write Basic, what computer
program did he write it with? What code enabled
him to input data into the computer?
Gates and Allen wrote BASIC on an 8080 emulator running on a DEC PDP-8 minicomputer at Harvard. They also wrote the emulator. Congratulations on providing the best and fairest assessment of the PC history. I've been annoyed through the years on how Fortune, Wall Street Journal and others have gotten it all wrong in their rush to create folk heroes.
I wish you the best of luck getting a documentary
series on the subject. I'll be buying the book
for all my friends that never understood what it
was all about.
Thank you. But didn't we already do the documentary?
Balzac said "Behind every great fortune, there is a great crime." After watching this wonderful program, I think Balzac's Law holds true. What do you think? Also, was there any attempt to grab hold of any Netscape higher-ups for the show? Were efforts made to speak with the higher-ups at Xerox PARC that killed the goose by letting Jobs see the GUI? Danny Sullivan San Francisco, CA The internet is in the next series. And yes, we talked to the director of Xerox PARC, but he was boring.
In your program IBM is potrayed as being "stupid" for giving Microsoft the ability to sell DOS to other hardware manufacturers when they signed the initial agreement for the IBM PC.
Don't you think that the open aspect of the
DOS-based PC is part of the reason why it was so
sucessful? Was the money that IBM "lost" in that
agreement ever theirs to lose? Or would the IBM PC
ever have been so sucessful if it was marketed as
a "closed" system like the MAC?
I don't make history. I just report it. IBM did what it had to do with the result that an enormous industry was created AND that it eventually backfired on them.
I loved the show you did.
Unless I missed a part of the show, I didn't hear Steve Jobs mention anything about the NeXT computer that he was involved in. Did I miss it, or did he not want to mention it? What ever happened to that computer? I attended a show that unveiled it, it was amazing except for the price and that was about the end of it...
We didn't cover NeXT, nor was Steve interested in talking about it. He preferred to talk about his successes.
What does Paul Allen do now? Apparently he is no longer with Microsoft now. When and why he left Microsoft? Scott Xue Gainesville, Florida As I said above, Paul Allen left Microsoft in 1983 when he contracted Hodgkins Disease. A bone marrow transplant cured him.
I really enjoyed the program. Why did you not mention Commodore and their Amiga as a good idea that failed? Their GUI was one of the better ones at the time. Keith Kostlan El Dorado, KS My mistake.
The Automobile. The telephone. The Radio. Motion Pictures. The transistor. The Television. The laser. The mainframe computer. The PC. Fiber Optics. Cable TV. Cellular Phones. The Internet.
What's the NEXT big thing that will change
the world? Do you think your experience at
producing "Triumph of the Nerds" will help
you recognize it?
Nope. Otherwise I'd be trying to invent it.
I first want to say how much I enjoyed the program. It is the first of its kind that I've seen, and I found it extremely interesting and also very important. I was amazed at the advances made by the Xerox PARC Team in the 70s which I assumed were for the most part conceived in the late 80s. Now, I am also interested in purchasing a used Apple II or Macintosh 128K. Though it is not really relevant to your program, I figured you perhaps may know where to look for (cheap) ones. Thank you very much. Mac Carlson Oreland, PA Other than as a collectors item, why would you want to buy these computers? Look in the newspaper and I'm sure you'll find what you want for $100 or so. Garage sales are also good.
Hey Bob, Loved the TotN show! Too bad it wasn't a six hour show, so much interesting stuff was left out. Is that really your garage (it looks a lot like mine)? YES. Do you really have Altair #2? I borrowed it.
Were Gates and Jobs ever close friends? Do they still correspond with one another? Anonymous They were never close friends because Steve has even a greater need than Bill to dominate. I don't think they are in touch much these days.
I thought you did a very good job in general, but was wondering why you did not make it clear that OS/2 is still a strong operating system offering and has over quite well despite all the Windows 95 hype. Also you might have mentioned that MS wanted to have OS/2 support only 386 and above PC's while IBM foolishly insisted on allowing it to run on 286 platforms. One other point you might have mentioned was the compromise agreement IBM/MS announced at Comdex (in the early 90's) where both Windows and OS/2 would supported; OS/2 would be for new apps/advanced users and Windows for less demanding older applications. When MS secretly violated this agreement, and left other ISV working on OS/2 apps, they gained an unfaired advantage that lead to their domination of the early Windows Application Market. Many considered this announcement and renegging on the agreement an illegal act. Anonymous Emeryville, Ca. IBM may have thought there was such an agreement (I doubt it), but such an agreement would have been a restraint of trade and, itself, illegal. As for OS/2 being a strong offering, that's nonsense. Strong offerings produce profits and OS/2 hasn't broken even in nine years on the market.
First I want to thank you for this PBS Special. It was excellent. Also thank the producer for me. Please do another one soon. Thank You. 1. Why did you leave Apple? My work at Stanford became too demanding. 2. How old is Pammy. 24 3. Is she a natural blonde. Yes
What's up with Apple? Will they stabilize ? rise or die a pitiful death Microsoft and the internet what willhappen there? Anonymous los angeles ca I'm sorry if this is rude, but it is very late and I have already answered these questions earlier.
Where is Wes Rupel working now? He "retired" from Microsoft a few years ago after working on Windows for 8-10 years. Last October he still lived in Belleview, Washington, where I visited with him. Then he was considering an offer to be a computer consultant based in Berkeley. He also was interested in returning to his graduate school research in general relativity. As one of his college physics teachers, I hope to keep track of his most recent adventures. Dwight Beery N. Manchester, IN I don't know. Is there any special reason why I should know Wes?
Do you think Bill Gates or microsoft will ever fall face down in the market because of a new generation of microkids, what I mena is, do you think their could be another triumph of the nerds? I'm a 16 year old programmer in C++, assembly and pascal(Delphi)I'm now operating systems design and I find it pretty interesting, right now I do customized software for lawyers, dentists e.t.c, I would like some tips of how to be a success if you would have the time. Thank You. Oren Karayoff forset hills NY Bill knows that he'll eventually falter. It's only a matter of when. But I'm betting it won't be soon.
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