documentaries « Doriano Carta

Favorite Documentaries

November 27th, 2010 Posted in Movies

I’ve always enjoyed a good documentary but more so in recent years because they seem to have gotten much better in quality and style. The directors seem to make their subject matter so much more entertaining and their films more informative. In any event, here are just some of my favorite documentaries that I really found fascinating. You can find most of them on Netflix and many of them are streaming online so you can actually watch them right now if you want.

Here’s a spreadsheet that I’ve embedded with the links to Netflix for either watching instantly or ordering. I will add more titles with time so bookmark this page and check back often.

What are some of your favorite documentaries?

documentaries

Triumph of the Nerds

January 17th, 2008 Posted in Education, Movies

266 Comments »

“Triumph of the Nerds” (1996) is my all-time favorite documentary on computers or technology ever! I remember the first time I watched it and how informative, entertaining and inspirational it was to me. I was still a break and fix technician and I recall being extremely inspired to do more with my career in I.T. I immediately took a leap of faith and quit my hardware technician position with a major Value Added Reseller in Atlanta to become a Network Administrator which was a bold move at the time and the best thing I ever did in my career. It changed everything forever and I can say that this geekfest on PBS had a great deal to do with it. I still love watching it. I think it is still relavent today and a must see for anyone who is interested in computers and technology. It covers the birth of the information age and documents how we arrived where we are today and where we are headed in the future.

You will see young Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and learn exactly how their respective companies got started and the truth behind their incredible successes and failures. I believe even you Microsoft bashing Macheads will change your view of Bill Gates and company after watching this movie. Even if you despise what Microsoft has become and loath their products, you will develop a healthy respect and appreciation for the way they achieved success not only for themselves but for the entire computer industry itself. Far too many of us are guilty of forgetting the facts and all that Microsoft did for technology. It has become en vogue to mock and ridicule the modern day behemoth. It’s not fair of us to rewrite history in this manner. We must not lose site of all the good that Microsoft has done for technology and believe or not, continue to do! Insert gasp here.

So, sit back and grab some popcorn and your mountain dew and enjoy a techno classic called “TRIUMPH OF THE NERDS” in its entirety.

Here is the entire movie

The Sequel

Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet (1998) is the 3-hour documentary sequel to Triumph of the Nerds, written and hosted by Robert X. Cringely. Nerds 2.0.1 was broadcast two years prior to the 2000 dot-bust of Silicon Valley. It documents the development of the ARPANET, the Internet, the World Wide Web and the Dot-com boom of the mid and late 1990s. Notice how the title pre-dated the whole Web 2.0 craze by almost a decade!