Silicon Cowboys is a documentary that was shown at SXSW and is now hitting select theaters and on-demand outlets. It tells the story of founding Compaq Computers and its competition against the well established IBM.
You can see the trailer below and find out more from the official site at filmrise.com/silicon-cowboys/
Launched in 1981 by three friends in a Houston diner, Compaq Computer set out to build a portable PC to take on IBM, the world’s most powerful tech company. Many companies had tried cloning the industry leader’s code, only to be trounced by IBM and its high-priced lawyers. SILICON COWBOYS explores the remarkable David vs. Goliath story, and eventual demise, of Compaq, an unlikely upstart who altered the future of computing and helped shape the world as we know it today.
Directed by Academy Award®-nominated director Jason Cohen and produced by Ross M. Dinerstein (JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI) and Glen Zipper (Academy Award®-winning UNDEFEATED), the film offers an insider’s look into the explosive rise of the 1980’s PC industry and is a refreshing alternative to the familiar narratives of Jobs, Gates, and Zuckerberg. SILICON COWBOYS features interviews with Compaq founders Rod Canion, Jim Harris, and Bill Murto as well as Alec Berg, Executive Producer of HBO’s “Silicon Valley,” and Chris Cantwell, co-creator of AMC’s “Halt and Catch Fire.”