Halt and Catch Fire Tonight

[Fred Cisin]

>> Who said anything about it being a documentary?  It's a period drama 
>> largely based on the kinds of flamboyant personalities that pioneered 
>> much of the personal computer industry.  While retro computers are in 
>> the show, I don't view it as being about the retro computers 
>> themselves.

On Wed, 24 Aug 2016, Geoffrey Oltmans wrote:
> Not you. But several previous posters lamented about the
> aprocryphal/anachronistic quality of the tech in the show.

The problem is simply that WE are less interested in a period drama about 
their perceptions of the personalities of an industry that they weren't 
in.  They might get them right; they might not.
What WE would like to see is a well researched show that even gets the 
history right.  THAT would be fun!

For example: IBM at the time (pre-DMCA, pre-Lotus "look and feel") had no 
objections to aftermarket that did not copy the actual code, was 
supportive of reverse-engineering, and PUBLISHED ($40) schematics and 
source code.  Apple, until the Lisa? and Mac was open.  The secrecy of 
studying the machine and the threat of legal action from IBM was contrary 
to the current corporate cultures.

The original culture clash of DRI and IBM would make a GREAT scene!
(MUCH better than the completely nonsensical alternate reality of billg 
inventing OS and cold calling IBM in "Pirates Of The Valley")
(although admittedly, even those who experienced it have divergent 
interpretations)