Reddit reviews Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer (Second Edition)

The story was also in Fire in the Valley by Paul Freiberger
and Michael Swaine. Jobs was proud of pulling that one on his best friend.

Also Fire in the Valley, for the requisite training up in basic tech lore.

The movie is based on a book also:

Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer

https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Valley-Making-Personal-Computer/dp/0071358927

It doesn't really apply to "being a sysadmin", but as a history buff and someone who just likes to understand what led up to where we are now, I highly recommend reading Fire in the Valley.


(If you've ever seen Pirates of Silicon Valley, this is the book that it's somewhat based on)

Yeah....considering the history of Apple. I'm not sure they're exactly a bastion of so called 'American Values'....or maybe they are considering American History.

PS: I suggest reading Fire in the Valley

I'm wondering, though, if this is just the beginning of a bubble. Right now, people are paying high prices for these out of nostalgia; the machine they had (or couldn't afford, but desperately wanted) when these were new. Now they have the cash to buy them, and are hitting mid-life crisis time, so they're snatching these up.

This is me right now. When I was young I wanted all these machines and now I can. I write off all the expenses as cheaper than therapy. But at the same time it has fueled my passion for Computer History. I now find myself buying and reading books like The Home Computer Wars or Fire in the Valley.

Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer (Second Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071358927/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_F7xIAbQCHRPST

I could have a fun time arguing that.

On both sides of the issue. :-)

But Internet-based newness -- or let's say innovation, since doing something better is more important than newness -- was driven by venture capital, which means things like marketing plans and presentation skills. The early years of the microcomputer, as described so well in Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer, were driven by geeks working in the garages without much in the way of adult supervision. For good and ill.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow

set, of course, in Disneyland. Link is to a free download.

Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge, set in San Diego.

but, if you prefer to live in the past, consider Fire In The Valley, set near Stanford University.