Computer Documentaries

Here are a couple of really cool computer documentaries. I personally find the history of the computer really interesting, so naturally I found these two documentaries to be fun to watch.

1. The Machine that Changed the World. This is one of my favorite documentaries of all time. It's really interesting, and they find a lot of interesting people to interview. Similar to the second of these two documentaries, they made this at a time when the Internet was very infantile, so their predictions and insights are hilariously way off.

2. Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet. This documentary provides some interesting tidbits about the ARPAnet, various protocols, and other technical features, but overall I think context of when it was filmed is what gives it real value. This was made in 1998, when the Internet as we know it was barely three years old. Everyone still seems very unsure of where the Internet will go and the documentary is enfused with the detail-bereft optimism that the Internet was an untapped moneywell. With over ten years passed since the filming, it's also interesting to look at which companies they profiled. The internet was still an electronic wild, wild west, and the .com bubble was still a few years away. These companies are the ones that made millions in their IPO, and of course became nothing after the crash. Guess they should've profiled the brand new company known as Google :).