Diagonaldi Very well executed

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

gavin6942 Three friends dream up the Compaq portable computer at a Texas diner in 1981, and soon find themselves battling mighty IBM, for PC supremacy. Their improbable journey altered the future of computing and shaped the world we now know.I always love these documentaries about tech companies and the Internet and so forth. Having grown up in the 1980s, this feels like such an integral part of my life. I was more computer literate at 14 than I am now at 36... I could build computers, diagnose problems, and now I wouldn't try.And Compaq is an important part of that story. Doors were opened for other companies (such as Dell) and really ended the way we think about PCs. I do not equate IBM and PC, and almost never have, due in part to Compaq. Whereas we have never seen this same thing happen to Apple... which strategy works best?

runamokprods Entertaining, intelligent 77 minute documentary about the surprising rise of Compaq computer – the almost off-handed 1981 brainchild of three young Houston friends – to become a serious rival to the seemingly untouchable giant, starchy, old-school IBM. If there's not a lot of emotion or deeper levels to the doc, there's certainly a likable humanity to these not-so-corporate types who succeeded while creating the kind of relaxed, egalitarian company culture we now see as commonplace in the computer world, but at the time went against everything about how you were supposed to run a 'serious' company. Maybe not a film to run out and buy, or one that will call out for multiple viewings. But I was never bored, and I was happy to get a look at this recent piece of modern business and cultural history.

John Putman I found this to be an extremely interesting documentary about a company that I grew up knowing a lot about. Compaq Computers was founded about 10 minutes from where I grew up, and I went to school with several of the children of the executives that are featured in this film. Even though I was young when they started, I remember vividly when Compaq first made their big splash by creating the portable PC - it was huge news that a local company was taking on IBM and succeeding. There was a buzz in the area, especially as they started expanding and hiring more and more people... and expanding into a huge complex nearby. While I had a pretty good understanding of the overall story of the rise of Compaq, this movie gave me a much more intimate look inside at how the story played out. You see exactly how these gentlemen took what seems like a simple idea and were able to create one of the fastest growing companies of all time, and the sacrifices that had to be made to achieve it.

JustCuriosity Silicon Cowboys was very well-received at its world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. Whereas the narrative of the era is usually the competition between Apple and IBM, this film based on a book by Compaq's founder, refocuses the narrative on the competition between IBM and the PC clones led by Compaq. The film's David vs. Goliath narrative arc is absorbing and entertaining. It presents a highly entertaining history that avoids getting lost in technical detail that would overwhelm and confuse non-tech geeks. They focus on intriguing accessible concepts such as the Compaq's introduction of the concept of first portable PC – weighing at 28 pounds - as the predecessor to the modern laptop and eventually the tablet and the smartphone. The filmmakers were able to dig up tons of entertaining archival footage and conduct extensive interviews with most of the major players in the 1980s clone wars. The editing and the music are fabulous. The period music and look evokes the nostalgia for the 1980s. Highly recommended for those who want to try to understand a technological revolution that they may have lived through, but didn't fully understand at the time.