Micro Men movie(2009) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2020, 03:02:01 pm
content: A captivating drama about the war between Sinclair and their rivals Acorn Computers for dominance on the personal computer market in Britain in earlier 80-s. Also touches on other Clive Sinclair's projects- portable TV, calculators, electronic watch and electric car.https://youtu.be/XXBxV6-zamM

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2020, 08:50:22 am
content: Great find, thank you! Very nicely done movie, except for the wig they put on the Clive Sinclair actor...

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2020, 09:12:08 am
content: As someone that was living and working in Cambridge 81-87, that movie neatly captures the zeitgeist of that time.I can say something similar about Cringley's "Accidental Empires", but I only saw that from a distance.

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2020, 10:46:11 am
content: Thanks for the heads up. I'd never heard of the movie but watched it last night and enjoyed it. I seem to have been the last to have heard of Halt and Catch Fire too. That's worth a watch.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2020, 01:59:41 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on June 14, 2020, 08:50:22 amYeah, that was my thought, too.I wonder if Clive Sinclair was indeed such a bad ass guy

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2020, 02:17:43 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on June 14, 2020, 01:59:41 pmNo comment, but he always took out two or three too many components from his products.Having said that, I did buyoneof his products because there was no practical alternative. My Sinclair Scientic is still working, just. As is my recently acquired HP35.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2020, 02:25:07 pm
content: Did you guys read in Youtube comments that the women that rang the bell in the final scene at the pub telling Clive and Chris to leave was actually Sothie (Roger) Wilson, the inventor of the ARM. The movie creators got her for the scene. I think that scene that only lasts a few seconds has a subtle meaning, sort of the time of mickey-mouse computers is over, the ARM is on the way, so time for you guys to leave

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2020, 04:52:34 pm
content: Another gem from the movie, in a similar manner as Sophie Wilson - a brief appearance of real Jim Westwood, the engineer behind Sinclair ZX computers (the man on the left in the screenshot)I wonder what other Easter eggs are hiding in the movieA link to the source article which is worth reading in full:https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/15/heroes_of_tech_jim_westwood/

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2020, 01:48:14 am
content: Here is Hermann Hauser, a co-founder of Acorn Computers, and a character been played in the movie, speaking about ARM. Admittedly, this is a long 3 hrs video, but thanks to the charming personality of Mr. Hauser, it is 3 hours of non-stop stories including a funny story of founding the company and their first customer, how nobody wanted to buy ARM at first, and subsequent development of ARM. Interestingly, a few times he referred to ARM as "my chip", perhaps having a right to do so, being at management positions at Acorn and later companies and being involved in taking ARM where it is now. Enjoy!"Oral history of Hermann Hauser" from the Computer History Museum:

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2020, 09:22:41 am
content: Quote from: Bud on August 06, 2020, 01:48:14 amThanks for pointing that out.I didn't have three hours, but I spent 45 minutes reading the transcript athttps://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102739951It was most interesting to me because it mentioned a company I was involved in at the beginning. I didn't know the end, but there were no surprises to me.