More Computer Geeks Coming Your Way

The computer industry and all its developmental quirks appears to be the new hot topic.  In addition to Amazon's Betas and HBO's Silicon Valley showing the state of the present day industry, the latest season of AMC's Mad Men had a storyline that included the installation of an IBM 360 computer system in the heart of the advertising agency during the late 1960s.  And now AMC has Halt and Catch Fire, premiering June 1, covering the personal computer industry battles from the 1980s.  You can watch the pilot episode on Tumblr if you cannot wait until Sunday.

Here is the basic story from AMC:

Halt and Catch Fire is set roughly one year after IBM all but corners the market with the release of its first major product – the IBM PC. In this fictional drama, a former IBM executive, Joe MacMillan (Lee Pace) plans to reverse engineer the flagship product of his former employer and forces his current company, Cardiff Electric, into the personal computer race. MacMillan enlists the help of Gordon Clark (Scoot McNairy), a great engineer whose unrealized dreams of creating a revolutionary product have created tension in his marriage to Donna (Kerry Bishé), and Cameron Howe (Mackenzie Davis), a volatile prodigy who puts her future in jeopardy to join MacMillan's rogue PC project.  Halt and Catch Fire thrives on the spirit of innovation and explores what it's like to stand at the forefront of something world-changing and work towards it, no matter the risk. 

I watched the first episode and look forward to seeing more.  In some ways I wish this was a real tale since I expect the PC battles were pretty fierce, with the nasty match up between IBM and Apple taking front and center.  However, this fictional approach may allow AMC to bring together the best stories into one show.  Also, I expect most of the industry players do not want their dirty laundry exposed.  As we see in the last few minutes of the pilot, the computer industry can be pretty litigious.  

Note:  "Halt and Catch Fire" is a computer term and not a rip off from the Hunger Games.