1. The Pirates of Silicon Valley
Marketing
The Pirates of Silicon Valley
The Story of the Personal Computer, the Software, and the People Who Made History
Danna Nelson-Gresham High School

2. Considered to be the FIRST personal computer
The Altair 8800 Computer
Considered to be the FIRST personal computer

3. The Altair 8800 Computer The Altair was introduced in 1975
A do-it-yourself kit that sold for $397
Sold to “hobbyists” - mail order only
The Altair was named after a planet in an episode of Star Trek
The company was MITS - Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems
Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Owner was Ed Roberts

4. Ed Roberts with his Altair computer.
The Altair 8800 Computer
Ed Roberts with his Altair computer.

5. First advertised in Popular Electronics magazine
Bill Gates & Paul Allen saw the article and offered to write a computer language for the new machine

6. Silicon Valley
A view of downtown San Jose, the self-proclaimed "Capital of Silicon Valley." Valley refers to the Santa Clara Valley, located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay.

8. The Pirates Bill Gates Paul Allen Steve Ballmer Steve Jobs
Steve Wozniak
Of course, there were many more PIRATES involved, but these are the main players!

9. Paul Allen & Bill Gates Both were born in Seattle, Washington
They were childhood friends
They were classmates at Lakeside, a private high school in Seattle
Photo taken around 1975

10. Bill Gates Enrolled at Harvard as a freshman in 1972
Dropped out of college in 1975 to found Microsoft with Paul Allen
First job was writing a computer language for the Altair in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Richest person in the world with a net worth of $59 billion

11. The Bill Gate’s Home
The house occupies 50,000 square feet. Public records indicate the property is valued at more than $136 million and the annual property tax is well over $1 million.

12. Bill Gates
Gates was arrested in 1977 following a traffic violation.

13. Paul Allen He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in 1983
He resigned from Microsoft to pursue medical treatment
He fully recovered, he chose never to return to Microsoft
He has a net worth of $15 billion
He manages an investment fund today

14. Steve Ballmer
Met Bill Gates and Paul Allen at Harvard – his dorm room was down the hall
He later joined the new Microsoft Company in 1980
Became CEO of Microsoft in 2000 after Gates resigned
He stepped down as CEO in 2014
He has a net worth of $20 billion

15. Uncle Fester or Steve Ballmer?
When informed that rival Apple would introduce their new iPhone, Ballmer claimed that the iPhone would have “no chance” of success.

16. Microsoft’s Early Employees
Top row: Steve Wood (left), Bob Wallace, Jim Lane. Middle row: Bob O'Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, Gordon Letwin. Bottom row: Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood, Paul Allen. December 7, 1978.
Note: Steve Ballmer is not in picture, he would join the company in 1980.

17. Photo taken sometime in the early 1980’s.
Steve Wozniak
Attended numerous “Home Brew” club meetings at UC - Berkley
Met Steve Jobs around 1970
Jobs suggested they create fully assembled computers for sale – not kits for hobbyists
Dropped out of UC Berkley in 1975 to build the Apple I computer (in a wooden box) in Jobs’ garage
Wozniak sold his H.P. scientific calculator and Jobs sold his Volkswagen van to get the needed $1,300 to build the Apple I
Photo taken sometime in the early 1980’s.

18. The Apple I was assembled in a wooden box in the garage of Steve Jobs home.

19. The Home Brew Computer Club
Name given to meetings of computer enthusiasts – sometimes totaling 200 or more people
Held on the campus of UC – Berkley – as well as other places in the San Francisco area
People would freely share their knowledge and discuss their interests
Recognized as the flashpoint for the development of the personal computer

20. Steve Jobs
Worked with Steve Wozniak in 1972 as a summer employee at Hewlett-Packard
Began attending “Home Brew” club meetings with Steve Wozniak at UC - Berkley
Apple Computer Co. was founded as a partnership on April 1, 1976.
In December 1980, with a successful IPO, Apple Computer became a publicly traded corporation, making Jobs & Wozniak multi-millionaires
Photo taken early 1980’s

21. Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak

22. Steve Jobs
He was relieved of all duties during an internal power struggle in 1985 (essentially fired)
He was accused of being an erratic, abusive, and temperamental manager
The company, facing bankruptcy, brought Jobs back to the company in 1996

23. Steve Jobs He served as CEO until shortly before his death in 2011
Jobs has been credited as the inventor of the Macintosh, the iPod, the iTunes Store, and the iPhone.

24. The Movie
The movie Pirates of Silicon Valley was aired on TNT in 1999.
The movie is an unauthorized made-for-television docudrama.
The movie is based upon the book, Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer, by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine.

25. The Movie
This film documents the rise of the personal computer through the rivalry between the Apple Computer company and the Microsoft software company.

26. The Actors Joey Slotnick had a part in the 1996 blockbuster Twister.
He has had numerous roles in movies including the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Slotnick has made several guest appearances on a number of popular television shows.
Joey Slotnick, left, poses with Steve Wozniak. Slotnick portrayed Wozniak in the movie.

27. The Actors
Noah Wyle plays the part of Steve Jobs. Noah Wyle is best known for his role as Dr. John Carter on NBC’s ER.

28. Anthony Michael Hall plays the role of Bill Gates
The Actors
Anthony Michael Hall plays the role of Bill Gates

29. Anthony Michael Hall
The Breakfast Club

30. The Time Line
The movie begins in London on the set of the 1984 commercial
Then a brief 14 year flash-forward to a presentation by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates
The movie then takes us back to UC Berkley in 1971 and begins chronicling the Jobs/Wozniak partnership
The movie moves to Harvard in 1974 where we meet Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Steve Ballmer

31. 1984: The Book
Written in 1949 by Eric Arthur Blair, his pen name was George Orwell
The satirical novel was set in the year 1984 where governments would control the lives of citizens
Each person would be subjected to 24 hour surveillance
People's thoughts would be controlled
The figurehead of this totalitarian system was Big Brother.
Phrases like “thought police” and “big brother is watching” are derived from the book

32. 1984: The Book
“On each landing, opposite the lift [elevator] shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.”
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-from the novel1984

33. 1984: The Commercial
The commercial was influenced by the book 1984 by George Orwell. The television commercial was designed to introduce the Macintosh personal computer. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner, Hannibal, American Gangster, Black Hawk Down), the commercial aired only once; on January 22, 1984 during a break in the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII.

34. 1984: The Commercial
The commercial showed an unnamed heroine running through a gray and ashen colored world to throw a sledgehammer at a TV image of Big Brother — an implied representation of IBM.
Video: The 1984 Commercial

35. The Macintosh
The Macintosh marked the beginning of the modern personal computer age.

36. Video: Trailer – Pirates of Silicon Valley
The Movie
Video: Trailer – Pirates of Silicon Valley

37. Video: Steve Wozniak talks about Pirates of Silicon Valley
The Movie
Video: Steve Wozniak talks about Pirates of Silicon Valley

38. Click Here for a Copy of the Handout
The Movie
Watch the movie: Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Answer the questions on the outline as you watch the movie.
Complete the test for this unit.
Click Here for a Copy of the Handout