Paul & Bill's Big Adventure

[Press any key]

Paul & Bill's Big Adventure

IBM doesn't make toys .. but, when pressed by a horde of nerds (but mostly early inquiry from small business customers), it decided that if anyone is to set a standard for a toy computer, it should be them. Those specifications still hold today, although the floppy disk is floating belly up.

When the nerds said can we use those specs to make our own PC's, IBM said sure why not. (It's not going to float anyway, dead duck, there's no mass market for toy computers.)

Just like Bob Hope, IBM like a BIG ROOM.

Apple still wouldn't let anyone play with their ball.

Anyway, making the hardware is one thing but stuff the software, 'let's buy it.' Who is there?

Two very young guys named Paul and Bill (Paul & Bill's big adventure) at something called Microsoft.

Right place, right time .. almost.

I see 'Men in Black' pulling up and asking to licence their software. We've got the hardware coming out and need any old thing to get it to at least blink. 'Sorry' say Paul and Bill, our stuff is not really up to the job yet. But we know of this other guy you can talk to. OK. IBM drive off.

This other guy is not home, but his wife is. 'Can we come back tomorrow?' say the men in black. Not really says the guys wife, 'we're going on our vacation ..'

So, men in black back to Paul and Bill. We'll give you $100,000 up front, they say. Lot of money in those days. Oh, alright, says Bill, reluctantly.

What now? says Paul to Bill, when the men in black had gone. We got MS DOS but it only ejects a floppy disk.

I know a guy, says Bill, working on his own DOS. We'll offer him $25,000 for it, lock, stock and barrel. Then we'll rename it MS DOS. Good idea! says Paul, let's take the rest of the day off.

AND THE REST IS HISTORY ....

Urban Legend =:: or ::= Fact ?

.

[prathapml]

Not a humorous story, its fact!

[Wolf_Demon]

none of it made sense to me...

[Fox Mulder]

Have you seen the movie Pirates of Sillicon Valley?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/

[prathapml]

Thats one great movie

[Press any key]

Have you seen the movie Pirates of Sillicon Valley?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/

I have not seen that movie, but I looked up the link with interest. Can understand that the commercial stations here may not want to broadcast it, but can't understand why the ABC (Govt.) or SBS multicultural did not.

Really would have liked to have seen this. How did they get *'Release Forms' from everyone. And for the dialog. They could have had there asses sued by Bill, Steve and the others if they didn't.

---

*A Release Form is required for images and possible made up dialog for real life people filmed as fact or fiction in the movie industry.

[Fox Mulder]

I have seen it's premiere here in Argentina in 1999 by the TNT channel. Although some say the characters in that movie are exagerated and the facts are not 100% correct, the Bill Gates shown in that movie shocked me, he he; Anthony Michael Hall was great. And I ROTFLMAO when Bill was testing Windows 1.0 and it GPF'ed him. It shows the story exactly as you put it in your post. Definitely an fun movie to watch but if you want the very thuth, people say that you have to watch "Triumph of the Nerds". Beware that according to the reviews, the DVD version is butchered compared to the excelent VHS version:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...?v=glance&s=dvd

Edited October 22, 2005 by Fox Mulder