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At Fall Comdex I was handed a flyer for an upcoming movie on the cable channel TNT called "Pirates of Silicon Valley." At first, I was amused by the picture of Noah Wyle (from the television show E.R.) and Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science) as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. I realized
immediately that this would be an interesting way to look at the history of how personal computers came to be such an important part of our lives.

I entered the computer business at the same time the movie begins. I bought my first Apple ][ + computer in 1981. I had already been following the growth of Apple Computer and the two founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Their story inspired me to purchase one of their computers for
more than $2,000, and it only had 48K of RAM and a floppy disk drive (think of what I could get for that today!). Bill Gates was another inspiration but quickly became an evil figure due to his method of doing business.

The movie opens with Steve Jobs filming the famous "1984" commercial (with Ridley Scott) showing an Orwellian view of people who use IBM computers. It is strange at first seeing Noah Wyle as Jobs, but he quickly grows on you as the charismatic and driven individual he is. He has studied Jobs and says he liked him, but he also saw him as a manipulator and a perfectionist.

Anthony Michael Hall is excellently in the role of Bill Gates. He has all of the characteristic Bill mannerisms down pat, such as the rocking back and forth, the frumpy clothes, and the disheveled hair. He does a great job of portraying the bright but clumsy Gates, even to the point of looking
completely ridiculous in one scene and almost purely evil in another.

In the course of the two-hour movie, we see Jobs and Gates mature as businessmen, observe their successes and failures, and even get a glimpse into their personal lives. Very little new information is revealed in the movie, but it does a great job of putting two decades of the computer business into perspective.

Two supporting roles are worth mention. Steve Woniak (Joey Slotnick) is the brain behind the Apple computer. He is playful, creating things to either impress or make people laugh. Paul Allen is Bill's sidekick, dutifully putting up with Bill's trashing of his new car or pretending to be him on a business call. Both do a great job of playing off of their partners, helping us understand the personalities behind the genius of Jobs and Gates.

The surprise in the movie is Steve Ballmer, brilliantly played by John Dimaggio. Steve Ballmer is a college friend of Bill Gates who constantly harasses him about his lack of a social life, and then winds up as president of Microsoft. He helps lighten the movie as it starts portraying both Jobs and Gates as harsh, domineering, and ruthless leaders. One memorable scene involves Ballmer teasing Gates about his choice of pickup lines.

I highly recommend this movie to computer-industry people, although I believe nontechnical people would enjoy it as well. The movie goes out of it's way to avoid industry jargon, and may even gloss over some things that I felt could have been explored in more detail. It is, however, a fascinating view of an incredible time. As Steve Ballmer points out in the movie, one single meeting with IBM created incredible wealth for Microsoft. You have to see this movie to fully understand the blunders and triumphs that brought us to where we are today.

Since I've always wanted to be a movie critic, I am finally getting my chance: I rate Pirates of Silicon Valley (TV 14): 41/2 out of 5. Definitely worth watching.

Pirates of Silicon Valley will be on TNT on June 20 at 8:00 p.m. Check your local listings for channel information. There will also be several encore broadcasts. Visit http://tnt.turner.com for more information.