Tech history, from Turing to Silicon Valley
From the origins of computing to the forerunners of the smartphone, in one book, two films, a TV series and a documentary.
A roughly chronological path: it starts during the Second World War and ends with a startup that imagined a smartphone years before the iPhone.
Step 1
The Imitation Game
Alan Turing and the beginnings of computing.
FilmOne eveningThe Imitation Game
Morten Tyldum, 2014
Tech history
See detailsStep 2
The Innovators
The big picture: the innovators behind the digital revolution.
BookA weekendThe Innovators
Walter Isaacson, 2014
Tech history
See detailsStep 3
Pirates of Silicon Valley
Apple versus Microsoft, Jobs versus Gates.
FilmOne eveningPirates of Silicon Valley
Martyn Burke, 1999
Tech history
See detailsStep 4
Halt and Catch Fire
The PC years and the arrival of the internet, as fiction.
TV seriesOngoingLesWWW reviewHalt and Catch Fire
Christopher Cantwell, Christopher C. Rogers, 2014
Tech history
See detailsStep 5
General Magic
The startup that imagined a forerunner of the smartphone, years before the iPhone.
DocumentaryOne eveningGeneral Magic
Sarah Kerruish, Matt Maude, 2018
Tech history
See details
Paths
5 steps
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Startup culture kit
Validate an idea, build, hold on through the hard times, and a cautionary tale to finish.
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Social media in 4 evenings
One film and three documentaries, from the creation of Facebook to Cambridge Analytica.
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Take back your attention
Understand the attention economy, what it does to your brain, then change your habits.
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