"It's like a sausage factory; you don't really want to know what happens," confesses Jim Reekes, ex-Apple engineer. Well, Rob Baca and Josh Rizzo show the unbiased truth in "Welcome to Macintosh". The movie explores almost 30 years of Apple's history. The creation of the movie must have been a challenge. How do you determine the major events of a company that has had such an effect in society and our culture? I believe that Mr. Baca and Rizzo created a exceptional film that is educational yet fun and amusing.
I am from generation where computers and internet are common. This movie was eye-opening to me. I never imagined how old Apple was and how radical the concept of a personal computer was back in day. Personal computers didn't do much and only had about four programs. Sadly, I thought that Apple began around the mid-1990's and evolved from a music to computers (and I call myself I nerd...). Little did I know that Apple Inc. had three decades of stories to tell.
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs created their first computer (Apple I) in 1976 for enjoyment. It was created and stayed in their garage. In 1977, (then called) Apple Computers released its first product called Apple II. For the first time ever, a company engineered a computer for the average joe. Ronald Wayne contributed as well by drawing their logo and writing the manual. Steve Wonzniak was the hardware engineer, while Steve Jobs took charge of the sales. Wonzniak was one of "us" (nerd) and Jobs was the slick and charismatic salesman. Although different, they shared the same vision. With competition on the rise including Commodore and IBM, Apple set out to make their products better before the company sunk. Long difficult years soon followed. In 1984 (while Madonna was singing "Material Girl"), Apple released the Macintosh. It was a hit. A year later, both Wozniak and Jobs leave Apple. Dark times returned to Apple. The introduction of Windows was much help either. Apple struggled to survive. More than 20 years after his departure, Steve Job returns to Apple. Mac geeks rejoiced and the energy increased. Apple soared with new innovative ideas, the first iMac in 1997, the first iPod in 2001, iTunes in 2003, and the most recently the revolutionary iPhone in 2007.
Switching to the movie itself, I thought it was humorous and inspiring at some points. It amazes me how far technology has come in 20 years. Placing my wonders aside, I do feel that the only way a person could truly enjoy the documentary would be if they were not well informed about Apple's history. The film only covered the basics. I don't think Apple junkies want to see the basics. They want to know details, specifics, and secrets (like Twilight junkies). But since I didn't know two cents about Apple's past, I really enjoyed it. Recently, I got my first Mac. Secret: I used to like PCs, but now I hate their guts... or wires. All there's left to say is that "I'm Funbob, and I'm a Mac."
See Steve Wonzniak's reaction to the film
Directed by: Robert Baca and Josh Rizzo
Cast
Wayne Bibbens: as Himself
Vince Briel: as Himself
Charles DeVore: as Himself
Richard Halsey: as Himself
Andy Hertzfeld: as Himself
Andrew Hudgins: as Himself
Leander Kahney: as Himself
Guy Kawasaki: as Himself
Steve Kret: as Himself
John Moltz: as Himself
Jim Reeks: as Himself
Simon Tarr: as Himself
Ron Wayne: as Himself
Wanye Wenzlaff: as Himself
Your review of 'Welcome to Macintosh' told me everything that I think was important to the film. Minus a couple noticeable grammatical errors, this review was solidly constructed. I would have liked to see a rating for the documentary as well, I feel that a rating would further mesh your review together.
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