Micro Men - 720p (2009)
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN recommends it often as an entertaining and authentic dramatization of Sinclair versus Acorn, the story from which ARM grew.
What it is
Micro Men is a 2009 BBC comic drama about the early 1980s British home computer boom. It follows the rivalry between Clive Sinclair and Acorn founder Chris Curry over the BBC Micro contract and the ZX Spectrum.
Recommended by 15 HN commenters across 14 different months, 2015 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec jdietrich · 2018-01 · on “PiTubeDirect: A Raspberry Pi as a BBC Micro Second Processor”
I can highly recommend the BBC drama "Micro Men", about the early years of the British home computer boom and the rivalry between Sinclair and Acorn. It gives a real flavour of the mad, maverick years before the IBM clones took over. [this video]
Strong rec joosters · 2019-04 · on “Codecademy vs. the BBC Micro”
If you haven't already seen it, 'Micro Men' is an excellent TV drama that details the history of the BBC's computer project and the battle to be the chosen computer: [this video]
Strong rec tpmx · 2021-09 · on “Sir Clive Sinclair has died”
The excellent Micro Men docudrama ( [LINK] ) has somehow been on Youtube since 2013: [this video] (1h24m) Micro Men, working title Syntax Era, is a 2009 one-off BBC drama television programme set in the late 1970s and the early-mid 1980s, about the rise of the British home computer market. It focuses on the rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair (played by Alexander Armstrong), who developed the ZX Spectrum, and Chris Curry (played by Martin Freeman), the man behind the BBC Micro. (Sinclair didn't exactly like it though.)
Strong rec louthy · 2022-03 · on “March 5, 1981: Timex Sinclair ZX81 Launched (2018)”
Nice reference there! Micro Men really is a great docu-drama, it really feels like it captures the time very well. As my first computer was a BBC Micro, it really struck a chord. It’s great seeing the specs for the (yet to be built) ARM chip on the board in the Acorn office, and it’s also awesome that Sophie Wilson playing the barmaid too! For those that haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth a watch [1] [1] [this video]
Recommends andyjohnson0 · 2015-07 · on “Sophie Wilson, Acorn and the development of ARM”
Micro Men is available on youtube [1] and is definitely worth a watch. The scene were one of the characters is eating noodles using multimeter probes as chopsticks made me smile. [1] [this video]
Recommends hyperpallium · 2019-08 · on “Homemade Electric Motorcycle Stopped on M25 in Hertfordshire”
"26 years" is oddly precise, but the sinclair C5 was 1985, 34 years ago, so it's probably just how long he's served or something. [LINK] BONUS "Micro Men" documentary/drama about Sir Clive Sinclair vs Acorn (from which grew Acorn RISC Machine -> ARM) [this video] (1h 24m) "A man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for?"
Recommends chvid · 2020-06 · on “Micro Men – 10th Anniversary – With Chris Curry, Steve Furber and Hermann Hauser”
[this video] The full BBC movie without commentary. An authentic drama about the heyday of British home computing featuring Clive Sinclair plus Curry, Furber, and Hauser from Acorn computers. Also appearing are the ZX Spectrum, the BBC Micro, and the ARM processor on a whiteboard.
Recommends codeulike · 2020-12 · on “If-then-else had to be invented”
ah yes you are right, the in-line ELSE Obligatory shout out for 'Micro Men', about the making of the BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum [this video]