Triumph of the Nerds
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 11 documentary series by recommenders
Fans credit this PBS documentary series with an insider look at early personal computing and Silicon Valley, with interviews of the people who were there.
Fans credit this PBS documentary series with an insider look at early personal computing and Silicon Valley, with interviews of the people who were there.
31 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 31
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 31 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Watched repeatedly, still fun
“how much fun “Triumph of the Nerds” and “Nerds 2.0.1” are to watch, even nowadays”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died” “I used love watching these over and over again as a kid, taped off TV on VHS”
Comment from 23 May 2026 in “Robert X Cringely is back to blogging” “I absolutely loved his "Triumph of the nerds" trilogy. It's my childhood!”
Comment from 22 May 2026 in “Robert X Cringely is back to blogging” - Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died”
- Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died”
Inspired career in tech
“Triumph of the Nerds and Pirates of Silicon Valley is what convinced me to actually pursue software as a career.”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died” “I immigrated to the US to work in Silicon Valley directly because of Triumph of the Nerds”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died” “Triumph of the Nerds played a big part in my move to California from the East Coast”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died” - Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died”
- Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died”
Captures early personal computing history
“it’s a nice capture of the early days of personal computing and of Silicon Valley culture of the era”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died” “Triumph of the Nerds and Nerds 2.0.1 are a fantastic look at 90's tech”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died” “captured the time it was written and the future”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Tell HN: Bob Cringely has died” Interviews with people who were there
“His journalistic work with Triumph of the Nerds was great, but only because of the subject matter and the people being interviewed.”
Comment from 7 Oct 2026 in “The cost of lies: A Mineserver story” “it’s an interview with the people who were there”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Microsoft open-sources "the earliest DOS source code discovered to date"”
Other documentary series people recommend
The four most recommended other documentary series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connections by James Burke | 33 | 1 | 97% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Triumph of the NerdsThis page | 31 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace by Adam Curtis | 10 | 1 | 91% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Century of Self by Adam Curtis | 10 | 1 | 91% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Secret Life of Machines | 8 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
32 of the 34 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“His journalistic work with Triumph of the Nerds was great, but only because of the subject matter and the people being interviewed.”
“I watched "Triumph of the Nerds" multiple times when I was at University.”
“It is the one documentary that's had the biggest influence on my life.”
“Triumph is an amazing documentary that I’ve watched many, many times.”
“Triumph of the nerds is the reason I work in high tech.”
“it really turned me on to the potential”
“I really like the triumph of the nerds series.”
“captured the time it was written and the future”
“everyone laughed pretty hard”
“resides proudly on my bookshelf”
“It really captured what I loved about this job.”
“was a wonderful adventure”
“For those interested, the documentary "Triumph of the Nerds" is available on the Internet Archive.”
“I loved Triumph of the Nerds as a teenager.”
“What a great storyteller. Im surprised Triumph is mostly forgotten today.”
“Triumph of the Nerds was a great watch”
“I immigrated to the US to work in Silicon Valley directly because of Triumph of the Nerds”
“how much fun “Triumph of the Nerds” and “Nerds 2.0.1” are to watch, even nowadays”
“Triumph of the Nerds and Pirates of Silicon Valley is what convinced me to actually pursue software as a career.”
“loving every second of it”
“Triumph of the Nerds and Nerds 2.0.1 are a fantastic look at 90's tech”
“His documentary gave me a kind of access to Apple, a company I loved dearly as a kid”
“it’s a nice capture of the early days of personal computing and of Silicon Valley culture of the era”
“Loved his book, and documentary.”
“Triumph of the Nerds played a big part in my move to California from the East Coast”
“I truly enjoyed his Triumph of the Nerds.”
“it’s an interview with the people who were there”
“They’re “triumph of the nerds”really good. Really gets to the pivotal points in business.”
“I used love watching these over and over again as a kid, taped off TV on VHS”
“I absolutely loved his "Triumph of the nerds" trilogy. It's my childhood!”
“for the history, I would suggest Revolution OS, and Triumph of the nerds.”
“triumph of the nerds part 2 ( worth a watch..”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.