1.) The film claims that it took the PC to make the internet commercially viable. Ironically, both originated in ARPA funded projects. What credit should ARPA be given for the birth of the modern PC industry?

2.) Xerox PARC figures prominently in the history of both the PC  and computer networking. What credit should Xerox be given for the birth of the modern PC industry? Compare Xerox's handling of its internally developed computer networking technology with its handling of its Alto personal computer. What lessons do you draw about the role that Xerox PARC played in the development of Silicon Valley?

3.) How are the PC and the workstation related? Return to the history of Control Data Corporation (CDC) for a moment. How might the rise of computer workstations have challenged the corporate power of companies like CDC and Cray Research? How does your answer shape your understanding of the comparative differences between Minneapolis-St.Paul and Silicon Valley?

4.) The film introduces you to Sun Microsystems, the first of many Stanford spin-off companies you will encounter. In what ways is the history of Sun connected to the legacy of Fred Terman at Stanford? In what ways does it represent a new phenomena? Should one consider Stanford to be a prime mover of Silicon Valley in the 1980s and 1990s? If so, what are the keys to this relationship? Is the contemporary Stanford-Silicon Valley connection the same one as before, or has it been changed?

5.) Consider the founders of Sun as a microcosm of Silicon Valley. What united them? What distinguishes them? What was the key to Sun's success? Can their success be used as a metaphor for Silicon Valley as a whole?

6.) The history of Novell represents another case of a non-Silicon Valley company developing according to principles common to the history of Silicon Valley. Use Novell to draw comparisons about the unique features of Silicon Valley and those that are common to the technology industry as a whole.

7.) Microsoft's entrance into the networking business in the late 1980s mirrors other aspects of Microsoft's history. Consider for example Microsoft's tense relationship with Bob Metcalfe and 3Com and compare it with Microsoft's difficulties with both IBM and Apple. What is it that makes Microsoft both a successful company and a hated company? Is the hatred justified? In what ways are Silicon Valley and Microsoft alike and in what ways are they different?

8.) The story of the WELL (the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Network) founded in 1985, and especially the role of the Grateful Dead in the early success of this site, connects us again to the role that the hippie counterculture played in the development of modern computing. What in the final analysis is your estimation of the contributions of the 60s counterculture to the creation of Silicon Valley and to the modern computer industry more generally?

9.) The film introduces you to the crucial role played by venture capitalists in the making of contemporary Silicon Valley. Remembering that venture capital was a new industry in the 1950s and that it played a key role in every major corporate success story in Silicon Valley after 1945 (Fairchild, Intel, Apple, etc.), evaluate the following thesis: "The venture capitalists are the real founding fathers of Silicon Valley." In developing your answer, also consider the following: Steve Levy calls "hackers" the heroes of the computer revolution, and Robert Cringley thinks Silicon Valley is about the "triumph of the nerds."  Are the venture capitalists the real heroes of the computer revolution, and should the history of Silicon Valley be called "Triumph of the VCs?" Stated another way, are heroes and founders necessarily the same thing? Consider the difference between calling VCs the founders of Silicon Valley versus calling them its heroes. Which formulation is more appropriate in your estimation?

10.) The story of Cisco Systems brings together a number of key themes we have encountered before: the spin-off culture of Stanford; the role of venture capital; technological innovation versus commercial application; the clash between technological founders and corporate decision makers; etc. What other comparisons come to mind as you think of Cisco? What general lessons about the history of Silicon Valley do you draw from the Cisco case?
 

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