Return Of The Jaded

Events in the PC market have all the elements of a good Hollywood movie. Yes, that’s right, a movie. While making a Hollywood movie about the PC market and its executives might sound farfetched, it really isn’t. After all, the actions of capitalists occasionally serve as grist for Hollywood scriptwriters. Look at Wall Street and Jerry Maguire, for example. If Michael Douglas and Tom Cruise can keep audiences interested in an ambitious, overpaid, self-absorbed stockbroker or sports agent, just imagine what they could do with some of the personalities who head major software companies. If Hollywood could make a film about the PC industry, what would it look like? My speculation is that the PC business would resemble a science fiction trilogy. Even though science fiction movies usually contain exploding spaceships (which are much more engaging than imploding business plans), it sometimes seems as if Bill Gates is from another planet. More to the point, such movies can actually teach us a few things about the way commentators describe recent market events. But to get the point, you must suspend disbelief for a moment and consider the following reviews of three possible future films.