The Autodesk Gallery is a place where we showcase design — the work of our customers. We want gallery visitors to know that designs don't just fall from the sky. People have to decide how they work, what they look like, and what they are made of. Our software helps them do that by helping people imagine, design, and create a better world. This includes better places, better things, and better media (films, TV shows, commercials, games.) On Tuesday night we used the gallery for another purpose. A group of employees got to see a screening of the movie Silicon Cowboys.

The movie is the fascinating true story of how Compaq took on IBM in the manufacture and sales of personal computers. By today's standards, that's like a start-up saying they are going to replace Google as the most used search engine. For old nerds like me, it was a trip down memory lane. But more than that, it tells the story of Compaq CEO, Rod Canion, who was probably the antithesis of Steve Jobs — creating a culture where every employee had a say and every employee mattered.

I recommend this film to anyone who survived the 80's.

Viewing is alive in the lab.