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29 Pirates of Silicon Valley Trivia Questions, Answers, and Fun Facts

How much do you know about Pirates of Silicon Valley? This category is for trivia questions and answers related to Pirates of Silicon Valley (Television). Each one is filled with fun facts and interesting information. There are 24 questions in this immediate directory. Last updated Mar 18 2024.
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1 Which former Brat Pack actor plays Bill Gates, the co-founder of Micro$oft...oops, I mean "Microsoft"?
Answer: Michael Anthony Hall

I couldn't resist putting the "$" in the company name!

Microsoft became the richest company in the world because of the events depicted in this movie (and Bill Gates the world's richest man). As a result Microsoft is often assoicated with money as well as computers. Which is ironic, because years ago it released some new software called "Microsoft Money"!
    Your options: [ Judd Nelson ] [ Michael Anthony Hall ] [ Emilio Estevez ] [ Matthew Broderick ]
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
2 According to the movie (in reality, he might religiously believe the others too!), what was Bill Gates' philosophy about life?
Answer: You make people need you

He said to Ballmer and Paul "You know how you survive? You make people need you. You survive because you make them need what you have. And then they have nowhere else to go."

Then he adds bitterly "Right now we're dead, nobody needs us."
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
3 Who plays Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs?
Answer: Noah Wyle

Apparently he's better known for a role as a doctor on TV's "ER". (I said "apparently" because I've never seen that show.)
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
4 In conversation with Paul and Steve, Bill said "You know what they say in the Mafia? 'Keep you friends close, and your enemies closer.'" Which enemies is he talking about in this case?
Answer: IBM

The other three, of course, became his enemies either later on in the movie or in the real Bill Gates' life.
    Your options: [ The Justice Department ] [ Apple ] [ IBM ] [ Netscape ]
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
5 Which college did the founders of Apple attend?
Answer: Berkeley - California

We learn this when narrator Steve Wozniak has a flashback to 1971 when he and Steve Jobs were dodging tear-gas and a police riot-squad during a Vietnam protest. (Steve Jobs said when they'd reached a hiding place "Those guys think they're revolutionaries? They're not revolutionaries, we are.")
    Your options: [ Austin - Texas ] [ Berkeley - California ] [ Ramapo - New Jersey ] [ Harvard - Boston ]
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
6 At the important meeting, Gates and co tell some well-dressed executives that Microsoft has what they need. What Microsoft product are they referring to?
Answer: MS-DOS

DOS, or the Disk Operating System, was what Bill Gates said IBM needed to "compete head-on with Apple".

But (and this is one of my favourite bits of the movie) Steve Ballmer turns to face us, everyone else freezes, and he says "This is amazing. Not just amazing, it's historic. It should be taught in all the history books. I mean, hung and framed in the National Gallery or something, because this is the instant of creation of one of the greatest fortunes in the history of the world! I mean, Bill Gates is the richest guy in the world because of what started in this room. And you wanna know what else? It wasn't exactly smoke and mirrors, but we didn't HAVE ANYTHING!"

But later Paul Allen was able to buy DOS from an acquaintance, so they were able to make their millions after all...
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
7 What was young Bill Gates' favourite (non-computer) game during his own college days?
Answer: Poker

As Steve Ballmer said when he was narrating Microsoft's side of the story: "The guy could turn any human situation into a poker game. Forget about classes...poker! The fact that the world might end tonight...no problem: poker! Or we're finally deciphering the meaning of life...more poker?"
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
8 What college did those founders-to-be of Microsoft, Bill and Steve, attend?
Answer: Harvard, in Boston

It says on the back of the VHS cover "Watch the quirky visionaries who jump-started the future." And we do see them doing some strange things, like having races with unattended bulldozers and running their home/office from a motel. (Slightly embarrassing, when businessmen turn up for a meeting and one is asleep on the couch...)
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
9 At Apple's headquarters in Silicon Valley, what did Bill Gates say to convince Steve Jobs to let Microsoft work with Apple?
Answer: You know IBM? They're gonna want all our stuff.

Jobs is looking at his newly printed "Apple" t-shirts and trying to ignore Bill. Bill actually says all these things which do not interest Steve...until he mentions IBM. Jobs always hated IBM and did whatever he could to undermine their reputation and efforts. Later in the movie though, he would be considering Microsoft an even greater enemy...
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
10 What did the two Steves of Apple build in college before computers?
Answer: Blue boxes

Blue boxes could imitate AT&T's tollcall codes. The Steves had another techie friend nicknamed "Captain Crunch" who found you could use said cereal packets' free whistles to make free toll calls. So Steve Wozniak invented the blue box and sold lots.
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
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