Computers used in TV and the movies

Spyhop · 27 Mar 2006 at 04:37

Morlan said:
What about computers in computer games? The likes of Splinter Cell, FEAR, etc, all have uber juiced up interfaces, sound effects, the lot.

Oh yeah. Check this one out. This is what all computers in a criminal lair look like in the stinker that is Perfect Dark Zero:

ABCDEFG12345!!!!!!

daz · 27 Mar 2006 at 05:21

Adz said:
Computer? Hello, computer?

I'm actually watching TNG 'Relics' as I type...

Is that the one with the Dyson sphere? Awesome episode actually.

Most cash machines in the UK at least were running on IBM's OS/2 up until a short while ago when IBM announced it would become EOL. They're all changing over to Windows now.

dbmzk1 · 27 Mar 2006 at 07:59

Most of the UK's banking system uses Windows in some form or another. More or less every modern cash machine will use either Windows 95, NT4 or 2000. They are stripped of all the crap and highly tweaked but are infact incredibly stable and highly secure. Its also easy to implement and use. More so than any Unix/Linux system, which is why they use Windows.

As said above, 9 times out of 10 when windows gives an error it is either down to a hardware fault or some dodgy code in the software its running rarther than Windows itself.

pinkegobox · 27 Mar 2006 at 08:29

In the first season of 24 all the good guys used macs, and the bad guys used pc's. In fact, this is how many people knew who was the traitor because they were using a pc when everyone else using a mac.

thankfully this didn't hold true for the following series.

click me

[there used to be a better link, but i can't find it anymore]

Visage · 27 Mar 2006 at 09:33

dbmzk1 said:
Most of the UK's banking system uses Windows in some form or another. More or less every modern cash machine will use either Windows 95, NT4 or 2000. They are stripped of all the crap and highly tweaked but are infact incredibly stable and highly secure. Its also easy to implement and use. More so than any Unix/Linux system, which is why they use Windows.

As said above, 9 times out of 10 when windows gives an error it is either down to a hardware fault or some dodgy code in the software its running rarther than Windows itself.

Absolutely.

I've worked on security/safety critical systems that use exactly this kind of stripped down Windows installation, and they'd easily run for at least 6 months - they may well have lasted longer, but that was the general timescale for software upgrades etc.

All ina ll, I must have seen about 200 Win2K boxes running 24/7 for 6 months without a single crash....

Gedalia_w · 27 Mar 2006 at 10:18

I find that most tv shows use Dell's and pretty much all movies use Apple.

Shows like Stargate all use Dell's and a few others I can't quite remember. Of course they all have fancy nonesense looking graphical mumbojumbo on screen with flashing graphs etc and as people have mentioned, they NEVER use the mouse! Simply pressing a few keys and Ive also just realised never the space bar and they get everything done.

Jono · 27 Mar 2006 at 10:39

I think the first big screen computer to annoy the hell out of me was the one in Jurassic Park. What bullocks!

Combat squirrel · 27 Mar 2006 at 10:48

Bracco said:
I'm surprised that didn't sound stupid in your head. Windows is well known to all technical people, and programmers too. What happens when windows crashes and won't re-load? Any ATM technician can go down and get it running again. What happens when a custom version of linux won't re-load? Oh wait, they have to either make sure that all of their staff are fully trained on this special ATM only OS, or wait until the programmer(s) can come and fix it. .

Could the large presence of Macs in tv and films not have something to do with Steve Jobs having quite large film interests and so companies associated to any of his would automatically use Apple?

I'm surprised that didn't sound stupid in your head, when was the last time you heard linux crash ?

Sirrel Squirrel · 27 Mar 2006 at 11:08

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the unix system thing in Jurrasic Park was actually real.

NathanE · 27 Mar 2006 at 12:13

Shows like SG-1 use prerendered videos. Much easier that way. The type of shooting schedules these TV shows run on is so tight that they don't have time to instruct the actors which buttons to press to make the computer look like its doing something cool.

Most movies are the same. Very few will actually show an untainted Windows desktop.

Combat squirrel said:
when was the last time you heard linux crash ?

When was the last time you heard of any production release OS crash through no fault of its own? OK so the answer is Windows ME, in case you didn't know.

Combat squirrel said:
Id have thought they would use some úber custom version linux or something

Despite what \.'ers and certain forum members here will say, Linux is no where near as secure as you think. Just look at its long list of monthly vulnerabilities. The only difference is that Linux vulnerabilities don't get headlines like the Windows ones do. Apart from that, Linux ones are every bit as just severe and are actually more frequent.

NathanE · 27 Mar 2006 at 12:23

Garp said:
using NMAP and a well known windows security hole.

Well known SSHv1 hole actually

Otacon · 27 Mar 2006 at 12:28

A doze_nix debate in GD :eek:

What's the world coming to... Lets save it for the software forums shall we?

On a topic related note:

robmiller said:
PATCH IT THROUGH TO MY TERMINAL

ZOOM! ENHANCE!

wandgrudd · 27 Mar 2006 at 13:23

Jono said:
I think the first big screen computer to annoy the hell out of me was the one in Jurassic Park. What bullocks!

http://www.sgi.com/fun/freeware/3d_navigator.html

as posted further up the thread

Irish_Tom · 27 Mar 2006 at 13:41

What I've never been able to understand is that in News footage etc, tv screens and computer monitors flicker due to the refresh rate being out of sinc with the camera filming them. In movies and TV shows like 24 etc how do they get the monitors in sinc.

Really simple answer I'm sure, can someone enlighten me?

Cheers

Panzer

Sirrel Squirrel · 27 Mar 2006 at 13:57

The cameras they use have a function that adjusts the cameras refresh rate to match that of the screens, also tfts don't flicker when filmed with any camera

Gedalia_w · 27 Mar 2006 at 13:59

Or "how come the screens in star trek never flicker? You never see the giant view screen getting flickery, sooooo not realistic!"

Irish_Tom · 27 Mar 2006 at 14:15

Thanks Sirrel I can now sleep at night

Panzer

DJammyRasta · 27 Mar 2006 at 14:58

pinkegobox said:
In the first season of 24 all the good guys used macs, and the bad guys used pc's. In fact, this is how many people knew who was the traitor because they were using a pc when everyone else using a mac.

thats because people that use macs aren't smart enough to be the traitor

Psyk · 27 Mar 2006 at 15:58

Combat squirrel said:
I'm surprised that didn't sound stupid in your head, when was the last time you heard linux crash ?

I haven't heard it crash, but I've seen it crash pretty much every time I use it

Must be user error.

I find it funny how in films they always seem to have some fancy 3D graphical interface for something as simple as a recycle bin. I think it was in Hackers they hacked into the recycle bin and it was made up of lots of floating 3D formulas.

wandgrudd · 27 Mar 2006 at 16:33

Psyk said:
I find it funny how in films they always seem to have some fancy 3D graphical interface for something as simple as a recycle bin. I think it was in Hackers they hacked into the recycle bin and it was made up of lots of floating 3D formulas.

Hackers is the worst film for made up computers. How many system admin`s have a 6ft screen in front of them with a keyboard the size of a single bed. Still a good film (well I like it any way.)