Random (17)

Computers (Only) in Movies/TV programs
I'm trying to clear some of the draft postings I made in the past - the ones which seem really fun to do at the time but never published. It's quite a pity to get rid of them too, since I did enjoyed writing them up in the past - except this one of course. The original text is from another website (source is at the end of the posting), but the screenshots are from some of the movies I have. In this fun and festive holiday season, it might be good to release some of them. ^^

26 things about computers which are valid only for those appearing in the movies XD

(1) Word processors never display a cursor.


And apparently it can be turned on or off too. ^^;
From "The X-Files" Season 3 Episode 6: "2Shy" (1995)
(2) You never have to use the spacebar when typing long sentences.


Spaces are added automatically into your sentences, so they don't count as a character. XD The program is not advanced enough to put in question marks for you though. ^^;
From "The X-Files" Season 3 Episode 6: "2Shy" (1995)
(3) All monitors display 2 inch high letters.


"Computer! What's your order? Show it to me, your enemy, in large font please." XD
And by the way, whatever text meant to seen (by the audience) fits inside that large bar right in the middle of the screen very accurately ^^;
From "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001)
(4) High-tech computers, such as those used by NASA, the CIA, or some such governmental institution, have easy-to-understand graphical interfaces.
Those that don't will have incredibly powerful text-based command shells that can correctly understand and execute commands typed in plain English.


Awesome GUI with bevel effect for the display text for a high-tech secret bio-weapon research project? ^^
From "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" (2004)
(5) Corollary: You can gain access to any information you want by simply typing "ACCESS ALL OF THE SECRET FILES" on any keyboard.

(6) Likewise, you can infect a computer with a destructive virus by simply typing "UPLOAD VIRUS." Viruses cause temperatures in computers, just like they do in humans. After a while, smoke billows out of disk drives and monitors.

(7) All computers are connected. You can access the information on the villain's desktop computer, even if it's turned off.

(8) Powerful computers beep whenever you press a key or whenever the screen changes.

(9) Some computers also slow down the output on the screen so that it doesn't go faster than you can read. The *really* advanced ones also emulate the sound of a dot-matrix printer as the characters come across the screen.

(10) All computer panels have thousands of volts and flash pots just underneath the surface. Malfunctions are indicated by a bright flash, a puff of smoke, a shower of sparks, and an explosion that forces you backward.

(11) People typing away on a computer will turn it off without saving the data.

(12) A hacker can get into the most sensitive computer in the world before intermission and guess the secret password in two tries.


Try to block me from the system? In your dream processor!
From "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" (2004)
(13) Any PERMISSION DENIED has an OVERRIDE function.


Having an "anti-graffiti program" for building walls is funny enough, but apparently the features of removing it, overriding safety feature and hacking into its security code are bundled into any public accessible port too. ^^;
And all 7s for the access code is mighty secure. ^^;
From "Demolition Man" (1993)
(14) Complex calculations and loading of huge amounts of data will be accomplished in under three seconds. In the movies, modems transmit data at two gigabytes per second.


Top secret information from the Department of Defense? Everything fits in my memory card like nothing at all. ^^
From "Transformers" (2007)
(15) When the power plant/missile site/whatever overheats, all the control panels will explode, as will the entire building.

(16) If you display a file on the screen and someone deletes the file, it also disappears from the screen. There are no ways to copy a backup file -- and there are no undelete utilities.

(17) If a disk has got encrypted files, you are automatically asked for a password when you try to access it.

(18) No matter what kind of computer disk it is, it'll be readable by any system you put it into. All application software is usable by all computer platforms.


"Restricted area you say? There's a dedicated port on your mainframe for my fingernail."
From "Robocop" (1987).


Invading alien race' computer system is obviously compatible with ours. Defeat is inevitable for them then. ^^;
From "Independence Day" (1996).
(19) The more high-tech the equipment, the more buttons it has. However, everyone must have been highly trained, because the buttons aren't labeled.



Good lord, look at those buttons and switches. O_O
From "Alien" (1979)
(20) Most computers, no matter how small, have reality-defying three-dimensional, real-time, photo-realistic animated graphics capability.


Gaming quest cinematic loaded on the special ops team's laptop. ^^
From "Resident Evil" (2002)
(21) Laptops, for some strange reason, always seem to have amazing real-time video phone capabilities and the performance of a CRAY-MP.


Nothing special really, just calling a public phone from my laptop here. No biggie ^^
From "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" (2004)
(22) Whenever a character looks at a VDU, the image is so bright that it projects itself onto his/her face.


The monitor is too bright, and the helmet's visor is too smooth and clean. ^^
From "Alien" (1979)
(23) Computers never crash during key, high-intensity activities. Humans operating computers never make mistakes under stress.



I'm multitasking on three monitors here, with multiple smaller panel on each screen. No problem-mo.
From "Live Free or Die Hard" (2007)
(24) Programs are fiendishly perfect and never have bugs that slow down users.

(25) Any photograph can have minute details pulled out of it. You can zoom into any picture as far as you want to. Example: "What's that fuzzy thing in the corner? I don't know, let's check. It's the murder weapon! Let's look under the bed for the killers shoes. no, just some comics books (Marvel 1954, very rare). Let's check the closet shelves...!"




Voice analysis, biometric eye scan and fingerprint detection from a cruising fighter jet's video camera hundred of miles away. Take that, CSI!
From "Stealth" (2005)


Super duper image refinement with no Photoshop used. ^^
From "The X-Files" Season 1 Episode 22: "Born Again" (1994)
(26) All the financial and accounting information of any multi-billion-dollar
international company can fit on a single 3 1/2" floppy.

From Mike Weaver Communications Ltd.

Due to my university studies, career and personal interest in computers, I tend to pay more attention to computer display and its usage in movies I watched all this while, and I can most certainly agree to many of the cliches noted above. ^^ It's understandable that the story is more important, and computers are merely props in movies, but when IT and computer-related technologies become increasingly apparent and inseparable from our daily life, many of "interestingly untrue" presentation of computers in movies become really obvious to spot. ^^ The movies or TV programs before the 2000s are excusable I suppose, since computers weren't that common back in the old days, but the ones in this new millennium have got to do better. ^^;