Will Hollywood ever get computers right?

[Thorin]

Full Frontal Nerdity discusses Hollywood's take on computers.



Personally, I don't think Hollywood will ever do computers right, because it's too boring for most people.

[Mr. Analog]

War Games came pretty close... especially with the geek moment where the main character talks to his programmer buddies about getting access to WOPR.

Tron was ok in that the main character was using a program he wrote himself to navigate the security pitfalls of the ENCOM MCP.

Sneakers is pretty good for the most part. The Matrix sequel showed some actual hacking software, but I'm thinking that usually it isn't operated by a latex-clad Carrie-Ann Moss type.

I think it boils down to storytelling vs reality. In reality, it's not easy to explode a car into a fireball with ONE gunshot, it's not possible to flip over someone by running up the wall and you certainly wouldn't see a city bus jumping ANY kind of gap. Not that I'm a super hacker but I've never had a young sexy Angelina Jolie comment on my refresh rate, I've never saved "the mainframe data" onto my floppy drive and I certainly haven't written a virus by fiddling with geometric shapes on a 9+ monitor display (I also haven't had a big evil corporation steal my work by taking snapshots of my code with a hidden camera in my garage).

Maybe I'm just not doing it right...

[Darren Dirt]

A) it's not possible to flip over someone by running up the wall...

B) ...I also haven't had a big evil corporation steal my work by taking snapshots of my code with a hidden camera in my garage

re. Part B: ANTITRUST, okay movie with a one-dimensional yet somehow fantastic-to-watch villain

re. Part A: Please watch some "parkour" videos on Youtube. It's all about using horizontal momentum then timing your flip just perfectly... No strings/editing necessary. 

[Mr. Analog]

A) it's not possible to flip over someone by running up the wall...

B) ...I also haven't had a big evil corporation steal my work by taking snapshots of my code with a hidden camera in my garage

re. Part B: ANTITRUST, okay movie with a one-dimensional yet somehow fantastic-to-watch villain

re. Part A: Please watch some "parkour" videos on Youtube. It's all about using horizontal momentum then timing your flip just perfectly... No strings/editing necessary. 

A: Pick a random martial artist, could he do this spontaneously in combat? No.

B: ANTITRUST was a terrible movie and if Lois was here she'd scold you.

[Darren Dirt]

B: ANTITRUST was a terrible movie and if Lois was here she'd scold you.

Sorry, I apologize, I guess I choose to only remember that theatre experience gleefully enjoying the Gates caricature by Tim Robbins, plus I think it deserves more than just a "terrible" description -- I mean Rachael Leigh Cook *and* Claire Forlani? Come ON!

Plus the bonus hilarity of knowing that tons of ignorant technophobes would go home and forever be wiping down their keyboards after every use to prevent "fingerpress key logging"