KDE on the NBC Show "Heroes"

Vesuv writes "The pilot episode of NBC's flagship drama for the 2006 fall season proudly features a laptop showing a KDE desktop and KDE applications such as Kopete and KMix running on Mandriva Linux. " The show itself looks to have potential for essentially an x-men knockoff. I mean, it ain't written by Sorkin (all hail jesus) so I'll give it a few more episodes to decide if all the angst is gonna kill me or not.

Comments

KDE

[Daemonstar]

Because if they had used Windows:

1. They probably would have to pay Microsoft for product placement
2. Fill out tons of forms just to use the product on-air
3. Using something that wasn't Windows (and therefore unfamilliar with most people) looks "techier", or
4. KDE/Linux is free; why spend any more money than you have to? :)

Re:KDE

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

They would have to purchase licenses to run Windows on the laptop, so, yes, they would be paying Microsoft to promote their product.

If MS would not give them a laptop with Windows installed, I'd be very surprised. I know Apple gives them to movie and TV productions. In any case, wherever they acquired the laptop, there is about a 99% chance it came with Windows already installed.

Re:KDE - Another reason ..

[in2mind]

Because if they had used Windows: 1. They probably would have to pay Microsoft for product placement 2. Fill out tons of forms just to use the product on-air 3. Using something that wasn't Windows (and therefore unfamilliar with most people) looks "techier", or 4. KDE/Linux is free; why spend any more money than you have to? :)

Point no.3 is very valid. By making it look "techy", it gets featured on Slashdot! Seriously,it has helped spread the show.

Re:Important point to note:

[evil agent]

Ah, but that's the difference between a nerd and a regular pervert. The pervert's focus will be on "the porn" while the nerd's focus will be on "how is this person getting it so I can get more of it!" Teach a man to fish...

What is a "rip-off"?

[ajs]

I've always wondered about all the terminology that we have for derivative creative work. I doubt that anyone could come up with a coherent definition of "rip-off" that didn't rely on subjective evaluation of quality and/or a subjective evaluation of sameness.

Ask yourself this, is it possible to have a story about a group of super-powered students that won't be considered an "x-men rip-off"? Is that really fair to the authors who actually do come up with interesting and creative ideas of their own?

I'm not saying Heroes is a unique and beautiful flower. I haven't seen it, and maybe all it does have going for it is its x-menness, but I refuse to evaluate fiction on the sole basis that it is "like" something else. IMHO, it stands on its own merits, or it falls on its own flaws. Anything else just seems like being dishonest and unfair to the creative folks that put the fiction together.

Kill me now

[kid zeus]

What a miserably written and horribly acted show. I found myself wishing Nissan hadn't ponied up to bring it to us with limited commercial breaks.

Misfits of Science

[bigbadbuccidaddy]

Its not an X-Men ripoff - Its a ripoff of Misfits of Science, which was the best television show ever.

Re:Another X-Men Ripoff?

[Joe Mucchiello]

That was true pathos and I was surprised to see such pathos in a TV show. The nurse brother's empathy for his ambitious brother was so high that he (brother 1) had the dreams of flying for him (brother 2). But the fact that brother 1 began to associate being able to fly with some kind of self-validation: that made the twist that it was actually brother 2 who flies all the more juicy. Oh, the humanity. Good stuff.

Making a logic board

[a_nonamiss]

Wait, isn't this the same show where some 10 year old kid was soldering his computer because it was broken? Now, I know they were trying to illustrate that he was a smart kid and all, but you can't fix a computer that was made any time after 1982 with a soldering iron. I really think they should hire consultants to read through the script before they put in stupid things like that.

I know some geek is going to respond saying he soldered his computer and made it work, but realistically, it's not something that you can do. Some script writer thought it would sound good...

This is just sad

[boyfaceddog]

Wow, someone is running KDE on national TV!

Can you say "Marketing Opportunity"? I thought you could. If the show takes off, prepare to have OS X or Vista on that puppy.