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Usability in the Movies -- Top 10 Bloopers

Posted by Zonk on from the toomanysecrets dept.

Ant writes "A UseIt.com article talks about user interfaces (UIs) in film that are more exciting than they are realistic, and heroes have far too easy a time using foreign systems. The way Hollywood depicts usability could fill many a blooper reel. Here are 10 of the most egregious mistakes made by moviemakers. From the article: '3. The 3D UI - In Minority Report, the characters operate a complex information space by gesturing wildly in the space in front of their screens. As Tog found when filming Starfire, it's very tiring to keep your arms in the air while using a computer. Gestures do have their place, but not as the primary user interface for office systems.'"

2 of 382 comments (clear)

  1. Old Hardware issues. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "I remember watching "The Lone Gunman" one day (thank God that show didn't make it!) and they needed more processing power to crack a password to take over a hijacked plane. "We could do this if had one of those new Octium 4's!" Well, they get one, right before the plane hits the building, they pull out their existing processor, I assume and Octium 3, and drop in the new Octium 4, without so much as powering the machine off... and BAM! They had their password and saved the plane. Oh, and no processors had any type of thermal anything!"

    Nothing odd. On mainframes you can pull complete assembies off, and add without powering down. Some of the old timers here can tell you of hardware that could take almost anything and survive. It's just consumer equipment that has lowered everyone's expectations.

  2. Re:Ridiculous... by Hooya · · Score: 5, Interesting

    > ... nobody uses the can ...

    but then, in Pulp Fiction, whenever something serious is going down, John Travolta is in the can.

    i) Robbery at the diner.
    ii) Mia ODing
    iii) Bruce Willis returning to his apartment to fetch his daddys watch - consequently ends up shooting Travolta while he is *in the can*.

    So, just wanted to point out that there is at least one movie where 'can usage' is central to the story.