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Ask Slashdot: Worst Computer Scene In TV or Movies?
Cuban Devil writes "Yesterday I rented a copy of The Social Network. I won't comment on the story, but the Zuckerberg character's narrated performance on hacking Harvard servers made me wonder: what's the worst computer-related acting performance ever? I leave here my vote: Independence Day, when I had to see Mr. Goldblum upload a virus, using a Mac, when it did not connect even to an ethernet network, compromising the entire alien fleet. What other major technological gaffes have you seen?"
hacking/coding/computing in real life is incredibly boring - reality doesn't make for a good movie.
Basically the whole movie.
Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
Every time they showed a screen in Hackers I giggled and enjoyed the movie without taking it too seriously.
I have to nominate the Sandra Bullock abortion The Net--the entire film. Compared to that movie, Goldblum's antics are totally plausible.
Tom Cruise breaks into a vault at CIA with their most important computer, and when presented with a login screen clicks the "override" button on the computer (right next to the "ok" button), which simply logs in without having to enter a password.
Same reason Independence Day isn't the worst offender. Their computer scenes were as unrealistic as their physics which was as unrealistic as their politics. None of it was meant to be serious.
I find something like CSI much more annoying.
"Greetings Professor Falken"
need i say more? WarGames is probably the most cheezy movie of them all.
You shut your whore mouth!
Seriously, though, Wargames was probably the most accurate cracking movie ever made. Instead of "creating a GUI in Visual Basic and tracking an IP address" a la CSI: Braindead, the main character actually spent weeks poring over information about the creator of the system to try to work out how it was designed and what the likely methods would be to gain entrance. He also used social engineering techniques to gather information about his targets.
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
I just like how computers in general seem to be packed with either explosives or 5 megawatts of power in pretty much every sci-fi movie. Star Trek is one of the worst offenders for this. "Oh no, the computer is overloaded! *bzzzt, boom*" If I blew up a PC everytime it got stuck in a logic loop I'd be typing with hooks by now.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
You do realize Hackers isn't a film that you're supposed to take seriously, right? It's a great movie. Feel free to criticize technology in the majority of films out there, but complaining about it in Hackers is like complaining about how much Monty Python sucks, because "there isn't really any such thing as a ministry of funny walks!".
yes, this is exactly the right way to do it. it was a light-hearted romp which featured corporate malfeasance and corruption; liberated and powerful computer enthusiasts; an interestingly-clad Angelina Jolie; and a great period soundtrack. what exactly is wrong with any of this?
when i was in high school, it inspired a few otherwise-uninterested people to learn a little bit about computers, and was kind of a "cult classic" among those of us who already were. the people who were offended by it were (mostly) posers. i mean, come on, the tagline on the posters was "just when you thought it was safe to turn on your hard drive" or something ridiculous like that. it's pure cheese and that's just fun, no matter how serious it was meant to be (i suspect not at all).
also, "risc is good" was poetry compared to "it's got a 28.8 bee-pee-ess modem!" and "i bet it looks crispy in the dark."
"They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
Why do computers on TV have to display all the photos/fingerprints in its database when doing any kind of search?
Because it is a visually appealing and dramatically effective way of suggesting the size and complexity of the database.
I think "War Games" had a measure of accuracy, where the cracker spent weeks researching the private life of a system developer to try to work out what he might have used as a back-door password. Compared, say, to one of the Superman films -- was it Superman IV? -- in which all the cracker had to do was type "Override all security".
And don't forget the back-handed accuracy of Airplane II:
"Have you worked out what all those flashing lights mean yet?"
"No, sir. We're working on it"
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
Um... all the computer systems shown in Jurassic Park where real. Even the 3D interface, that was something SGI came up with.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Hey now, at the time it looked like the RISC architecture was going to change everything.
And if this site has proved 1 thing, it's the geeks always use hyerbole about new technology.
I call that scene: Accurate.
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