Computers in the Movies

Computers in the Movies

Word processors never display a cursor.
You never have to use the space-bar.
Movie characters never make typing mistakes.
All monitors display inch-high letters.
High-tech computers, such as those used by NASA, the CIA or some such governmental institution, will have easy to understand graphical interfaces.
Those that don't have graphical interfaces will have incredibly powerful text-based command shells that can correctly understand and execute commands typed in plain English.
Command line interfaces will give you access to any information you want by simply typing, "ACCESS THE SECRET FILES" on any near-by keyboard.
You can also infect a computer with a destructive virus by simply typing "UPLOAD VIRUS".
(See "Fortress".)
All computers are connected. You can access the information on someone's desktop computer even if it's turned off.
Powerful computers beep whenever you press a key or the screen changes.
Really fast computers slow down the output on the screen so that it doesn't go faster than you can read.
Really advanced computers can emulate the sound of a dot-matrix printer when text is displayed on the screen.
All computer panels operate on thousands of volts and have no fuses.
People typing on a computer can safely turn it off without saving anything.
A hacker is always able to break into the most sensitive computer in the world by guessing the secret password in two tries.
You may bypass "PERMISSION DENIED" message by using the "OVERRIDE" function.
(See "Demolition Man".)
Computers only take 2 seconds to boot up.
Movie modems usually appear to transmit data at the speed of two gigabytes per second... without any apparent use of comm software.
When the main computer overheats, all control panels will explode shortly before the entire building goes.
If you display a file on the screen and someone else deletes the file, it also disappears from the screen.
(See "Clear and Present Danger").
If a disk contains encrypted files, you are automatically asked for a password when you insert it.
Computers can interface with any other computer regardless of the manufacturer or galaxy where it originated.
(See "Independence Day".)
Computer disks will work on any computer that has a floppy drive and all software is usable on any platforms.
The more sophisticated the equipment, the more buttons it will have.
Note: You must be highly trained to operate high-tech computers because the buttons have no labels except for the "SELF-DESTRUCT" button.
Most computers, no matter how small, have three-dimensional active animation, photo-realistic graphics capabilities.
Laptops always have amazing real-time video phone capabilities and performance similar to a CRAY Supercomputer.
Whenever a character looks at a monitor, the image is so bright that it projects itself onto their face.
(See "Alien" or "2001".)
Searches on the internet will always return what you are looking for no matter how vague your keywords are. (See "Mission Impossible", Tom Cruise searches with keywords like "file" and "computer" and 3 results are returned.)

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