What Hollywood knows about programming (#7: The Recruit)

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Apr 26th, 2003, 05:58 PM
MerrionComputin

What Hollywood knows about programming (#7: The Recruit)

Just got in from watching this - an amusing yarn but the bits involving computers were a little far fetched to say the least (in fact, about as bad as anything since the computer virus written for the alien space craft in Independence Day)...
What I learn't about computers from this film:
(1) Whatever OS they use at the CIA, you can get a C++ program to run without first compiling it - oh yeah - and before you've logged in
(2) A laptop with a wireless LAN card works from several miles away.
(3) It takes 1.2 seconds to knock up a reasonable simulation of a CIA webcast application

There's a load more, but I feel a bit nerdy posting this much
Apr 26th, 2003, 06:26 PM
crptcblade

Re: What Hollywood knows about programming (#7: The Recruit)

Quote:

Originally posted by MerrionComputin
about as bad as anything since the computer virus written for the alien space craft in Independence Day)...

You mean that couldn't happen?!?!? And I thought my opinion of Macs couldn't go any lower...

:(
Apr 27th, 2003, 11:48 AM
hellswraith

I watched Swordfish again last night. That is a super funny movie from a programmers perspective. He types like ten letters, but yet text, word lists, and everything else in the world is flying around on his screen. It makes me laugh. Also, his encryption cracking application is all 3d and stuff.

I hate the movies.
Apr 27th, 2003, 11:57 AM
crptcblade

I liked The Net, where the "Mainframe" was all point-and-click, and it always said "Mainframe Access" at the top of the screen.

Its no wonder people think our jobs are so easy.

:D
Apr 27th, 2003, 05:09 PM
WiKiDJeFF

Hollywood just uses the words, hacker, mainframe, firewall, proxy, web, net, and bypass by combining them in a random order and then saying them very fast.
Apr 27th, 2003, 09:44 PM
Birth

Are you saying that movies are fiction?
Apr 28th, 2003, 12:25 AM
hellswraith

Quote:

Originally posted by Birth
Are you saying that movies are fiction?

No, don't worry, nothing has changed. They are all completely true.

Nothing to do with hacking movies, but I especially like the documentries that Vivid puts out....lol.
Apr 28th, 2003, 10:44 AM
Memnoch1207

You mean vivid video? I like their documentaries on human mating rituals too. :D
Apr 28th, 2003, 02:01 PM
hellswraith

Lol, I knew someone else here had to know their videos also.
Apr 30th, 2003, 09:23 AM
alkatran

Personnaly I like how computer viruses (virii?) invariably cause computers to spark and explode. At least that's how it works in any movie rated G, they're gonna scare those kids away from computers by any means necessary!

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Apr 30th, 2003, 10:45 AM
Shaggy Hiker

How about the line from Jurrassic Park:

"This is Unix, I know this." (or something like that), as a bizarre 3D landscape scrolled across the screen. This is not your fathers Unix!
Apr 30th, 2003, 10:52 AM
Slaine

Quote:

Originally posted by Shaggy Hiker
How about the line from Jurrassic Park:

"This is Unix, I know this." (or something like that), as a bizarre 3D landscape scrolled across the screen. This is not your fathers Unix!

Think again!

http://www.sgi.com/fun/freeware/3d_navigator.html
Apr 30th, 2003, 02:40 PM
Shaggy Hiker

Cool, I thought they had pulled that out of their....

However, I'm not sure that makes the movie any more plausible. Being able to navigate the OS is a leap from being able to operatre the software.

On the other hand, that was years agao, so I may not be remembering the movie correctly.
Apr 30th, 2003, 06:24 PM
parksie

fsv.sourceforge.net I think is where a version of that went to :)