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Movies where people do 31337 h4x0RiNg on a Macintosh PowerBook (idea)
See all of Movies where people do 31337 h4x0RiNg on a Macintosh PowerBook
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(
idea
)
by
li
Sun Jul 02 2000 at 3:33:58
Why
macs
makes it on to the screen more often
Windows
,
Linux
and
MacOS
are examples of popular
operating systems
. They help you get the work done. On the movie set they could use actual operating systems too, but they don't. Instead they create
movie os
es and
movie application
s.
These
applications
don't actually run. They just give the
audience
an
interpretation
of what the
actress
is trying to accomplish with that particular
computer
-as clearly as possible.
When you create applications that don't actually run, it's not unlike painting a
digital
picture on a computer. You can run such a simple program (a
slideshow
program
that shows such simple pictures) with any operating system, any type of computer.
Since
directors
aren't restricted to using a
unix
computer, or a
Microsoft
Windows
computer. They worry about things we don't normally worry abuot. For example, we don't usually hold lengthy
auditions
for a
salesperson
. Because
salesmanship
and
skills
matters more than look. But to the director
slideshows
can be run on any computer. But looks are awkwardly important in your latest film--they make the slick slick. So the decision makers on the set are forced to find "
model
" computers. Computers that can act just as well, but look good.
Sets
matter. We spend our lifes in
offices
,
typing classes
, and waiting in line. We rarely find ourselves walking through a
million dollar
bedroom
set. But that's where most
actors
and
actresses
find themselves. The ratio of interesting place to hang out to not so interesting place to hang out is wonderfully high in a movie.
Even in
reality
, we know that in the boring places rarely do we find
Macs
.
Macs
are associated with advertising agencies, used by artists and directors and CNN reporters (In their every day life they want a computer to do one thing well. One that take care of everything else as much as possible. For a good decade
Macs
provided that service better than other
operating systems
.) But outside of that facinating world of glitz--macs are no where in our bedrooms. Macs don't make their way into most businesses.
But if much of the set in a movie have nothing to do with our boring bedrooms and offices--we can't blame them for putting the right kind of computers in the specific type of sets.
Each Mac made by Apple was designed by well known
industrial engineers
. Because Apple makes the entire machine and have
total control
over how
third-party
peripherals
talk to Macs, Apple allow the
industrial engineers
and
designers
to go a little
wacky
--to have the okay to leave their
creative mark
.
PCs
can't do that because if you change the basic design too much--business who buy
hardware
from your
corporation
would be angry to find out that the usual
interoperability
expected from all PC
peripherals
just don't work at all inside your
customized
PC--forcing such customers to throw away expensive peripherals--or throw away the
computer
you sold them.
The same can be said for houses. Normal
packaged homes
won't be spending lots of time in our favorite movies because that boring familiarity leaves the movie dull. But boldly designed homes are interesting to our eyes. So when
directors
demand good looking houses, they are not about to try and save a few hundred dollars on the computer they'll use on the set--if it looks that much better they'll take it.
Movie softwares primarily must explain the situation well. But if the situation is
futuristic
--they must try to look slick too. This means the picture elements in those
slide-shows
must be very interest and fun to look at. There was a time (before
Windows 95
) when many people felt that barring any competition to Mac's
easy-to-use
computers--Macs were quite futuristic looking. Thus artists felt justified copying various traits and
graphical elements
of the
Macintosh user interface
when they are working to create their "
movie OS
es" or "
movie application
s".
Artists
responsible for creating such "effects" have to use what
graphic art
tools are available to meet their contracts. Many of these tools were first made available on
Macintosh computers
from around 1987 to 1997. Sometimes these tools were available on a wide variety of operating systems, but for one reason or another artists didn't go out of their way to make critical art-related peripherals work with the popular and powerful
Windows
PCs or
UNIX workstations
. Much of this has changed starting in 1995.
Sometimes these tools have special
quirks
that encourages the artist to make the slideshow looking a little bit like a
Macintosh Operating system
-like "
movie os
" to save some time. But the important thing is.. the end product is still pretty much a slideshow. Slideshows of pictures and simple applications are easily made with tools like
Macromedia Director
,
Macromedia Authorware
,
Hypercard
etc. I have seen movies or series where they place a
Mac-like
"
movie os
" on a
PC
and play it! :-) Such inconsistencies results in much complaining (from the
geeks
) in a
movie theater
.
A kid could not care less in a heated discussion about why the huge city they live in doesn't have a Disney or host the Olympic. They will only notice the focal point--nothing else. No matter how big the city is that surrounds a Disney--or important statistically--you will not see it if it's not pretty, neat, interesting, and fun. We are talking about eye candy. Same thing with computers. Lots of times for every Macintosh we see in a modern movie--expect to realize that there's always thirty PCs in other scenes for the same movie. Macs are just that much more eye catching.
This is UNIX! I know this!
Hackers
MST3K
AIM script kiddies
Episode II Soundtrack: Track titles I'd like to see
LocalTalk
1337
Adventures in Compaq Support
Manos: the Hands of Fate
WarGames
Doki Doki Panic
Commodore 1541
Crow T. Robot
Nightfall
widget
Macintosh Troubleshooting
If you love somebody, set them free
Independence Day
Hamlet
Hackers (the movie)
Digimon
31337
product placement
Level 9