Linux in the movies??

[kieran_uk]

Evening all,

Why do i rarely see a Windows based PC's featured in films than Linux/Unix, is it some kind of license thing that Microsoft initiated?

Is the above starting change now or in the future??

Regards, Kieran.

[trig]

in a doc who episode, they used ubuntu on a laptop.

[maybeway36]

It's probably because the computers came with Windows. Pretty much every computer you buy does.

[pvrm]

Favorite linux operate system, from Big Bang Theory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_mzgdQGwY4&feature=player_embedded

[Frogs Hair]

Using products in movies or TV is a form of advertising that companies pay for, because many people now have the means to remove the traditional adds via technology. Many Linux distros are free to use and modify.

[ajgreeny]

in a doc who episode, they used ubuntu on a laptop.
I certainly thought I also saw a gnome desktop on a screen shown at one point in the first episode of the newest Dr Who series here in the UK. It most definitely was not windows, that's an absolute certainty, and it did not really look like a mac screen either.

[Xianath]

It's called product placement and it costs money -- a lot of it. You're not going to see any real OS on, say, CSI and other top ranking shows. Incidentally, most computers I've seen on movies are Macs, followed by Sony and Dell laptops. I don't recall ever seeing a Windows-based machine in a movie except in "IT Crowd" (but hey, they also had a Sinclair ZX!)

[Mr. Picklesworth]

It's called product placement and it costs money -- a lot of it.Your post is a bit backwards. It earns the film studio money. It costs the advertiser (ergo, the maker of the product) money ;)

[Xianath]

Your post is a bit backwards. It earns the film studio money. It costs the advertiser (ergo, the maker of the product) money ;)

I was hoping that would be kind of obvious :)

[1clue]

Jurassic Park, they used SGI.

The graphical interface shown in the movie was the Silicon Graphics 3D File System Navigator.

Not Linux, but also definitely not Windows or Mac.

I agree though, almost every movie I see they're using Macs.

Product placement counts for a lot, but evidently not as much as we would think. I tend to watch the extras on movies I rent or buy, and one thing that comes up at times is that they didn't get anything for using a product. The filmmaker often just wants to have the effect of a cheesy product placement, and they get nothing for it but laughs.

[Wee_Guy]

Operating systems in professional contexts in films seem to vary wildly. It seems that they range from a command line-only interface that beeps a lot to a complex graphical system that is operated by massive touchscreens. It seems that only characters personal computers run Windows or, if they're a bit better off, Mac OS.
Except geeks of course. If a character knows RAM from ROM then chances are their PC is either just command based (because they can type at the speed of sound) or a bland GUI with lots of windows (all of which contain masses of inexplicable text or commands).


I don't recall ever seeing a Windows-based machine in a movie except in "IT Crowd" That's because their not proper geeks. I'm sure in one episode Moss (when explaining memory and RAM) loudly exclaims "Memory is RAM!" which resulted in me explaining to some lucky fellow that although RAM is memory, memory isn't RAM.
And anyway, a true geek would have a much bigger monitor:)

[Courier-271]

Hello.

It is rare to see a Linux based operating system in film, but there are several television shows that use Linux or some Unix based derivative. Feel free to correct me, but in the list below are several shows and one film where I believe Linux based systems are used on screen.

The TV show La Femme Nikita - The original 90s version of the show
Alias - The Marshall Flinkman character uses it numerous times on screen
Hit Man - In the film based on the game, the main character uses it during an online chat via his laptop.

This is my first post so please excuse any blaring errors.

Thank you for your attention.

[cgroza]

Here in Quebec, I know a science show called "Genial" that uses Debian.
They were showing a thermometer running on Debian (I could clearly distinguish their logo on the gnome-panel) on the screen.

[Iowan]

This is my first post so please excuse any blaring errors.
Only "blaring error" worth mentioning is from the Code of Conduct: ;)

If a post is older than a year or so and hasn't had a new reply in that time, instead of replying to it, create a new thread. In the software world, a lot can change in a very short time, and doing things this way makes it more likely that you will find the best information. You may link to the original discussion in the new thread if you think it may be helpful.

[ninjaaron]

Every computer in "The Social Network" that is being used by any of the IT students or anyone working for facebook is of a Linux desktop. Some of the "non-technical people"are using Windows or OSX.

Near the end, Mark is seen working on an Apple, but I don't believe they ever show OSX. That's also the only computer in the movie that get's destroyed.

[tmette]

Every computer in "The Social Network" that is being used by any of the IT students or anyone working for facebook is of a Linux desktop. Some of the "non-technical people"are using Windows or OSX.

Near the end, Mark is seen working on an Apple, but I don't believe they ever show OSX. That's also the only computer in the movie that get's destroyed.

Yep, I noticed that too. In the beginning of the movie when he's blogging and hacking the fraternity/sorority facebooks he is using a distro with the KDE environment. I believe same with the ending scene when he is checking his own Facebook page in the conference room.

My favorite scene in that whole movie is when he's breaking into the different facebooks to obtain pictures.

"a little wget magic" (or something along that line is what he says)

[BlacqWolf]

Well, several times in the TV show "Law and Order," I've seen the detectives using an apparently Linux-based system - probably running an earlier version of Ubuntu (I'd say around 8.04-9.10) - to playback audio/video evidence.