Operating systems used in movies

[empthollow]

I was wondering if anyone else watches movies and wonders what operating system these people are supposedly using. Mission Impossible is a great example. The hackers in these movies are using some monochromatic OS that looks more like UT2003 than any os i've ever seen. I think i've looked at all the linux desktop and none look like that. Has anyone else wondered about those OS's or tried to create the desktop? I'd love to see screenshots of these computers if anyone has them or see how big of a list of movies we can make with a fictional operating system.

[Chame_Wizard]

I thinks it's called HollywoodOS:lolflag:

[SunnyRabbiera]

It depends.
I have seen BSD used in movies (see die hard) linux, windows but the most popular is mac it seems.
OSX seems to be the primary one in most movies I see, but you know its for promotion.

[p_quarles]

A while back, someone posted a still from an episode of 24. Part of a KDE desktop was very clearly visible. I'm not going to track down the thread, but it's there somewhere for whoever wants to look.

[marco123]

Do you mean like this?:)

http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Die+Hard+4.0+-+Matthew+Farrel%27s+theme+%28E?content=66714

[k2t0f12d]

It cracks me up when I see the suits on the couch on the Fox News morning show fiddling with a Mac, or as product placement in the show House, M.D. I havent watched much television at all in the last five years or so, but now whenever I even glance at the thing its a Mac attack. :rolleyes:

[Northsider]

I'd love to know what they used in Hackers. lol

[bobbocanfly]

A while back, someone posted a still from an episode of 24. Part of a KDE desktop was very clearly visible. I'm not going to track down the thread, but it's there somewhere for whoever wants to look.

Someone posted this in the Ubuntu-uk mailing list a few days ago ("Ubuntu Spotting" thread).

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-uk/attachments/20080226/28913bcc/attachment-0001.jpg

[LaRoza]

In Jurassic Park there is a "Unix" system.

In Independence Day, there is an OS which magically is able to be compatible with an alien mother ship, hardware and software.

(I wonder if the aliens used USB and used ELF executables?)

[tehet]

Did anyone see the (terrible) pilot of knightrider 2008? They had something flaky going on on the terminals of the truc... erm, plane.

[LaRoza]

Computers in Movies (http://computerjokes.net/073.htm)

Independence Day (http://computerjokes.net/086.htm) Links for other movies in this one.

[forrestcupp]

And why is it that they always have to type a lot to get the computer to do anything, even if the screen is showing something graphical. In real life, I very rarely use the keyboard to get the computer to do stuff unless I'm typing a message.

[p_quarles]

And why is it that they always have to type a lot to get the computer to do anything, even if the screen is showing something graphical. In real life, I very rarely use the keyboard to get the computer to do stuff unless I'm typing a message.
Sure, but the command line is much more efficient for uploading viruses to the alien mothership's POSIX-compliant weapons systems. It's all about choosing the right tool for the job.

[Tristam Green]

..or for showing the countdown to Armageddon converted from alien code.

The only ones I recognized were a "Unix System" in Jurassic Park, I know Linux/Unix was in "Firewall", Macs were also used in Jurassic Park - Nedry's system had a distinct Apple Look.

[bigbrovar]

does anybody know the operating system used by the bad guys in die hard 4.0 .. the one there use in uploading their bomb triggering virus to peoples computers.... i know that the lappy is an alienware .. but OS where there using ..

[justsomedude]

Niki from Heroes uses KDE. http://www.eikehein.com/kde/heroes/

There were a couple of other instances where I have seen Linux boxes on that show...

[tdrusk]

I think they are running KDE in Fight Club when they are talking about the new program or something in the office meeting. He asks if the icon can be a different color, but the screen behind them looks like KDE.

[SunnyRabbiera]

In Jurassic Park there is a "Unix" system.

In Independence Day, there is an OS which magically is able to be compatible with an alien mother ship, hardware and software.

(I wonder if the aliens used USB and used ELF executables?)

Well Goldblums character did use a Mac... maybe the aliens used win95 :D

[Tristam Green]

Well Goldblums character did use a Mac... maybe the aliens used win95 :D

The OS looked Apple, but I could have sworn the physical box was that of an older IBM Thinkpad.

[MONODA]

I think they are running KDE in Fight Club when they are talking about the new program or something in the office meeting. He asks if the icon can be a different color, but the screen behind them looks like KDE.
lol i thought the same thing too but its not, its microsoft (I have read the book it says it in there) great movie btw:)

[empthollow]

I believe they are using kde in antitrust, and what is that open Synapse or some sort of advanced chat program.:lolflag:

[empthollow]

The OS looked Apple, but I could have sworn the physical box was that of an older IBM Thinkpad.

IBM was apple's PPC chip manufacturer so in theory it's possible that they could have had mac os running on it.

[akiratheoni]

As said before, Heroes uses KDE and several KDE apps. Also Masi Oka (the person who plays Hiro) is the spokesperson for the OLPC.

EDIT: 200th post! :)

[Het Irv]

And why is it that they always have to type a lot to get the computer to do anything, even if the screen is showing something graphical. In real life, I very rarely use the keyboard to get the computer to do stuff unless I'm typing a message.

Hearing the keyboard is more entertaining than listening to a mouse move....yeah we'll go with that.

[Tristam Green]

IBM was apple's PPC chip manufacturer so in theory it's possible that they could have had mac os running on it.

Dang, I can't believe I forgot about the PPC. I even used to work on dual-boot PPC's in early high school >.> Good eye!

[BDNiner]

And why is it that they always have to type a lot to get the computer to do anything, even if the screen is showing something graphical. In real life, I very rarely use the keyboard to get the computer to do stuff unless I'm typing a message.

Wow that is crazy. especially since you use linux. I can use my computer exclusively with a keyboard and i find it faster to use shortcuts on a keyboard than point and click with a mouse.

I think everyone will agree that the keyboard is more efficient than the mouse.

[popch]

I think everyone will agree that the keyboard is more efficient than the mouse.

I don't.

[LaRoza]

I don't.

It depends on what you are doing.

Try typing with a mouse...possible, but it takes a long time.

[popch]

It depends on what you are doing.

Quite.

I do not agree that using the keyboard is more efficient for all computer related activities. It is for some.

The same is probably true for every input device anyone would care to name.

[phrostbyte]

Most of the "OSes" in the movies are actually fake UIs written in something like Flash.

[drbob07]

Quote all the jurrasic park threads

You never know, they may be using A/UX. Apple look, and the command line they mess around with :). (Mac OS 7 & 8 with a Unix command line, didn't even know it existed, wiki says it does though, so it must be true)

[~LoKe]

Didn't read the whole thread, but I'm pretty sure Trinity uses a Linux based machine when hacking into the powerplant.

[shad0w_walker]

In Matrix Revolutions Trinity uses Nmap and a known, real exploit to hack the power grid.

[Trap_]

Nmap was also used in The Bourne Ultimatum.

From most of the movies I've seen all the computers were Macs.

[el_ricardo]

all the computers in heroes are linux based, i think it's mandriva with KDE, not sure though

[mips]

In Independence Day, there is an OS which magically is able to be compatible with an alien mother ship, hardware and software.


What amazed me more happend just before Jeff Goldblum though of the virus. One moment he was legless on a bottle of Jack Daniels and 5min later he was stone sober, just from coffee.

People in the USA are either very tough or the coffee is very strong (which I know it is'nt) ;)

[NightwishFan]

I liked Independence Day. However, I am easily amused.

[tdrusk]

lol i thought the same thing too but its not, its microsoft (I have read the book it says it in there) great movie btw:)

that makes sense, since he mentions corporate Microsoft in the beginning.

[init1]

Yep, I've noticed it :D
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=490460

[Whiffle]

What amazed me more happend just before Jeff Goldblum though of the virus. One moment he was legless on a bottle of Jack Daniels and 5min later he was stone sober, just from coffee.

People in the USA are either very tough or the coffee is very strong (which I know it is'nt) ;)


Ah yes, but do you know anything about Area 51 coffee? Its probably got alien technology in it :D

[WayOutWest]

Didn't read the whole thread, but I'm pretty sure Trinity uses a Linux based machine when hacking into the powerplant.

The hack she runs in that scene was a real backdoor hack. It was reported on TechTV when the movie came out which was a reliable source, unlike G4 now...

[jpittack]

I'd love to know what they used in Hackers. lol

I was watching that movie after midnight last summer. I could not stop laughing. Some clueless lady is freaking out. Two system admins are talking in the dumbest terms. "Give it a flu shot". I have never heard that term before.

All of this is being displayed and the weirdest screen. We don't have a screen for that today. Rabbits are running lose. No where does the screen show that the system admins are actually doing something. I I don't see what was wrong with one of them getting up and unplugging the internet.

[Jay Jay]

I was going to add Revolution OS to this list, but then I remembered that the film, an overview of Linux, doesn't actually show any distros in action... :)

[bruce89]

I believe they are using kde in antitrust, and what is that open Synapse or some sort of advanced chat program.:lolflag:

I don't think so. Miguel de Icaza was in that film, so I'd assume it'd be GNOME.

Someone on Planet GNOME said they saw GNOME on Big Momma's House 2 when it was being shown on a plane.

[MONODA]

I watched a movie the other day and saw an ad for untracable, that is the stupidest movie ever!!! Supposedly, a person puts up a website so that the more people visit the website, the quicker a person dies. the government (who uses vista) gets involved and tells the public not to go to the site. (cant they just take it down? the site has to have some host.) also the murderer hacks into the police officer's car's computer XD and can control the car LOLOL and all of a sudden he shows up in the back seat with a knifeLOLOL you have to see the trailer lol.

[Mazza558]

I watched a movie the other day and saw an ad for untracable, that is the stupidest movie ever!!! Supposedly, a person puts up a website so that the more people visit the website, the quicker a person dies. the government (who uses vista) gets involved and tells the public not to go to the site. (cant they just take it down? the site has to have some host.) also the murderer hacks into the police officer's car's computer XD and can control the car LOLOL and all of a sudden he shows up in the back seat with a knifeLOLOL you have to see the trailer lol.

Even by Hollywood standards, that sounds ridiculous.

[NightwishFan]

I concur. I would rather see the idea we thought up. Terrorist hackers take over the known world and it us up to a few of us open source users to save it. =D

[Saint Angeles]

I don't think so. Miguel de Icaza was in that film, so I'd assume it'd be GNOME...
true, the credits at the end of the movie (antitrust) say: special thanks to GNOME...

[swoll1980]

.

In Independence Day, there is an OS which magically is able to be compatible with an alien mother ship, hardware and software.

(I wonder if the aliens used USB and used ELF executables?)

you have to remember though that they had that space ship for 50 years they could have reverse engined the OS and developed some drivers for it

[Jay Jay]

I watched a movie the other day and saw an ad for untracable, that is the stupidest movie ever!!! Supposedly, a person puts up a website so that the more people visit the website, the quicker a person dies. the government (who uses vista) gets involved and tells the public not to go to the site. (cant they just take it down? the site has to have some host.) also the murderer hacks into the police officer's car's computer XD and can control the car LOLOL and all of a sudden he shows up in the back seat with a knifeLOLOL you have to see the trailer lol.

lol I remember seeing that trailer on TV, simply absurd :)

[kidux]

you have to remember though that they had that space ship for 50 years they could have reverse engined the OS and developed some drivers for it

Except they couldn't activate it until the mothership showed up because they couldn't replicate the alien power source.

[NightwishFan]

I love that movie.

[swoll1980]

my desktop 4.0-ed

[swoll1980]

oops the screen shot isn't attaching for some reason

[D-EJ915]

Jurassic park was nice because the stuff they did was actually real, some stuff was fudged (like the "laptops") but the actual SGI systems were real, they used SGI stuff to make the movie and in the movie, lol. http://sgistuff.g-lenerz.de/movies/jpark.php

[swoll1980]

it's funny because in the movies all the computer guys and hackers and such have these really snazzy GUIs and I picture a real hacker with some really boring desktop if any at all
simply to limit the ammount of resorces hes using

[blithen]

I'd love to know what they used in Hackers. lol
That movie is EPIC.
That being aside I would like to know as well.
As well as all the viruses they used. :P

[warbread]

Niki from Heroes uses KDE. http://www.eikehein.com/kde/heroes/

There were a couple of other instances where I have seen Linux boxes on that show...

I know they just use it to save money, but there's something about imagining Ali Larter compiling a kernel or swearing over borked dependencies that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...

[kutjara]

I thinks it's called HollywoodOS:lolflag:

Yeah, that special OS that allows the user to type random keys, flap their hands in the vague direction of the mouse, fiddle around with CDs and flash drives, and somehow infiltrate the Pentagon's mainframes.

Actually, that could probably happen.

[Tundro Walker]

Yeah, that special OS that allows the user to type random keys, flap their hands in the vague direction of the mouse, fiddle around with CDs and flash drives, and somehow infiltrate the Pentagon's mainframes.

Actually, that could probably happen.

In Hollywood, hackers are morons who type everything out that they're doing.

In real life, hackers are folks smart enough to use pre-fabbed scripts and tools to do a lot of work with minimal typing ... *yawn*

In Hollywood, you see tons of crap fly by the screen, or pictures of mugshots or finger prints go by as the computer does its searching or hacking.

In real life, a progress bar shows up and cooks a little until it tells you it's done ... *yawn*


In Hollywood, a hacker's screen looks like this ...

http://www.terragame.com/downloadable/hacker/bs_hacker_replay_unlimited/screen_1.jpg

http://www.terragame.com/downloadable/hacker/uplink_hacker_elite/screen_1.jpg

In real life, a hacker's screen looks like this ...

http://www.sdconsult.no/linux/ipcop-1.4/images/35-altf3.png

https://dcse.dell.com/selfstudy/Associates_5_0/Servers_5_0/images/ESM/1.jpg


In Hollywood, hackers can do this ...

http://www.publicedcenter.org/images/mushroom-cloud.jpg

In real life, hackers can do this ...

http://ketok.com/news/_files/Image/2007/0702171346hack_egold1.jpg

Truly, Hollywood is the lesser of two evils...

[justin whitaker]

I believe they are using kde in antitrust, and what is that open Synapse or some sort of advanced chat program.:lolflag:

I think it is a trading platform, but I'm not sure which one...they all look alike. :)

[Tundro Walker]

Of course, you can always make your own Hollywood stupidity ...

[ctyc]

are you all suggesting that what comes out of hollywood is less than truthfull...who knew :)

[Rim3nX]

I concur. I would rather see the idea we thought up. Terrorist hackers take over the known world and it us up to a few of us open source users to save it. =D

LOL... hahahaha, dude, that is great idea...
I could call that movie "OpenSource Insurrection"

[Rim3nX]

Of course, you can always make your own Hollywood stupidity ...
Indeed...

[nortexoid]

I just googled this topic after watching an episode of 24 which showed (hilariously) a bunch of windows shuffling back and forth on some dude's computer as he did a search. The OSes of Hackers, Enemy of the State, The Matrix, Swordfish, and tons others always gave me a boner..whoops, I meant made me laugh. In Hackers there's a bunch of symbols (e.g. uppercase Sigma) floating around in your face. Super realistic.

[NightwishFan]

Technically not a movie, though but NCIS seems to reference a lot of open source stuff.

[billgoldberg]

I just googled this topic after watching an episode of 24 which showed (hilariously) a bunch of windows shuffling back and forth on some dude's computer as he did a search. The OSes of Hackers, Enemy of the State, The Matrix, Swordfish, and tons others always gave me a boner..whoops, I meant made me laugh. In Hackers there's a bunch of symbols (e.g. uppercase Sigma) floating around in your face. Super realistic.

Actually, if I'm not mistaking, they are using Microsoft Surface in the new 24 series.

--

I recently watched an episode of CSI Miama.

I was laughing every time their computers came in the show.

The stuff those people are doing with their computers is just laughable.

[Mehall]

Where's all the LCARS love?

There were a ton of Star Trek Movies!!

We need an LCARS Window Manager dangit!!

[zammtronic]

Digging up an old thread here...

The operating system used in the Jurassic Park compound, namely the one used by Lex when she is restoring power to the park. Go SGI!

http://www.sgistuff.net/funstuff/hollywood/jpark.html

[andymorton]

I watched The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire recently, both excellent; and there were Macs all over the place in those.
I never really took any notice at which OSs were used in movies until I started using Linux but now I find myself pausing it to get a good look at the characters' screens. :D

[Dustin2128]

Necromancy...

[Khakilang]

Matrix was a great movie until they use Oracle on one of the character.

[pi3.1415926535...]

I find the use of some KDE distro in The Social Network interesting, because, it is most likely fairly accurate to both the time and the abilities opinions of Mr. Zuckerberg. Unix commands featured fairly prominently in the beginning of that movie as well.

[vehemoth]

I was just about to say the same thing :lolflag:

[Windows Nerd]

Tron: Legacy was pretty darn accurate with their Linux system that Sam Flynn uses to get into the grid. Only fail was running "#bin/history". It's just history. But they got simple ones such as "whoami" perfect and compiling a program...make/make install/etc where shown :D