Hollywood Os

Hollywood OS

Jargon term for the OperatingSystem(s) featured in movies that come out of Hollywood. These systems are often either inconsistent with reality or contain fictitious features not available in any current operating system - for example, in The Matrix Reloaded, the operating system for a powerplant seems to be using SSH 1, and echoes changed passwords to the screen.

The magical computer system that appears in many major US films, and which most new users expect to run on their PC. Features include perfect NaturalLanguageProcessing and VoiceRecognition, 3-D VirtualReality data browsing, standard 20-point font text display, and universal interconnectivity (even between computers that aren't networked to each other, or with computer networks from other star systems). It has unlimited computation power (except when dramatically necessary) but its security can be completely bypassed by anyone typing in 'override' (which may not be necessary because all passwords are guaranteed to be some easily-guessed word or name). Viruses (or really tough logical paradoxes) cause the computer to shoot sparks, catch fire, or even explode.

For an advertisement, see http://www.steampunk.demon.co.uk/hollywoodos.htm

A list of features can be found at http://home.xnet.com/~raven/Sysadmin/MovieComputers.html COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS (as depicted in movies, naturally) by Jacob K. Matthews.

It was implemented as Movie OS in the User Friendly online comic strip in January 2001. http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20010111 Movie OS began with the comic strip itself and then various people began commenting on it, first in the UserFriendly forums and then elsewhere. MovieOS's most exciting feature may have been its:

• 20-column display

Other noted features of HollywoodOS include:

• maximum file size supported: 1.44M
• bootup in 0.0000000000000000000001 seconds
• unlimited storage
• Complex calculations and loading of huge amounts of data will be accomplished in under three seconds. Movie modems usually appear to transmit data at the speed of two gigabytes per second.
• No matter what kind of computer disk it is, it'll be readable by any system.
• It comes in an Apple PowerBook case (you know, one of the really kewl titanium ones...)
• Most computers running HollywoodOS, no matter how small, have reality-defying three-dimensional, active animation, photo-realistic graphics capability.
• Laptops always have amazing real-time video phone capabilities and the performance of a CRAY supercomputer, including full-color high-fidelity video conferencing without a need for a camera
• Uses audio minidisc as a storage media (as featured in The Matrix)
  • Minidiscs CAN be (and have been used) for data. Sony sold a 1x MD drive (150kb/s) in Japan (it was WAY too expensive to stand a chance against ZIP Drives, unfortunately). Sharp or some other company once release a 4x MD Drive. However, the MD can also only a little more than 100MB (ATRAC is used as a data compression and data reduction algorithm to fit 650MB of Audio Data onto a 170MB medium, however, data minidiscs used more error correction than audio minidiscs, bringing this down to 100MB). More recently, the MD Data2 was developed, that actually holds 650MB of data. It's being used in at least one of Sony's Digital Camcorders and stores up to 20 min of Mpeg-2 movie on it. BTW: The Camcorder also includes an Ethernet Port and builtin Webserver so you can just hook it up to your network and stream your videos! -- Mausoleum
• Searches on the Internet will always return what you are looking for no matter how vague your keywords are. (See Mission Impossible, where Tom Cruise searches with keywords like "file" and "computer" and three results are returned.)
• Ability to use ip addresses with numbers larger than 255 (see The Net (23.75.345.200), Swordfish (multiple)).
  • This is probably because they could get sued for using numbers people might be using. Holywood phone numbers usually start with 555 because that is reserved for testing.
    • Couldn't they just use 192.168.xxx.xxx? That would also allow for such dramatic lines as "That IP is coming from on this network!"
  • I think the "Hey, that's my number!" problem came to a head in the early '80s with the song "867-5309".

User interface features

• All monitors display inch-high letters.
• All error messages are in HUGE red flashing text
• Scrolling hex data stream visible on screen when files (esp. secret files) are copied
• Word processors never display a cursor.
• You never have to use the space-bar when typing long sentences.
• 2 exciting output modes:
  • one page at 300 baud (with a beep after each character), or
  • hundreds of pages at 256Kbps
• Powerful computers beep whenever you press a key or whenever the screen changes. Some computers also slow down the output on the screen so that it doesn't go faster than you can read. The really advanced ones also emulate the sound of a dot-matrix printer.
• People typing away on a computer will turn it off without saving the data.
  • Nah, HollywoodOs features TransparentPersistence. Didn't you know that?
• Most computers running Hollywood OS have leading edge image processing programs that have the uncanny ability to zoom in on any surveillance video (particularly grainy VHS) and display the villan in crystal clarity.
  • this software allows rotation of images taken by a single camera
  • when applied to satellite images, it is possible to read car plates

• All communications with advanced pieces of hardware/software can be accomplished simply by typing green text on a black screen.
• High-tech computers, such as those used by NASA, the CIA, or some such governmental institution, will have easy to understand graphical interfaces (see Jurassic Park)
  • The interface in Jurassic Park is actually based on a real UNIX file manager called fsn.
• Those that don't, have incredibly powerful text-based command shells, backed by an advanced natural-language file manager that can correctly understand and execute commands typed in plain English.
  • Corollary: You can gain access to any information you want by simply typing "ACCESS ALL OF THE SECRET FILES" on any keyboard.

• Almost (99.9% accuracy) human sounding text-to-speech and speech-to-text capabilities
• 100% accurate voice recognition

• The more high-tech the equipment, the more buttons it has (Aliens).
  • However, everyone must have been highly trained, because the buttons aren't labelled...
  • ... except for the "SELF-DESTRUCT" button.

• Whenever a character looks at a VDU, the image is so bright that it projects itself onto his/her face (see "Alien", "2001").
• All computer panels are wired for thousands of volts. Malfunctions are indicated by a bright flash, billowing smoke, a shower of sparks, and an explosion that forces you backwards (PlasmaToTheFace). When the power computer system/ plant/ missile site/ whatever overheats, all the control panels will explode, as will the entire building.

Connectivity and security:

• All computers are connected. You can access the information on the villain's desktop computer, even if it's turned off.
• Infinitely compatible I/O interface allows stealth connections to any other computer regardless of the manufacturer or galaxy where it originated, including alien space ship computers (See Independence Day)
  • It's a Universal Serial Bus, isn't it?
• The default configuration supports satellite communications on the go (being chased by bad guys, etc.)

• A hacker can get into the most sensitive computer in the world before intermission, and can guess the secret password in two tries.
  • Passwords are limited to dictionary words only (and unlimited guesses!)
    • Or names of dead relatives (i.e. "joshua" in WarGames)
    • No time delay between guesses either, so guessing can be easily automated for an efficient BruteForce attack.
  • Indeed, the essense of "hacking" in the movies is not an in-depth knowledge of communication protocols and arcane implementation details/defects of computer systems (which can be exploited in an attack), but the ability to guess passwords.
• If a disk contains encrypted files, you are automatically asked for a password when you try to access it.
• Any PERMISSION DENIED has a SECURITY OVERRIDE function (see "Demolition Man" and countless others).

• All application software is usable by all computer platforms.
• You can infect a computer with a destructive virus by simply typing "UPLOAD VIRUS" (see Fortress).
  • Viruses, before taking effect, inform the user of the impending doom by displaying a skull-and-crossbones on the display, complete with maniacial laughter and taunting insults coming out of the soundcard. (see "Independence day", a recent TV commercial)
• A user may delete a file that is used by someone else, and force their screen to stop displaying it.
• Deleted data (especially data which is highly sensitive/ important/ expensive and has taken many many years to collect) can be irrevocably deleted by simple means - most often just clicking a button on a screen. (There never are any backups, nor any other means to restore data.)
• Any log-in box contains just enough space for the first and last name of the user a hacker is trying to login as.

• any screen ( from 21 inch to the screen of a PDA or cellphone) can be used as a fingerprint / handprint scanner. "screenscanner"
• If you want to quickly destroy the data on the harddisk, it's enough to just shoot at the computer. One bullet is enough and it doesn't matter where you hit, the data is forever lost.

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From another page...

What most people want is a HollywoodOs. That doesn't mean they're going to get one. - JayOsako

I dunno about that. Many of the features in HollywoodOs are available as off-the-shelf software - for example, Macs had speech recognition as early as 1993. And Hollywood has unlimited takes to get it right. -- JonathanTang

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See also (humor alert) "JesOS™ -- The First True Christian™ Computer Operating System!" http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news0907/jesOS.html

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CategoryOperatingSystem