In Pictures: 30 Famous Fictional Computers

[Guest]

Fiction is often a far cry from reality, and there’s no better example than the computer systems featured in movies, TV shows, books, and comics. Today we’re showcasing some of the most notorious machines from works of fiction.

In Pictures: 30 Famous Fictional Computers : Read more

 

[mayankleoboy1]

i hate these type of filler articles on a Friday.

 

[vmem]

I like how many of us now have cellphones that replicate some of these famous computer's abilities

 

[agnickolov]

I'll add to the list Kortana from the Halo universe

 

[wildkitten]

i hate these type of filler articles on a Friday.

I wouldn't call it filler. I think enthusiasts often look at science fiction for inspiration and that inspiration drives innovation.

Would we have smartphones with the capabilities they have today if it weren't for the Star Trek communicator driving people's imaginations?

If it weren't for people asking themselves "what if?" I don't believe that we would have near the wonderful devices we do today.

 

[mayankleoboy1]

^ I want pointing to this specific article, but to the general "30 of the blah blah blah" picture slideshows that are posted in lieu of a genuine article, on most fridays.

 

[Memnarchon]

In Ulysses 31 episode 22, there was a super computer called "Cortex" that controlled an entire planet.

 

[Immaculate]

Where is the Fallout computer? I guess it was kind of dumb and easy to convince though

 

[de5_Roy]

person of interest's 'the machine', csi tv series' computer systems that compare dna results and other data instantly, automan etc.

 

[Izuall]

Im surprised SHODAN(SS2) isnt on the list.Gives me the creeps just by thinking about it.

 

[assasin32]

person of interest's 'the machine', csi tv series' computer systems that compare dna results and other data instantly, automan etc.

Don't forget it also does fingerprints in CSI as well. And when the machine is down they have to do it "old school" and it will take awhile, and have have the fingerprints displayed on what is probably 2x 60+in screens in the background. Despite them showing the prints for no more than 1 second I could tell you they were not the same print, heck they weren't even the same type of finger print. I could go on with all the stupid things they do with computers in that show.

And remember kids if you don't like this post I watch CSI "I create a GUI interface using visual basic see if I can track an IP address."

 

[Izuall]

Im surprised SHODAN(SS2) isnt on the list.Gives me the creeps just by thinking about it.

 

[Flying-Q]

Some of the choices for a top 30 seem weird in that a bit of fake software is justified in making a laptop 'famous', and there are some glaring omissions as well.
How about the female humaniform robot Futura from the black and white movie 'Metropolis' from the 1920's, GORT from 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' (the original 1950's), or the Library computer 'Prime Radient' from Azimov's 'Foundation' series.
Still more: The Great Machine and Robby from 'Forbidden Planet', NDR-113 (Andrew) from 'Bicentennial Man', Zen and ORAC from 'Blakes 7', Twiki and Dr Theopolis from 'Buck Rogers...', Ziggy from 'Quantum Leap', Proteus IV from 'Demon Seed', Max (compliance!) from 'Flight of the Navigator', Huey, Louey and Dewey from 'Silent Running', Johnny-5 from 'Short Circuit', T-800 and T-1000 from 'Terminator' series, Sonny from 'I-Robot',

 

[billafu]

Colossus: The Forbin Project, Proteus from Demon Seed, the robot from Lost In Space, Robbie from Forbidden Planet, MULTIVAC and R. Daneel Olivaw from the works of Isaac Asimov. Data, Lore, B4. Huey, Dewey and Louie from Silent Running. Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still/The Master. I think these all could be added to the list.

 

[billafu]

Not to mention the Cylons.

 

[dalmvern]

Im surprised Cortana of the Halo series didnt make it into the list...
Also, C3PO? R2-D2 would have been a better choice...

 

[The_Trutherizer]

Oh come on! What about the AI from System Shock? Really... That's a gap as wide as a bus! rofl

 

[Shawn Jetton]

Not to be picky but the the picture you posted for "weird science" is from the TV from 1994 not the movie from 1985.

Also, what no BORG?

 

[jack1982]

Neat article, there are a few of those movies I haven't seen, I'll have to check them out. Hey how about "Voice" from Cleopatra 2525? Surely I can't be the only guy who watched that show

 

[scook9]

Cortana from Halo.....Johnny 5 from Short Circuit is a MUST. Siri from the iPhone maybe? By throwing in GladOS from Portal you open up the selection to the entire world of awesome video game computers. How about the Ship AI from Starcraft? The BORG from Star Trek does seem like a massive omission and I am not even a big Trekky. Auto from Wall-E I think also deserves a spot here.

 

[dark_lord69]

I've got a couple...
1. R2D2 - You had C2P0 and not the other robot/computer...
2. Adjutant - From StarCraft (She is more of a talking computer than a robot)

 

[g-unit1111]

"Jarvis, ever hear of the tale of Jonah?"
"I wouldn't consider him a role model, sir."

 

[PlexusIT]

The picture for WOPR of War Games sums up how Hollywood tends to represent a SysAdmin's interaction with servers: We walk around them with a clip board in our hands. If we could see this SysAdmins face, she would have a concerned look as she interprets the blinking lights.

 

[icepick314]

how about the holographic computer used by Johnny Mnemonic? or his own brain which had 320GB of storage? (kinda laughable in today's term since you can carry terrabytes of storage on a single HDD)
also missing the UNIX system from Jurassic Park...
and Macintosh PowerBook used to hack the alien mothership on Independence Day...

 

[Tuishimi]

Disappointed that SID was not in the list of famous computers.
SID was the computer/satellite system in orbit around Earth in the UFO series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9irWZITe38U