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Top 10 tech movie myths

17th August 2007 [PC Pro]
Computers have the IQ of Hawking and the vocabulary of Dickens. At least that's what the movies claim. We chart the top ten computing whoppers.

If real life reflected the movies, the murder rate would be close to 50%, the Americans would win every war before lunch, and foppish middle-aged Englishmen could bed a woman with the flick of an eyebrow.

Yet, if there's one thing that's prone to the wildest fantasy onscreen, it's computers. Whether it be pubescent hackers breaking into government mainframes from their Acorn Electron, user interfaces that make WordPad look like high art or droids that understand every spoken word flawlessly - and lace their replies with irony for good measure - the computer has every right to sue Hollywood for defamation.

In this feature, we're going to count down the top ten computer myths perpetrated by film and television shows. With examples stretching from Superman to 2001: A Space Odyssey, we think we have the main culprits covered. But if you know of any Hollywood computing howlers we've missed, drop us an email at letters@pcpro.co.uk.

1 - Hacking is child's play<
 
 
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2 - Computers will always turn bad... or go disastrously wrong

3 - User interfaces haven't improved since 1982

4 - CCTV can show you what you had for breakfast

5 - Passwords are pathetic

6 - Macs are everywhere... and they're angry

7 - PDAs and mobiles are absurdly powerful

8 - Robots are made in the most ridiculous form factors

9 - Voice recognition is flawless

10 - Aerobics is easier than using a mouse

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