1. Word processors never display a cursor.
2. You never have to use the space-bar when typing
long sentences.
3. All monitors display inch-high letters.
4. High-tech computers, such as those used by
NASA, the CIA, or some such governmental institution, will have
easy-to-understand graphical interfaces.
5. Those that don't will have incredibly powerful
text-based command shells that can correctly understand and execute
commands typed in plain English.
6. Corollary: You can gain access to any information
you want by simply typing "ACCESS ALL OF THE SECRET FILES"
on any keyboard.
7. Likewise, you can infect a computer with a
destructive virus by simply typing "UPLOAD VIRUS." (See
"Fortress")
8. All computers are connected. You can access
the information on the villain's desktop computer, even if it's
turned off.
9. 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.
10. All computer panels have thousands of volts
and flash pots just underneath the surface. Malfunctions are indicated
by a bright flash, a puff of smoke, a shower of sparks, and an explosion
that forces you backward.
11. People typing away on a computer will turn
it off without saving the data.
12. A hacker can get into the most sensitive
computer in the world before intermission and guess the secret password
in two tries.
13. Any PERMISSION DENIED has an OVERRIDE function.
(See "Demolition Man" and countless others)
14. Complex calculations and loading of huge
amounts of data will be accomplished in under three seconds. Movie
modems transmit data at a speed of two gigabytes per second.
15. When the power plant/missile site/whatever
overheats, all the control panels will explode, as will the entire
building.
16. If you display a file on the screen and someone
deletes the file, it also disappears from the screen. (e.g., "Clear
and Present Danger")
17. If a disk has got encrypted files, you are
automatically asked for a password when you try to access it.
18. No matter what kind of computer disk it is,
it'll be readable by any system you put it into. All application
software is usable by all computer platforms.
19. The more high-tech the equipment, the more
buttons it has ("Aliens"). However, everyone must have
been highly trained, because the buttons aren't labeled.
20. Most computers, no matter how small, have
reality-defying three-dimensional, real-time, photo-realistic animated
graphics capability.
21. Laptops, for some strange reason, always
seem to have amazing real-time video phone capabilities and the
performance of a CRAY Y-MP.
22. Whenever a character looks at a VDU, the
image is so bright that it projects itself onto his/her face. (See
"Alien," "2001")
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