Yeah, I'm always incredibly amused about what computer monitors suddenly do (or don't do) in movies. Whatever is displayed on the monitors is always swooshy, bright, shiny and dynamic. Password boxes and windows fly all over the place. The user can open and close 33 windows by pressing 'E' and if he randomly starts hitting keys he's like totally hax0ring!!11 That movie with Sandra Bullock (The Net?) cracked me up. "Look ma! I'm hitting random keys on my keyboard! I'm a l33t hax0r!! Look at all this top-secret shit flying across my monitor so fast I can't read it at all! ph34r the six thousand shiny password boxes!!"

And yeah, the system navigation in Jurassic Park is not just unrealistic but completely inefficient. It'd take forever if I had to fly through my file system in a 3D rendered environment, with my mouse. BUT! It looks neat for the audience! The audience thinks, "Wooo, cool flying effects in 3D on a computer! That must be Super High Tech! Awesome! I'm so impressed!"

And so it is. All non-sensical, flying-windows shiny-graphics blinken-lights computer displays have no purpose but to baffle the audience into believing they're looking at complex technology. ^^

As for your icon... hmmm.. it looks like an oldschool computer game, and you've mentioned playing the first Metal Gear, so maybe that's where it's from?

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Hey, Jurassic Park was back in 1993. When 3d graphics were still the new thing on the block. I know how I was impressed as a kid seeing that computer system they had. Nowadays it looks like an overly bright kids forebare version of Windows. Or something. Ah, those were the days...

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When 3d graphics were still the new thing on the block.
Perhaps the photo-realistic renderings of dinosaurs as seen in the movie, yes. But like the ones on the computer monitors? Those had been around for years. And frankly, the wireframe animations of Elite on my MSX were more advanced and made more sense than the 'Unix' filesystem they showed.

I know how I was impressed as a kid seeing that computer system they had.
I'm sorry to hear that you fall into the demographic that has to be wowed with such shitty nonsense. ;)

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That movie with Sandra Bullock (The Net?) cracked me up.
I have to confess that I have successfully avoided seeing that movie -- because I knew it would have lots of nonsense that would irritate me.

There's also Jumping Jack Flash -- and that one is actually pretty spot on. The 'chat'-program Whoopy uses looks a lot like the Unix 'ntalk'-program, except with colors. (I never had a color monitor to use ntalk on, so it could be that that had colors, and I would never know...)

have no purpose but to baffle the audience into believing they're looking at complex technology.
And in doing so, they are both insulting the intelligence of the audience, and doing them a disservice by not properly showing how stuff works.

so maybe that's where it's from?
Close, but no cigar!

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Looks like something from Elite.

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Or possibly even the sequal, Frontier (to be honest, I've played Frontier and First Encounters, but never Elite itself)

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Nope, sorry!

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The WOPR-core ...

Am I the only one who is still wondering if that name was just one big product placement, paid for by a certain hamburger chain?

How is that Unix!?

Of course it wasn't the standard UNIX interface, but hey, 99.8% of the people watching that movie had no idea what UNIX was at all.
The funny thing is that the interface shown actually is a UNIX interface, albeit a GUI which probably no-one has used for any sane purposes: at the same time that the first JP movie premiered, you could download the binaries of this GUI from the Internet for free and have your own little Jurassic Park moment.

I think the movie makers want us to feel alienated from technology.

More important reasons for computers in movies to look the way they look is that:
- the average viewer has to immediately understand that this is a _very_ advanced computer system;
- the system should not look like an actual computer OS (say: Windows) because the maker of this OS should pay lots of money if they want their OS shown in a movie, _or_ the movie makers want to avoid being sued because of the OS of maker X being shown in a negative way in the movie.

Ten points if you can spot where it's from!

My guess it is some Death Star wireframe from a Star Wars computergame from a long forgotten time.

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paid for by a certain hamburger chain?
The name amuses me as well -- you're not the only one.

The funny thing is that the interface shown actually is a UNIX interface
Yes, they made one after the movie. Didn't go very far because it sucked. :)

More important reasons for computers in movies to look the way they look is that:
Well, the systems in Jurassic Park didn't look very advanced to me -- they were the normal beige boxes you could buy at every streetcorner.
The litigation angle could indeed be a reason.

My guess
Nope, sorry!

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I guess filmmakers don't understand computers. ;)

Plus, what is more important, you're regular computer interace isn't "graphic" enough to be interesting. For instance, in You've Got Mail there are entire flocks of doves flying over the computer-screen to signal the user that "they've got mail". I guess that's more interesting for a filmmaker than a little balloon popping up saying "1 E-Mail".

Also, the Matrix does have some real computer toodles in it.

I like your icon, though I don't know where it's from. :)

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I guess filmmakers don't understand computers.
If movies can have military advisors, why can't they have a science/technology advisor?

you're regular computer interace isn't "graphic" enough to be interesting.
What about Jumpin' Jack Flash? The interfaces there were exclusively textual and did make a lot of sense technology-wise.

Also, the Matrix does have some real computer toodles in it.
Yeah, I know. Cool stuff there -- using a real-world exploit in a movie.

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I alway thought that the blinking light were there because the evil Lair/Nuclear power station also doubles as an disco at saturday night and the person with the clipboard is merely a dancer who is still high on lsd

OOOooh blinkey light
Check
OOOooh blinkey light
Check
OOOooh blinkey light
Check

Space Quest?

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the evil Lair/Nuclear power station also doubles as an disco at saturday night
That is the best explanation I've ever heard!

Space Quest?
Nope.

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What I also like is that when one person is said to be "handy with computers" in a movie, then eventually that person will be able to do anything with it and solve difficult problems within 30 seconds, no matter what kind of problem it is.

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