Movies and television have often been accused of being too conservative, but they didn't hesitate to incorporate computers into scenes or as key elements in their stories, even when they were relatively new to the public. From the differential analyzer in Destination Moon (1950) to a Commodore 64 in Legends of Tomorrow, if a computer was captured by a lens, you'll likely find it on the Starring The Computer portal.
The database includes realism scores (how viable the use of the computer in the film is) and can be browsed alphabetically (by far the most useful option) or by year, if you remember the era of the series or film but not its exact name. Image sizes are relatively small (perhaps to avoid copyright issues), but they're enough to confirm the correct model. You can find all this and more thanks to the database at Starring The Computer.
Below we'll share some examples and, of course, answer the three questions we asked above.
Test Your Memory
- In Back to the Future II, Marty stops in front of the antique store and there's a computer in the window. Can you remember which one? That's very easy!
- Something harder? Let's see: Young John Connor hacks an ATM in Terminator 2 using an ultraportable system. What model was it?
- Now, three for three: David's computer in WarGames. Considered the first clone, it sold 20,000 units... right?
A Few Examples
Answers
So, here are the answers: In Back to the Future II, the computer in the window is an Apple Macintosh Plus. In Terminator 2, John Connor uses an Atari Portfolio. And in WarGames, David's computer is an IMSAI 8080, a direct clone of the Altair 8800 that sold about 20,000 units.
