When you're a
geek, and you watch movies (or
TV, for that matter), you notice some things that the
general public wouldn't usually catch. Namely, you notice the
electronic media that people in
movies use. Their
computers, their
video games, their
PDAs, and so on.
Hollywoodware comes in two main varities. Real, and fake. Obviously, you could probably guess what each one is. Real Hollywoodware is actual stuff that exists in real life, but looks so cool and nifty that the movie producers decided it would look good on the silver screen. Remember the file browser in Jurassic Park? That was real. It's not just computers, either. Whenever video games are protrayed in movies, they tend to be simplistic Pac-Man variants with the obligatory "DONK DONK DONK" sound effects. But some movies use more contemporary games. Did you notice some kids playing Final Fantasy VIII in Charlie's Angels?
Fake Hollywoodware is some interface that is blatantly constructed solely for use in that flick, and probably is just a running graphics presentation rather than a functional application. Remember the Uploading Virus screen on Jeff Goldblum's Powerbook in Indepence Day? Or the crawling green symbols of the The Matrix? TV, both commercials and shows, are notorious for using fake Hollywoodware. B-list shows like The Lone Gunmen always have super-cool apps that can map out US cities and pinpoint addresses and private info in a matter of seconds. In fairness to this show, however, I did once see real IP addresses on their screen.
Now, I can understand a futuristic movie using some futuristic computer interface, but c'mon, don't stick some candy-coated never-before-seen program in a movie that takes place right now. Or else all the geeks in the audience will just snicker and remark about how "that's definitely not real."
I'd be interested to know the behind-the-scenes aspect of Hollywoodware. Who creates the fake stuff? Who decides which real stuff to use? Do they use Macromedia Flash to create those cool dohickys? Now, that would be a cool job.