Hamby wrote:Yup, Fusion, or FSN... […]
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spiroyster wrote:SirNickity wrote:Aside from the ridiculous, inefficient, and awkward 3D file system browser, I thought their art department did a good job of making those scenes seem legitimately computer-y.
It's a real IRIX program
Yup, Fusion, or FSN...
As a result of those computers I ended up buying myself an SGI O2 with an empty HD. had to buy the OS separate. Ended up costing me about $600, used (back in mid-late 90s). Worth twice as much, to me (except I didn't have twice as much to spend).
Loved that little machine and Irix.
As a programmer and someone with a strong background in security I have to say that it was both physically impressive, in that it kind of showed off the graphical swagger of the Macintosh. On top of that, the interfaces seemed to be very extensive and useful. Seeing a combination of Macs and Unix based terminals where they even used a system console made a lot of sense. In a large park like that it would make sense that a terminal would be used from time to time since there would most likely be thousands of sensors, cameras, locks, etc.
This brings me to this. I was put in charge of piecing together a security system for my church that involves both a burglar alarm as well as surveillance cameras, dvr, etc. Being the over the top programmer I am I decided to write the security software myself, which runs on a multi screen system at our sound booth. At first I had the idea of copying the Jurassic Park interface and utilizing it for this purpose. As I went deeper into that rabbit hole I realized that the interface actually makes sense, and I have been able to take very good advantage of it. Using a computer with two monitors allowed me to bring even more realism to the project. The device is linked into the building security system through a special input/output board, and the cameras are all IP cameras that feed into the same computer. Every status including opening of doors, setting off of motion detectors, and even motion detection from the cameras triggers the system and gives us the updates we need. A great feature is when someone is approaching the building during a service it gives us that "alert" on the main map, kind of like the alert that flashes up when the fences failed in the move. It catches our eyes and makes things convenient so we don't have to sit and watch the cameras like a hawk. Oh and it even has the console which is fully functional, I can actually add or modify cameras in the system, retrieve system status, etc.
Of course the interface is not exactly the same, for instance we have no need for vehicle tracking, so the part of the screen that shows the SUV is going to look different, most likely I will use that area to report "system status" which will give us status on system communication and alert us to things like cameras disconnecting or if there is an issue with connectivity to the security system.
Oh and unlike the movie, my video windows don't have progress bars running at the bottom, like when Nedry was talking to the guy on the dock (it was just a video clip).
As a programmer I am always paying close attention to what these movie set programmers are doing. Most of the time software tech in movies appear to be highly impractical and unrealistic. As unrealistic as a guy getting shot with one bullet and flying backwards through a window. Jurassic Park on the other hand had a nice level of realism.