When it comes to computers Hollywood just seems incapable of portraying them as they really are.

It’s something that’s always bugged me. Why do the computers in movies bear little resemblance to the PC’s and MAC’s we all use each day?

If I’ve lost you at this point, let me give you some examples…

Computers in movies always make weird noises.

If someone’s typing, you’ll always hear a simulated typewriter sound affect chattering away.

When an email arrives, there’ll be a ‘ping-pong’ or a ‘you’ve got mail’ sound affect. If this was 1995 and I was using AOL, I’d understand, but we’ve evolved. It would annoy the hell out of me if every time I got an email I heard that.

And if someone’s playing a computer game they use the same sound effects that Space Invaders or Pacman used 30 years ago!

Computer viruses are another example.

We’ve been lied to for years into believing that if we get a computer virus, our screen will melt and the cookie monster will take bites out of our files.

In reality most people never even notice they’ve got a virus. The worst that could happen is the virus could destroy your BIOS and wipe your hard disk. But then your computer wouldn’t boot up… Not very dramatic.

My favourite example of a computer virus in a movie, was the virus that infected the alien mothership in Independence Day. Who would have thought that an Apple Mac would be compatible?!

And finally why are there never any mice?

No one ever seems to use a mouse in movies. Everything can be done with a few taps of the keyboard. Are keyboard shortcuts the only way to operate these computers?

This is better illustrated with any movie featuring a hacker. Apparently, if you’re a really good hacker you have to be typing away constantly until you can break into a system. OK, so there may be a few commands that have to be typed in, but the amount of key tapping that goes on you’d think they were typing a novel!

If there’s a valid reason for these annoying little quirks, I’d love to know. And if you can think of any other examples of weird computer behaviour in movies, send them in. I’d love to hear from you.