back to article Cartoon brings proper tech-talk to telly

Technology on the telly is often made-up rubbish: every CCTV camera in the world is online, progress bars never pause, passwords can be brute-forced in moments and mobile phones never drop out unless faults enhance the dramatic effect. The language used to describe it is worse: the likes of CSI:Cyber routinely make stuff up. And …

  1. Voland's right hand Silver badge
    Trollface

    IDF

    WTF does the Israeli Defence Force have to do with a kid's cartoon?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Or it could be that some bored writer was sitting in the break room and overheard the local BOFH's explanation to her PHB.

  3. Christian Berger

    Well it shows effort

    The writer may have had no idea of what they were writing, but copying techno babble from some sales brochures and having someone with a bit of knowledge looking over it is a big step forward from what we are used to.

    It's in a way a new wave of film makers who actually care about what they are doing. That combined with a talent can make wonderful things.

    If you don't have talent what you get is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGJTj9mscrg ;)

  4. Robert Helpmann??
    Childcatcher

    Better than CSI

    So it is techno-babble enhanced by a quick trawl through a few tech sites? I am now putting it down for that as it still rises above the research efforts of so many Hollywood productions, most of which I am not allowed to watch in the presence of my family as I shout at the boob tube when they throw up technical jargon that a grade-schooler with intermediate cell phone experience would spot as bogus.

  5. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Joke

    But, but, but, ...

    shouldn't they first have reversed the polarity of the neutron flow?

    1. Richard 81

      Re: But, but, but, ...

      It's like putting too much air into a balloon!

    2. DropBear
      Joke

      Re: But, but, but, ...

      Are you crazy?!? That almost sounds like actual science! Nonono, what you want reversed is the Tachyon flow...

      1. VinceH
        Coat

        Re: But, but, but, ...

        Huh? Reversed the tachyon flow of the neutron flow?

        1. Captain DaFt

          Re: But, but, but, ...

          "Huh? Reversed the tachyon flow of the neutron flow?"

          Right! By inverting the tachyon flow, time is inverted, causing the neutron flow's reversal, enabling a paradoxical power drain that causes previously entered valid passwords to manifest, and BOOM! you're in!

          All very simple really.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    IDS not IDF

    Intrusion Detection System

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: IDS not IDF

      Ian Duncan Smith?

    2. Last-Good-Gnome

      Re: IDS not IDF

      IDF not IDS.

      Intermediate Distribution Frame, as opposed to Main Distribution Frame.

  7. Fraggle850

    Required viewing for political types?

    It's pitched at a level that they can understand (children) and might start the process of actually getting sensible technological debate on the agenda rather than the usual uninformed pie in the sky nonsense that tends to dribble out whenever they try to tackle the subject

  8. PassiveSmoking

    passwords can be brute-forced in moments

    That bit's actually fairly accurate, given that most people still use some variant of "password" as their password (passw01d, wordpass, password123, etc etc), and given that certain clueless entities (*coughtalktalkcough*) store passwords with cryptographically weak hashing and no salt, or even as plain text.

    1. Richard 81

      Re: passwords can be brute-forced in moments

      Salt? I keep mine on a rolled up bit of paper that I hide in the sugar bowl.

      1. breakfast Silver badge
        Pint

        Re: passwords can be brute-forced in moments

        You're just telling us that so you can use your sugar bowl as a honey trap.

    2. TonkaToys

      Re: passwords can be brute-forced in moments

      Hang-on, how did you know my online banking passwords?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: passwords can be brute-forced in moments

      And don't forget, it's quicker if two people type on the keyboard at the same time.....looking at you NCIS

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I still think their Jumanji episode was the best.

    Or do i?

  10. Tom 38

    My (least?) favourite gimmick is in anything involving law enforcement "Keep them on the line long enough so we can run a trace". Yep, ok.

    1. Mark 85

      That's probably a holdover from the old 40's 50's movies.... Some things just never die.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Sadly I can't get it on my 'package' at the moment

    But 'The Amazing World of Gumball' is absolutely top telly. With a mix of animation styles (2D, 3D CGI, photo exteriors, 8-bit lo-res) and a surreal mélange of characters (classmates include a ghost, a cloud, a peanut and a huge T-Rex - many of them coming from a variety of previously rejected concepts by the designer), it also has the great relationship subtleties of Aardman work like Timmy Time (note the kids' visual designs emphasising and juxtaposing character traits drawn from their parents, and though the show is always from the kids' points of view, it still features the adults having high and low points in their lives). But best of all, it's a really funny show.

    1. graeme leggett Silver badge

      Re: Sadly I can't get it on my 'package' at the moment

      I like to watch it keep my son company when he's watching it.

      Of the other surreal kids shows Adventure Time is really quite weird but still fun and has some interesting ideas ( the Mushroom war).

      1. Anonymous Coward
        WTF?

        Re: Sadly I can't get it on my 'package' at the moment

        Adventure Time freaks me the **** out; that exposed heart thing using chopped-up body parts for extra muscled arms and legs was a seriously bad trip!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sadly I can't get it on my 'package' at the moment

      Not sure why but for some reason I find the expression " I can't get it on my 'package' " vaguely disturbing when used in the context of a children's show.

  12. Gene Cash Silver badge

    I didn't see any spinning tape reels and large rectangular banks of incandescent bulbs. I was disappointed!

  13. knightred

    actually it's just on now it's the Bobert upgrade one. here's a clip of the upgrade release commercial in the style of Apple:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1blXLI9bJo

    "It isn't just the perfect blend of software and hardware. It's lifeware." I can't find a full episode it's season 4 ep 12 "The Upgrade" but it's a good poke at apple. Although I just saw a Microsoft store yesterday, maybe it's a jab at all tech firms.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not bad

    No kidding I turned on the to this week and whatever channel it was left on had a hacking scene, they was some line went something like

    They will decrypt our last firewall in 10 secs do I deploy counter measures, it's the nuclear option that will fry their system

    and on the screen was a graphic of a missile with a big red launch button

    Just shook my head in disbelief, they also did a variant on the trace with keep them talking until I track their proxy instead

    1. The Packrat

      Re: Not bad

      Yeah... That was Castle. Cringed my way through that whole sequence...

  15. Captain DaFt

    "passwords can be brute-forced in moments"

    Actually, That one's correct.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That cartoon quote may be out there

    But at least they use real terminology and products. It is still more coherent and technically accurate than 99% of the times an FBI or CSI type investigator does anything involving CCTV or satellites!

  17. ben edwards

    At least..

    At least it took only one character to say while using the keyboard all by herself. And she doesn't have all the top scores in all the big MMOs either...

  18. FozzyBear
    Terminator

    Interesting

    I always thought "Happy tree friends" was the best representation of working in I.T.

    It always starts out with rainbows and everyone skipping hand in hand, But by the end of the day you know there is going to be carnage and blood on the floor, You're just wondering what new and inventive way either the business, sales support or that licencing rep from SAP or IBM are going to make it happen.

  19. Yugguy

    It has to be better than

    "I know - let's give that alien spaceship a computer virus."

    Independence Day was a godawful film. From the shonky science to the stock, 2-dimensional characters to the utterly painful depiction of the rest of the world sitting on its arse until the merkins come to save the day.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It has to be better than

      Exactly. The last bit is the most laughable.

      Whatever Anglo-Saxons love say about the French, Russian and a long list of smaller nations like Polish, Serbians, etc you do not want to be on the receiving side when they are pissed.

      In fact, they are much more likely to fight until the last man standing than yanks. They are similarly, more likely to fight out of principle even if it is detrimental to them materially in the long run. It's cultural.

  20. Ed_UK

    Mitchell & Webb

    M&W did a few sketches showing what happens when scriptwriters don't bother to consult real experts. E.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7yfLwMds5c (hospital)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alEWhMXIZUg (space ship)

  21. Paul

    Lazytown computers run Debian

    Lazytown computers run Debian

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Sphh1QOpU

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like