Keyboards in movies/TV series!

mr_a500 · 12 Aug 2014, 14:57

The earlier TEC Data-Screen 500 series terminal introduced in 1968 was even more interesting. It had a vector display!

TEC 500.jpg

TEC 500 text.jpg

Looks like uppercase only, but that wasn't unusual for the time. I love vector graphics. I want... no, I need a vector terminal!

Muirium · 12 Aug 2014, 15:27

Note that its angular housing is also vector based…

HAL · 13 Aug 2014, 11:36

mr_a500 wrote: ↑... I think I even recognise the reel to reel.

That would be a Revox C270

Madhias · 13 Aug 2014, 12:39

Even with a typo - DIPLAY

Grond · 13 Aug 2014, 12:42

Grond · 13 Aug 2014, 21:52

The Dead Zone (1983). Notice the poster on the right, isn't it a weird picture to hang in a kid's room?

Muirium · 13 Aug 2014, 21:57

Notice the clear space on the floor, and the corner of the desk, at least as unrealistic!

Julle · 14 Aug 2014, 10:20

Plus the paper basket is not overflowing with crispy tissue paper.

Muirium · 14 Aug 2014, 12:14

Kid's maybe a bit young for that. But you can just see it coming…

Right enough that poster doesn't seem right, though. He's not sharing a room with his sister is he? Things get real icky!

Grond · 14 Aug 2014, 12:33

Not really!

The extreme tidyness of the room actually matches the kid's character. As for the poster, I guess it's a hint to the theme of the movie – a guy goes into a coma and when he wakes up he has visions and his girl left him. But why they put it in the kid's room is beyond me. However the film is pretty good, I would recommend it.

Muirium · 14 Aug 2014, 13:16

This is what I never understood about movie symbolism when growing up. If my friend's rooms worked that way, back then, there would have been a lot more boobs in our young lives!

acolombo · 14 Aug 2014, 16:09

Grond wrote: ↑Not really!
The extreme tidyness of the room actually matches the kid's character. As for the poster, I guess it's a hint to the theme of the movie – a guy goes into a coma and when he wakes up he has visions and his girl left him. But why they put it in the kid's room is beyond me. However the film is pretty good, I would recommend it.

I watched it, it's a nice movie

I guess I'm gonna see more of the movies you post here, it seems like you have a good taste

mr_a500 · 14 Aug 2014, 16:52

We get a lot of ice here in Canada, so I use this quote a lot:

...even when I know the ice isn't going to break. I just point to ice (any ice, it doesn't matter where), and angrily shout, "The ICE is gonna BREAK!"

Grond · 14 Aug 2014, 17:15

acolombo wrote: ↑I guess I'm gonna see more of the movies you post here, it seems like you have a good taste

Thanks, but some of them are crap, actually, and I only post them because of the keyboards!

I didn't quite like "The Russia House", for an instance. The beginning was intriguing, but the second half is pure nonsense and the ending is pure trash!

Muirium · 14 Aug 2014, 18:15

le Carré! I quite enjoyed the recent-ish movie adaptation of Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy but with a similar proviso. The intrigue is thick, but can the blancmange take it!?

Must have been a while ago. I saw that film in the theatre (Edinburgh's arty Filmhouse no less) but paid no attention to the vintage keyboards.

Grond · 14 Aug 2014, 19:08

That film was beautifully produced and shot, but I sure got lost in the plot! And I think it was set way too early in time to sport some nice keyboards, besides typewriters, that is.

Muirium · 14 Aug 2014, 20:59

Yeah, a bit early all right.

mr_a500 · 14 Aug 2014, 22:50

Grond wrote: ↑A Brief History of Time (1991) with Stephen Hawking.

Stephen Hawking also had a Newbury terminal in the late 70's, early 80's:

Hawking.jpg

I posted one of these things in Great Finds recently. It looks like it sold for £64.99.

Muirium · 14 Aug 2014, 23:08

Holy shit, look at all the gear in that office! There's even a great big bible holder on the left for real men's textbooks.

webwit · 15 Aug 2014, 01:19

Finally I can reuse this.

Grond · 16 Aug 2014, 23:58

Silicon Valley (2014). There's a surprising scarcity of nice keyboards here for a show about silicon valley nerds, but the show is still great fun.

seebart · 26 Aug 2014, 20:55

all these are from http://www.starringthecomputer.com as posted by mr_a500 on the first page,

they had some Amiga`s on Miami Vice, amongst other computers...

sone of my faves: Santiago looks up cargo shipments on an Amiga 2000 at the police department.

: miami_vice_s5e3_amiga2000_1.jpg (28.35 KiB) Viewed 7029 times

: miami_vice_s5e3_amiga2000_2.jpg (24.49 KiB) Viewed 7026 times

Amiga 1000s appear at police headquarters

: miami_vice_s3e11_amiga_1k_1.jpg (39.01 KiB) Viewed 7025 times

Kaypro Robies at the campaign offices of the DA.

: miami_vice_s3e11_kaypro_robie.jpg (28.02 KiB) Viewed 7023 times

snoopy · 26 Aug 2014, 21:40

interesting link

knight rider

andrewjoy · 26 Aug 2014, 22:23

Not quite a TV show but, acesir corporation at least buys decent keybords for its CEO

Is is just me or is that a split matias tactile pro ?

Halvar · 26 Aug 2014, 22:40

The CEO seems to type with crossed arms. Or not at all. Probably only uses the three brilliantly placed RGB buttons.

seebart · 27 Aug 2014, 14:33

Probably only uses the three brilliantly placed RGB buttons.

that´s all the input a CEO needs...

mr_a500 · 29 Aug 2014, 14:51

mr_a500 wrote: ↑
mr_a500 wrote: ↑
And in Tron (1982) there are some keyboards too, I spotted two, but it is hard to find good shots of them.
I really like the top one, what a nice blocky blue box !

How about this?

There's a bit of lens distortion in the ad, making the terminal appear smaller - but otherwise it looks pretty close to me.
Hmmm... it looks like I was wrong. That Harris S-110 computer system must be the large boxes in the background, not the terminal. Either that, or they totally copied this TEC® Incorporated Data-Screeen™ 400 series terminal:

(from 1974 brochure)

The fake-wood-panelled one looks pretty nice too. (...if you're into fake wood...)

Ah ha! So there is a connection between Harris and TEC. I just found this:

HarrisTEC1.jpg

It has both the Harris logo

HarrisTEC2.jpg

...and TEC

HarrisTEC3.jpg

mr_a500 · 30 Aug 2014, 14:39

The "Dracos 3" computer in Magnum P.I. seems to have amazing keyboard compatibility. It starts out with a Kaypro 10 keyboard (..not plugged in):

... then later becomes a Kaypro 16 keyboard (different protocol? still not plugged in):

DracosKaypro16.JPG

...and then an Amiga 1000 keyboard (again, not plugged in)

DracosAmiga1000.JPG

...and finally an IBM XT Model F (no cable)

DracosPC.JPG

There is an IBM XT in the last photo, so maybe that means by this time "Robin Masters' $100,000 computer system", the Dracos 3 had been replaced with the relatively cheaper IBM. ...while somehow using the same monitor, which usually displays C64 text..

DracosScreen.jpg

Muirium · 30 Aug 2014, 14:56

All that white plywood. These days the whole flat surfaces would just be screens. The same desire was present, back then, but they had to just suggest it…

Still, their shirt technology was fully matured.

mr_a500 · 30 Aug 2014, 15:34

seebart wrote: ↑just found this, not sure if it has been posted here:

http://www.starringthecomputer.com

a site all about computers in movies and TV shows.

I posted that link on the first page of this thread. It is a good site.

(I sent some Amiga sightings to that site years ago, emailed from my Amiga 500, with attached screenshots directly scanned from DVD using my Amiga 500.)