shilling@uiucdcsp.UUCP (12/08/84)
The comments about 2010 are accurate, although an half hour longer would
be an hour too long. I was very disapointed in the film. It gets quite
preachy (shades of the Star Trek series). I think that the only thing that
will carry this film is the ghost of 2001.
Thumbs down from this reviewer.spector@acf4.UUCP (12/12/84)
Did anyone notice the COLOR MAcintosh in Dr. Floyd's apartment??? Or, the Apple // graphics that made the monoliths on the ship's displays?? Dave Spector NYU/acf Systems Group
louie@umd5.UUCP (12/13/84)
Did everyone notice the Apple IIc, with LCD flat panel display on the beach? It's too bad the graphic displays weren't better; the graphics in 2001 were better, even if they weren't computer generated. I've seen better on Battlestar Galactica (horrors!) Louis A. Mamakos Computer Science Center - Systems Programming University of Maryland, College Park Internet: louie@umd5.arpa UUCP: ..!seismo!cvl!umd5!louie
sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) (12/13/84)
>Did everyone notice the Apple IIc, with LCD flat panel display on the beach?
Just another example of the bizarre anachronisms in this movie. I know the
Apple II design has been long-lived, but heaven help us if it lasts until
2010!
Speaking of technology, wasn't anyone else dismayed at the 1950's level
of user-interface on the Leonov: buzzes, whistles and all sorts of gee-gaws,
and row upon row of SWITCHES! My God, we're dumping this today. How can
it other than insult us to see this proposed as the leading edge of hi-tech
30 years from now? (One friend of mine pointed out that this was a
SOVIET ship, and hence was to be expected!)
--
/Steve Dyer
{decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!sdyer
sdyer@bbncca.ARPAlouie@umd5.UUCP (12/13/84)
In article <1211@bbncca.ARPA> sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) writes: >>Did everyone notice the Apple IIc, with LCD flat panel display on the beach? > >Just another example of the bizarre anachronisms in this movie. I know the >Apple II design has been long-lived, but heaven help us if it lasts until >2010! > >Speaking of technology, wasn't anyone else dismayed at the 1950's level >of user-interface on the Leonov: buzzes, whistles and all sorts of gee-gaws, >and row upon row of SWITCHES! My God, we're dumping this today. How can >it other than insult us to see this proposed as the leading edge of hi-tech >30 years from now? (One friend of mine pointed out that this was a >SOVIET ship, and hence was to be expected!) Long live the blinky-light syndrome! I'm surprized they did this, since they had to painstakenly reproduce the Discovery from prints of 2001. I'm sure that someone had to have seen the stark contrast between the two spacecraft. The "sonar" effect as the probe was decending on Europa was most obnoxious and unnecessary. Louis A. Mamakos Computer Science Center - Systems Programming University of Maryland, College Park Internet: louie@umd5.arpa UUCP: ..!seismo!cvl!umd5!louie
jackh@zehntel.UUCP (jack hagerty) (12/13/84)
> > > Speaking of technology, wasn't anyone else dismayed at the 1950's level > of user-interface on the Leonov: buzzes, whistles and all sorts of gee-gaws, > and row upon row of SWITCHES! My God, we're dumping this today. How can > it other than insult us to see this proposed as the leading edge of hi-tech > 30 years from now? (One friend of mine pointed out that this was a > SOVIET ship, and hence was to be expected!) > -- > /Steve Dyer Yes, I was, for one. I thought that Kubric's forte' in 2001 was his ability to take today's (or at least mid '60s) technology and make believable extra- polations. Examples: the spacesuits were less bulky and more functional, the moon workers were using flat video displays instead of clipboards, the controls and instrumentation were, as Steve alludes to, sparse and efficient relying heavily on VDTs and other multi-use devices. In 2010, on the other hand, the technology seems to have moved *back* to Kubric's starting point, the mid '60s! The suits are bulky Beta cloth designs that could have come off of NASA's rack for the Apollo program. In fact, Max's suit was coated silver like the MERCURY program! What video displays there were all seemed to use stick graphics without any hidden lines. Perhaps the most bothersome, to me, scenes are when the Russians revive the Americans from hibernation. On the front of each of ther "sleep suits" are a couple of units that look like $15 VOMs from the corner Radio Shack! (My apologies to all of you at !trsvax). D'Arsonval movements in a ship that is supposed to be "ruggedized" for aerobraking? I know that it was a Soviet ship, but the Russians are supposed to be 5-10 years behind us, not 50! -- Jack Hagerty, Zehntel Inc. ...!ihnp4!zehntel!jackh
wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) (12/14/84)
> > Speaking of technology, wasn't anyone else dismayed at the 1950's level > of user-interface on the Leonov: buzzes, whistles and all sorts of gee-gaws, > and row upon row of SWITCHES! My God, we're dumping this today. How can > it other than insult us to see this proposed as the leading edge of hi-tech > 30 years from now? (One friend of mine pointed out that this was a > SOVIET ship, and hence was to be expected!) > -- Did'ja notice the picture spread in Av Week a couple of years ago on the Salyut Space Station? Yep, that's right... SWITCHES! Lots and lots of SWITCHES! I vaguely remember a keyboard tucked away in a corner, but it was not apparently emphasised on the console. The question is, of course, whether this practice will continue on Soviet spacecraft to the 21st century. Given the innate conservatism of the Soviets, and the hostile environment of space (cosmic ray upsets of RAM, etc), there may be some possibility of continued reliance on hardwired controls- especially in a manned system. Buzzes? Whistles? Speaking as a former USAF satellite jockey, more power to them! I WANT audible indications of status- I can look at only one place at once, but an audible signal allows monitoring status of several systems as once. If you want to hear bells and whistles, talk to an "Old Crow" (Electronics warfare operator). In aircraft, threats detected by the ECM equipment are passed to the operator in specific audio sequences- depending upon type of radar detected. Still, considering the technology level apparent in DISCOVERY, I think the tech level of LEONOV indicated a greater difference in technology between US and Soviet systems than would actually be the case. Ron Wanttaja (ssc-vax!wanttaja) "TAG, GSM, We're ready to go active on 3151, and Crypto-3B OFF is in the queue, ready to transmit..."