Hollywood Loves Computers

I still marvel at how computers have changed the world, just within my short lifespan. That's why I find this list of 5 Things Hollywood Thinks Computers Can Do so entertaining:

The entire premise of the plot is that in the vast, computerized world of modern finance, $9.5 billion could slip through the cracks so that a clever hacker could, with hacking, transfer it to his own account unnoticed. This sounds plausible to some, because almost all the money exists only in computers (not even 10% percent of our money exists as printed currency) and it seems like that would make it easier to steal.

We assure you, wherever there is $9.5 billion, there are several people who will fucking notice if it's gone. In a world full of brilliant, real-life hackers, the reason the money doesn't continually vanish from your checking account is because there are equally brilliant people working on the other side.

The movie versions of computers are always so much more capable than anything yet created; it's almost as if they existed as totally fictional constructs. I'm fortunate that I own a Treo cellphone that can hack into anything; I just point it and press the "Hack" button. That's how computers work, right?