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Hal9000?????

M

mac15

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Where is HAL9000 from? Might be a dumb question.
Is an old apple thing or a completely different thing.
 
I will admit to never actually seeing the film but Hal9000 is a computer from 2001: A Space Odessey.

Apple did an advert with Hal in it, Hal did something like kill the people on his ship except one person called dave.

Maybe someone could explain this better?

I will post a link to the movie soon.

Ensign
 
While HAL originated in a short story by Arthur C. Clake, the HAL that was in the Apple ad is a take off of the computer featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The HAL 9000 was a very sophisticed computer that was used to find out the alien force that watches us. That was the whole joke with Dave chosing his mac over this machine that made super-computers look like 186s.
🙂
 
How many people have actually watched 2001? If you haven't I strongly reccomennnd you watch it. The graphics are AWESOME for the 60s, and the story itself is a mind-boggling mystery... but its a really great movie. Go to your local video rental shop and WATCH IT NOW.

Also, read the book BEFORE the movie if you can (or are willing to) because the movie will make much more sense that way (and it will be a much more enjoyable time).

And oh, the great STANLEY KUBRICK (The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Dr. Stangelove, Eyes Wide Shut) directed this movie.

GO WATCH IT, NOW!


😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀



irmongoose
 
Then watch

The sequel '2010 The Year We Make Contact', although not as visually stunning as 2001, 2010 answers some of the questions about why HAL went nuts...😛

And what the Monolith actually was....... it was directed by Peter Hyams, but go read Arthur C. Clarkes book first though!!
 
Actually......

Speaking of those that have never seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, I've never seen any of the Star Wars films......🙁

I know, I hang my head in shame........🙄

I'm waiting for Mr Lucas to finish making the new trilogies and then I'm going to watch them all in the order that he intended😉 at the local Showcase in one sitting, with lots of Pepsi and Popcorn.....

Then I'll give a subjective opinion!!!

No one ruin the plots for me now!!😀
 
2001

2001 is a visually stunning movie, but it was made in the 1968! Although accurately depicting the zero-g environment, it moves very, very slowly. Not something most movie goers would expect from a big budget film today. And given the level of cgi and special effects at the time, its amazing. But I found it to be more of a psycological thriller that took place in space, than a sci-fi movie.

Its worth the rent, especially on DVD to get the extra bits, but you might find yourself hitting the ff button.
 
Some info on HAL

Here's some facts on HAL9000:

HAL was born at the H.A.L. lab in Urbana, Illinois on January 12, 1992. (Some fans disputed it and believed it was actually 1997, which is when they had their big birthday celebration for HAL... and Apple was one of the attendees.)

HAL stands for "Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer."

And lastly, each letter in "HAL" is only one letter away from "IBM". 😀 They claimed it was a coincidence, but IBM wasn't too happy about a "psychopath" computer allegedly symbolizing their supercomputers of the time.

I, like probably many others, have named all my Macs over the years HAL9000 and have themes to match. If you haven't seen the movie, I encourage you to see it.
 
I've seen the movie years ago....don't even remember it....

I guess I should watch it at somepoint shouldn't I? 😎
 
2010 isn't too bad either. And A. Clarke has since written 3001 which was quite interesting, pulling all the loose strings together. After seeing the movies, you might want to pick it up and give it a read if you like the two. It is a much better read than the movies (like most books).
 
Originally posted by Ensign Paris
I love the star wars films, especially when I use the projector with them on DVD.

Ensign
Click to expand...

A neighbor of mine lives next to a white house that has no windows facing his porch (~100ft, 30m). He has a movie night a couple of times during the summer using a projector and his stereo speakers. The screen ends up being larger than most movie theaters. Its truly awesome.
 
Originally posted by dukestreet


A neighbor of mine lives next to a white house that has no windows facing his porch (~100ft, 30m). He has a movie night a couple of times during the summer using a projector and his stereo speakers. The screen ends up being larger than most movie theaters. Its truly awesome.
Click to expand...

That's pretty creative! Does the neighbor mind? 😀

Is that 100ft the diagonal? Are we talking widescreen here?
 
Originally posted by Hemingray


That's pretty creative! Does the neighbor mind? 😀

Is that 100ft the diagonal? Are we talking widescreen here?
Click to expand...

There are no windows on that side of the house, so the neighbor doesn't mind at all. I imagine they're one of the first people invited. I go to the coffee shop down the street (Misha's) and they advertise when the next show is. I'm looking forward to this year, if they have them.

Last year they had the World Series one night! The outfielders were 10' tall, it was amazing. And no, its not the diagonal, but the distance to the wall. The screen size ends up being about 60'x40', still huge.
 
Origin of the Name

HAL = IBM, the previous letter in the alphabet for each.

9000 = Hewlett-Packard had an 8000 series computer that was supposed to be their best at the time. 9000 was the next iteration.

HAL9000


Quark
 
Re: Re: Origin of the Name

Originally posted by Hemingray


I already explained that one above...
Click to expand...

I just made it easier for someone to see the whole answer to the origin.

I saw your post, but didn't see the 9000 part explained.

Good observation....🙄

Quark 😛
 
What's even better, I think, is on the second image you can see his reflection in the red 'eye'. Very cool.

But there is no mention as to how it was done. If someone has a new G4 enclosure, could you tell us what he might have done to get the HAL look?
 
yes, excellent movie. must see

we actually saw most of it in my physics class. (tomarrow we're seeing contact 😀 😀)
 
Originally posted by dukestreet
2010 isn't too bad either. And A. Clarke has since written 3001 which was quite interesting, pulling all the loose strings together.
Click to expand...

There was also 2061: Odyssey Three in between them.

The difference in tone people perceive between 2001 and 2010 is entirely due to the influence of Stanley Kubrick on the original film. 2001 is a very stark, almost detached film. The pacing is slow, and filled with an oppressive abundance of silence. This makes it difficult for some people to watch, because it doesn't really conform to the sort of space opera we've since come to expect from Hollywood.

2010 is a much more conventional science fiction movie. There was some effort to maintain the tone of the original, and I tend to think that it was a partial effort rather than an effort that only partially succeeded. There's more dialogue, more action and faster pacing. It feels less "artsy" than 2001, and as such a lot of people prefer 2010.
 
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