As a Computer Scientist, The Net is very, very far from “perfect”. A horrible representation of computing. They basically get as much wrong as they could.
Please don’t pollute anyone’s mind by showing this to them. Even in the context of “Here’s another example of how Hollywood screws up.”, people tend to remember the first thing the saw, not the followup refutation.
What do The Net, Sneakers and War Games all have in common? They decode something one letter at a time. With War Games actually doing it in order with last one taking as long as the first. :eek:
I’m not sure Magnum is THE definitive answer, but it has to be up there. A 1980 PC or Commodore on a desk doesn’t do a lot to help detection.
You need access to a useful database, and prior to, oh, the early 90s(?), hardly anyone outside of people like Mag’s Navy contacts had access. He did use an early PC (with handset modem, IIRC!) in “Smaller Than Life” to gain access to the CIA database (:eek:) from his hospital room to find a clue that broke the case.
Those were also the Mildred Krebbs seasons of Remington Steele. She brought a computer into the office and used it to help Steele and Miss Holt pretty regularly.