Geek Documentaries » Computer

The Story of Computer Games

AW — Sun, 08 May 2011 17:24:13 +0000

Documentary by the Discovery Channel on the beginnings of computer games, covering the early 70s with the rise of Atari, up to the big crash of the video game market in the 80s.

Wifi: A Warning Signal

AW — Mon, 02 May 2011 05:55:57 +0000

Britain is in the grip of a wi-fi revolution with offices, homes and classrooms going wireless – but there is concern the technology could carry health risks. The Government insists wi-fi is safe, but a Panorama investigation shows that radio frequency radiation levels in some schools are up to three times the level found in the main beam of intensity from mobile phone masts.

Hackers in Wonderland

AW — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:23:06 +0000

As the internet grows and e-commerce becomes more and more popular, hackers are increasingly being pursued by law enforcement agencies and corporations alike, as both outlaws and as security consultants. Hacking, for many, is becoming a career choice and, for others, a form of electronic civil disobedience.

In this documentary, we meet with the white hats and black hats of the hacking underworld; what motivates them to make the kind of mischief they make? Is it purely for fun, or should we be afraid, very afraid?

Web Warriors

AW — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 08:22:49 +0000

The internet is touted as one of the most important inventions in the history of modern man, and like the discovery of the atom, its ability to benefit mankind is matched only by its potential to unleash massive destruction.

Wikileaks: The Secret Story

AW — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:52:32 +0000

As the extradition hearing to decide whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange must return to Sweden to face a rape allegation reaches its judgement, Panorama talks to his former right hand man who walked out last year.

World’s Hacker Communities

AW — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:26:55 +0000

Steal This Film – Part 1

AW — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:00:23 +0000

Part One, shot in Sweden and released in August 2006, combines accounts from prominent players in the Swedish piracy culture (The Pirate Bay, Piratbyrån, and the Pirate Party) with found material, propaganda-like slogans and Vox Pops.

It includes interviews with The Pirate Bay members Fredrik Neij (tiamo), Gottfrid Svartholm (anakata) and Peter Sunde (brokep) that were later re-used by agreement in the documentary film Good Copy Bad Copy, as well as with Piratbyrån members Rasmus Fleischer (rsms), Johan (krignell) and Sara Andersson (fraux).

The film is notable for its critical analysis of an alleged regulatory capture attempt performed by the Hollywood film lobby to leverage economic sanctions by the United States government on Sweden through the WTO. Evidence is presented of pressure applied through Swedish courts on Swedish police to conducting a search and seizure against to disrupt The Pirate Bay’s BitTorrent tracker service, in contravention of Swedish law.

Steal This Film – Part 2

AW — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:30:57 +0000

Part 2 examines the technological and enforcement end of the copyright wars, and on the way that using the internet makes you a copier, and how copying puts you in legal jeopardy. It discusses Mark Getty’s assertion that ‘intellectual property is the oil of the 21st century’ and draws parallels between the impact of the printing press and the internet in terms of making information accessible beyond a privileged group or “controllers”.

The argument is made that the decentralised nature of the internet makes the enforcement of conventional copyright impossible. Adding to this, the internet turns consumers into producers, by way of user generated content, leading to the sharing, mashup and creation of content not motivated by financial gains. This has fundamental implications for market-based media companies. The documentary asks “How will society change” and states “This is the Future – And it has nothing to do with your bank balance”.

Freedom Downtime

AW — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:44:27 +0000

Around the world, computer hackers are being portrayed as the newest brand of terrorists. This is a story of a hacker named Kevin Mitnick, imprisoned without bail for nearly five years. Freedom Downtime tries to uncover the reasons why the authorities are so scared of Mitnick as well as define what exactly he did.

Surprisingly, no real evidence is ever presented by the authorities to back up the sensationalist claims in mass media. But when a Hollywood studio decides to make a movie about Mitnick’s life through the eyes of one of his accusers, hackers turn to activism to get their message out.

Bill Gates: How a Geek Changed the World

AW — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:06:59 +0000

The Money Programme’s Fiona Bruce gains exclusive access to Bill Gates as he prepares to step down from full-time involvement with Microsoft, the company he helped found. Gates’s company has changed the world, but he’s a controversial figure, with his ruthless business leadership contributing to Microsoft being sued by the US government.