Frank SkorniaMar 9

Re: viral meme post going around recently with the floppy diskette box with a physical lock on it.

Last night I ended up watching a bit of the first Mission Impossible movie while making dinner and saw the classic bit with Ethan stealing the NOC list. And while that was all cinematic security, a lot of it would work today for ultra-secure data:
- Air-gapped computer locked behind significant physical security
-Data input and output only through obsolete tech
-Logging every action on computer

Show threadFrank Skornia

Incidentally, I feel that the first Mission Impossible film holds up surprisingly well today, a lot better than I would have expected when I originally saw it on release in the theater.

It's also 30 years old this year! 😭

Mar 9 at 2:13pmWeb
Show threadFrank SkorniaMar 9
And talking about obsolete technology, I just learned that Mission Impossible was the last major studio film commercially released on Betamax cassettes.
Show threadSam PopowichMar 9
@fskornia I find it an odd thing because to me it *looks* dated, but is still really watchable, and I wonder if the dated look comes around to being something like "Brian dePalma style".
Show threadFrank SkorniaMar 9

@redlibrarian I feel it is in the same way that the tech in WarGames is EXTREMELY dated, but the movie is also still very watchable.

I think part of it is that none of the tech seems really outlandish, really cutting edge in some situations, but it all works together. And they also acknowledge limitations (which help set up tension), so it doesn't come off as magical.

Show threadSam PopowichMar 9
@fskornia I agree with that - it's the most grounded (feeling/seeming) of the films.
Show threadSam PopowichMar 9
@fskornia and now I kinda want to watch Ronin again.
Show threadFrank SkorniaMar 9
@redlibrarian Now I do too. It's been forever since I've seen it. I've always felt that was an underrated thriller.
Show threadSam PopowichMar 9
@fskornia Definitely, yeah.
Show threadjjackunrauMar 9
@fskornia @redlibrarian Me too! In my circle of friends Ronin was basically the ur-thriller, like, the first action movie we saw in the theatre and kept going back to and rewatching. That it was in the early wave of DVD releases so we also got commentary tracks which made us appreciate the craft of action scenes? #chefskiss
Show threadjohn fink ok!! :goat:Mar 9
@fskornia ALSO HEY FRANK DID YOU NOTICE ETHAN HUNT WEARS A VERY COOL UNUSUALLY SHAPED CASIO WATCH!!!! https://www.watchcrunch.com/pez1980/reviews/casio-dw-290-review-2-768834
Show threadFrank SkorniaMar 9
@adr It's interesting to see how recent the that review is and the comments are (10 mos - 1yr). It shows the staying power of that particular model of watch. And how well constructed stuff was in the 90s.