Antitrust ★ ★ ★ ★

As a techie, one my favorite geek movies is Antitrust starring Ryan Phillippe. It’s a film that presents a rather credible technology-oriented story line that can be enjoyed by the general public but even more so by those who have a more direct connection to the software/computer industry.

I have absolutely no programming knowledge but a great selling point for me was seeing how the movie showed many aspects of the current computer industry and if you’re the type to embrace the future, specifically in how a device like the iPhone has revolutionized the way we communicate and share content, then you’ll love this movie.

The basic plot is this:

Milo Hoffman and Teddy Chin are two of the brightest minds in the computer programming world and also best friends. Their views are very close to being the same when it comes to the world’s knowledge. That it should be free.

But one day Milo lands a job as an elite programmer for the most prodigious technology firm in the world (clearly patterned after Microsoft). His tech genius friends are disappointed that he sold out to the corporate giant.

They believe that all source code should be non-proprietary (translation: programs that programmers create should be free for everyone to use) and this is where the story gets juicy. The program that they’re both working on will let every device such as cell phones, PDA’s, laptops, and computers transfer and broadcast media such as pictures and videos.

It may not be the most accurate movie in terms of technical details and user interfaces or in how computers communicate, but all of that doesn’t matter. The movie is suspenseful, exciting, and highly entertaining and Tim Robbins plays a very convincing bad guy.

I can’t help imagine how well received this film might have been by the Open Source Community. I rarely ever buy DVDs. I’m more of a renter or streamer of content but I actually own this one.

1 year ago  /  3 notes