WDR Computernacht

Second Skin takes an intimate look at three sets of computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by online virtual worlds. An emerging genre of computer software called Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, allows millions of users to interact simultaneously in virtual spaces. Of the 50 million players worldwide, 50 percent consider themselves addicted.

Using real cases, this documentary demonstrates the extent to which violent criminals can use social media to locate and manipulate victims.

Explore how in the past five decades, the internet has changed the very fabric of our society, highlighted by interviews with the founders of AOL, Craigslist, Friendster, Match, and Tinder.

Take an intriguing, fun-filled journey through the history of the Amiga computer. From the earliest days, we'll examine the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of today's latest models from Commodore. Listen while Jay Miner, "Father of the Amiga", tells amusing anecdotes of the early days and the first prototype...hear what Commodore has to say about the future of the Amiga...and lots more! Meet the people, view the products and visit the places that have helped make the Amiga and Amiga user unique in the history of computing!

A exploration of the fanaticism that surrounds the Apple brand, featuring interviews with Mac evangelists and members of the Mac community.

In 1981, Wau Holland and other hackers established the Hamburg based Chaos Computer Club (CCC). The idiosyncratic freethinkers were inspired by Californian technology visionaries and committed themselves to hacker ethics. All information must be free. Use public data, protect private data. But not everyone followed the rules. Computer technology was still in its infancy and the emerging Internet became a projection screen for social utopias. What has become of them? The story of the German hackers, told by the protagonists themselves in a montage of found video and audio material.

Emerging artists seek to stay afloat in their industry whilst the Covid pandemic induces career threatening lockdowns.

"Welcome to Macintosh" is a documentary that mixes history, criticism and an unapologetic revelry of all things Apple. Whether a long time Mac fanatic or new to computers, Welcome to Macintosh explores the many ways Apple Computer (now Apple, Inc.) has changed the world, from the early days of the Apple-I to the latest the company has to offer.

A desktop documentary about the online afterlife of the late French filmmaker, Chris Marker.

In The Realm of the Hackers is a documentary about the prominent hacker community, centered in Melbourne, Australia in the late 80's to early 1990. The storyline is centered around the Australian teenagers going by the hacker names "Electron" and "Phoenix", who were members of an elite computer hacking group called The Realm and hacked into some of the most secure computer networks in the world, including those of the US Naval Research Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a government lab charged with the security of the US nuclear stockpile, and NASA.

Hackers Wanted explores the origins and nature of hackers and hacking by following the adventures of Adrian Lamo, and contrasting his story with that of controversial figures throughout history.

Cortney

The year is 2020 and the Amiga computer is 35 years old and going strong. We look at new developments and interview Amigans worldwide in this feature packed documentary.

What is Bitcoin? With the advent of Bitcoin, the world's first digital currency, for the first time in history money is no longer controlled by banks or governments, but by the people who use it. But where did this currency come from? How does it work? And is it truly the way forward, or just a flash in the pan? Magic Money answers these questions and more as it explores the mysterious origins of Bitcoin, its role in society, and how it could shape the future.

In 1986, astronomer turned computer scientist Clifford Stoll had just started working on a computer system at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory when he noticed a 75-cent discrepancy between the charges printed by two accounting programs responsible for charging people for machine use. Intrigued, he deduced that the system was being hacked, and he determined to find the culprit. This is the re-enactment of how he tracked down KGB cracker Markus Hess through the Ethernet to Hannover, Germany.

A documentary film, created with a grant from Gordon College, telling the story of Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation in 1957. Olsen revolutionized the electronics industry by making computers smaller and more accessible to both businesses and individuals. In 1986, Fortune magazine selected Olsen as “America’s Most Successful Entrepreneur” and featured him on its cover.

A film on Douglas Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse whose vision was to augment the collective IQ of humans using the computer as a tool to accomplish this.

The adventure of the minitel, a small cubic terminal with a folding keyboard that began in the 1970s in the labs of France Telecom, is closely linked to Alsace. Alsatians had then in hand the future tools of interactive communication. What remains today of all those minitel years? Like a nocturnal and intimate road-movie, this documentary went to meet the last people who are still interested in the minitel, this strange beige box of access to telematic services, corny today, but pioneers at the end of the last century.

In a world divided by the Iron Curtain, East Germany sought to carve its niche in the technological race. Enter "Robotron" - a name that seamlessly blended "robot" and "electronics." This wasn't just a brand; it was an ambitious answer to the West's technological advancements, a testament to the GDR’s drive to match, if not surpass, Western innovation. Drawing inspiration from the corporate giants of the West, the GDR‘s government merged various businesses to form this tech behemoth. With 16 major hubs in Central Germany alone, it was clear: "Robotron" was to be the DDR's technological crown jewel. But what was the Socialist Unity Party (SED), the GDR's ruling party, envisioning with this grand venture? How did "Robotron" navigate the challenges of operating within a socialist planned economy, while striving for global excellence? And as it grew to dominate East Germany's tech landscape, why did it always seem to be one step behind the leading global tech powers?

The story of the Commodore PET, VIC-20, C64 and Amiga from engineers, games developers and how Commodore influenced the first 8-bit generation users.