Jurassic Park computers in excruciating detail
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
A deep dive into every computer and software seen in the movie Jurassic Park.
The article details every computer and software appearing in Jurassic Park, including the Apple Powerbook 100, SGI R4000 Indigo, SGI IRIS Crimson, Macintosh Quadra 700, PLI Mini Arrays, Motorola Envoy, Thinking Machines CM-5 supercomputer, SuperMatch 20-T monitor, and SGI Granite keyboard. It notes that the production used $875,000 in Silicon Graphics hardware, $350,000 from Apple, and $500,000 in additional hardware, totaling roughly $4,000,000 in 2026 dollars. The article also points out continuity errors, such as PLI Mini Arrays rotating between shots, and reveals that the film's video calls were faked using QuickTime player.
The author also notes that the Motorola Envoy was a pre-production mockup, as the device was not released until 1995, and that the red blinking lights on the CM-5 were randomly generated.
What commenters are saying
Commenters were impressed by the detail, with many sharing nostalgia for the featured hardware. A key discussion centered on whether the combination of SGI and Macintosh computers was a sensible platform for running a park, with some arguing it made sense for the era (Macs for admin tasks, SGIs for heavy lifting) while others questioned the choice. Several commenters noted that the Macs could run A/UX or X window servers to interoperate with the Unix machines. A correction was offered on the Motorola Envoy: it was a pre-production mockup given to Spielberg by the head of frogdesign.
One commenter pointed out that the MP3 memory comparison was flawed, as decoding required far more CPU power than the 68000 could provide. Another noted that the Amiga was surprisingly capable for video work but was not used in the film.