Hardware

Computers have often been used as fictional objects in literature, movies and in other forms of media. Fictional computers tend to be considerably more sophisticated than anything yet devised in the real world.

Hear are some memorable ones from Films:

1950`s
The Great Machine built inside a planet that can manifest thought in Forbidden Planet (1956)
1960`s
HAL 9000 (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer) is a fictional mission computer in the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and sequel 2010: Odyssey Two that fatally malfunctions when contra-programmed with the secret purpose of the mission (1968)
1970`s
Mother, the ship-board computer on the space ship Nostromo, in the SF horror movie Alien (1979)
1980`s
Joshua, a subprogram that runs on the WOPR (q.v.) in WarGames (1983)
1990`s
Father, the station computer in Alien: Resurrection (1997)
2000`s
V.I.K.I., (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence) from I, Robot (2004)