I was just thinking about the trope of joking about the lack of flying cars, crazy robots and that sort of thing. You know, "It's 2010, I thought we were supposed to have hoverboards by now!" etc. etc.
But the more I thought about it...the more I realized technology kind of creeps up on you. And to be honest, we have a ton stuff today that blows away any prop you see in Star Trek (with a few exceptions) and plenty of other classic science fiction franchises.
I mean, does Picard have a goddamn photo frame next to his bunk that can cycle through hundreds of photos of him having a jolly old time?
Hell no. And if he did, it'd probably be twelve inches deep like every other monitor in Star Trek.
And do you know what Luke Skywalker never had? Dude never had a phone that could stream movies, buy music, pull a map up of any spot on Tatooine, or anything like that.
Man even the concept of a cell phone--a device that can call virtually anyone in the world--is beyond the scope of most 80's sci fi. Those guys are still up on primitive two-way transponder types of junk that make the capabilities of Zach Moriss's phone look slick.
You know what I don't see when I look at that pic? I don't see an interface consisting of 30 damned LED lights and 12 buttons that would be just as at home on a typewriter.
Star trek thing:
I mean, look at that thing.
Furthermore...this fucking thing can tap into two thousand years of acquired human knowledge and writings, including this mornings New York Times while you take a shit:
So in what other ways have we beaten the old cliche where we joke about how we don't have flying cars in 2010?
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Duh.
OH SHIIII
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it just happens to be in a galaxy far far away
My phone pisses me off too much and ruins it.
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Especially when I'm using that amazing technology to watch Anthony Bourdain eat unwashed pig rectum.
I'm still waiting for those seashell things to replace toilet paper, though.
The robot in Rocky 4 always struck me as semi-clueless movie people thinking, "Well, judging from my local radio shack, this robot shit is going to explode in a matter of months...and Rocky is rich by this point so he'd have this shit anyway, right?!"
But it turns out, nope, didn't end up inventing semi-sentient robots that serve beverages to guests.
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And they'll bring up their account on their phone or their TV or whatever and watch and play all the media they have tied to their account
And then virtual reality sex for everyone
It doesn't even have to be on a long time scale. Look at what Tom Cruise uses in Minority Report:
Let's ignore stuff like the Wii and other devices you have to use, like the little finger gloves that Cruise wears, and take a look at Project Natal
where a camera is able to interpret your movements and even recognize your face without you having to have any devices or peripherals on you.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULIE
i have watched the last two shuttle launches wherein we put people in space from the comfort of my desk chair via the internets.
Pretty awesome.
You can have streaming HD now. As long as your internet is fast enough.
Who the fuck says we need lasers.
Perhaps YOU are from the future.
Something we shot from Earth in a rocket is currently about 10.22 BILLION MILES AWAY and is going to LEAVE THE SOLAR SYSTEM SOON.
don't the rails deteriorate after relatively few shots?
Hm. I guess I was more thinking of when enough people have fast enough internet connections that HD streaming becomes common.
Truly, we are in civilization.
Most of the rest of the world is... not quite as futuristic.
Out of curiousity I went and looked at my aggregated download history on the porn torrent site I most commonly use.
The number was shameful. Why don't we just say that I have downloaded shame GB.
Kind of, but the ones the Navy is testing serve as a replacement for Tomahawks, and changing rails is a ton cheaper than those.
But what will happen to the industry when you get simulators were you can customise every aspect of your pornography
How long will nostalgia fuel the market for the old stuff
Some 17-year-old in his flying car full of Sparks careening into your 3rd story window killing you instantly because the thing is nuclear powered, whole block goes up because teenagers are stupid
The man that crosses the Uncanny Valley will be the wealthiest person ever to live.