Comments on: Burning Question: Which Technology Makes You Feel Like You’re Living In The Future? http://blog.laptopmag.com/burning-question-which-technology-makes-you-feel-like-youre-living-in-the-future News and views on today's hottest laptops, cell phones, and other mobile devices. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:47:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Gregg Eshelman http://blog.laptopmag.com/burning-question-which-technology-makes-you-feel-like-youre-living-in-the-future/comment-page-1#comment-32614 Gregg Eshelman Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:11:29 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=31140#comment-32614 One thing that makes me feel as if I'm living in the future is I still never ever get tired of saying and writing "21st century" or "last century", though that was a decade (or nine years) ago. I suppose the novelty will wear off once almost everyone who was born last century is dead. Just a small handful of 19th century people left now. The dystopic future feeling comes from the intrusive uses of technology. Cameras everywhere. Tracking what people buy. In the UK they're putting chips in garbage cans and dumpsters. Supposedly they're not being used for anything... yet. One thing that makes me feel as if I’m living in the future is I still never ever get tired of saying and writing “21st century” or “last century”, though that was a decade (or nine years) ago.

I suppose the novelty will wear off once almost everyone who was born last century is dead. Just a small handful of 19th century people left now.

The dystopic future feeling comes from the intrusive uses of technology. Cameras everywhere. Tracking what people buy. In the UK they’re putting chips in garbage cans and dumpsters. Supposedly they’re not being used for anything… yet.

]]> By: Randi http://blog.laptopmag.com/burning-question-which-technology-makes-you-feel-like-youre-living-in-the-future/comment-page-1#comment-28962 Randi Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:40:15 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=31140#comment-28962 Julie, I'll see your holodeck and ante up a Transporter. Seriously, forget flying. Forget travel delays. Forget checking (and losing) luggage. Just hop through a transporter. See you in Hong Kong in a few minutes!! Julie, I’ll see your holodeck and ante up a Transporter. Seriously, forget flying. Forget travel delays. Forget checking (and losing) luggage. Just hop through a transporter. See you in Hong Kong in a few minutes!!

]]> By: Julie Andrews http://blog.laptopmag.com/burning-question-which-technology-makes-you-feel-like-youre-living-in-the-future/comment-page-1#comment-28932 Julie Andrews Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:28:22 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=31140#comment-28932 Eileen Gunn's answer is my favorite. As for what I want to see, I want my holodeck! Right now!! Eileen Gunn’s answer is my favorite.

As for what I want to see, I want my holodeck! Right now!!

]]> By: Branko Collin http://blog.laptopmag.com/burning-question-which-technology-makes-you-feel-like-youre-living-in-the-future/comment-page-1#comment-28897 Branko Collin Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:31:27 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=31140#comment-28897 I seem to remember a Star Trek Next Generation episode where the away team beamed down with a huge video camera. Excuse me? This is supposed to be the 24th century. We already had cameras on our communicators, er, phones since the start of the 20st. And the Enterprise's crew carried around separate medical scanners too. As if my phone could not, in theory, dial 112 before my head even bounced off the curb. I like Nisi Shawl's answer. Predicting a physical invention is one thing, imagining what its applications may be a whole nother. David Leving says about the iPhone that it has "a user interface straight out of Minority Report (2002)," but what is so special about that? Spielberg put then current ideas about CHI in his film, and Apple could introduce such an intuitive interface because people had been primed by films like Minority Report. Cat people though great inventors may be, I doubt the likes of Vannevar Bush and Alan Turing would have predicted a system whereby every citizen of earth could show funny photos of feline friends to an attentive global audience. They may have had more serious applications in mind that do not require nearly as much innovation, such as reading and studying. It is because we have technologies that not ten years ago defied the imagination that we live in the future today. (Today I blogged about a website that will not only let you put just about anything you own online in a shared catalogue, but that will then let others bid on it. A sort of mix between Librarything and eBay, squared. It would be interesting to see what happens if that ever gets popular.) I seem to remember a Star Trek Next Generation episode where the away team beamed down with a huge video camera. Excuse me? This is supposed to be the 24th century. We already had cameras on our communicators, er, phones since the start of the 20st.

And the Enterprise’s crew carried around separate medical scanners too. As if my phone could not, in theory, dial 112 before my head even bounced off the curb.

I like Nisi Shawl’s answer. Predicting a physical invention is one thing, imagining what its applications may be a whole nother. David Leving says about the iPhone that it has “a user interface straight out of Minority Report (2002),” but what is so special about that? Spielberg put then current ideas about CHI in his film, and Apple could introduce such an intuitive interface because people had been primed by films like Minority Report.

Cat people though great inventors may be, I doubt the likes of Vannevar Bush and Alan Turing would have predicted a system whereby every citizen of earth could show funny photos of feline friends to an attentive global audience. They may have had more serious applications in mind that do not require nearly as much innovation, such as reading and studying. It is because we have technologies that not ten years ago defied the imagination that we live in the future today.

(Today I blogged about a website that will not only let you put just about anything you own online in a shared catalogue, but that will then let others bid on it. A sort of mix between Librarything and eBay, squared. It would be interesting to see what happens if that ever gets popular.)

]]> By: Andrew Burt http://blog.laptopmag.com/burning-question-which-technology-makes-you-feel-like-youre-living-in-the-future/comment-page-1#comment-28812 Andrew Burt Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:09:32 +0000 http://blog.laptopmag.com/?p=31140#comment-28812 Followup question for everyone reading... What do you want to see in the future? If you could wish for anything what would it be? World peace? Self-driving cars? Genetic remodeling? Followup question for everyone reading… What do you want to see in the future? If you could wish for anything what would it be? World peace? Self-driving cars? Genetic remodeling?

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