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Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 4:39:07 AM

freedomdwarf1

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Just some idle musings of interesting stuff of my youth....

I can remember going to a Japanese trade fair on a ship called the Shin Sakura Maru and saw some pretty futuristic stuff.
Don't ask me why I remember the name of the ship coz I have no idea.

In those days, colour TV was virtually unheard of here, so I was surprised to see a 1" square colour TV that could be worn on the wrist like a watch - a bit like the things you see on Thunderbirds (did Jerry Anderson get the idea from there??). Digital watches weren't exactly around much then so you can imagine a colour TV of that size was mind-boggling.

Then there was the video-phone - something like you see on Futurama cartoon series. That was there too!!

I googled it and found the reference so I know I wasn't dreaming it all up -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/17/newsid_3046000/3046173.stm
17th June, 1964.

And I remember, later on in the 70's, the Tomorrow's World TV program showed off a prototype of a plastic car engine.
So I goggled that and although I found another reference to a plastic racing car engine that was used successfully in the early 80's, I'm pretty sure it was originally on TW in the late 70's.
Plastic racing engine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRd4Jy4Q4_4

So... what happened to all these fantastic ideas that we should all be enjoying these days??
Almost 5 decades have gone by and we still don't have those gizmos in common use.
And why weren't they developed further when electronics got miniaturised and better?

Does anyone else remember some fantastic inventions that just seemed to vanish into the ether??

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 5:32:07 AM

Zonie63

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I think the trouble with video phones is not that the technology doesn't exist, but that many people don't want to be seen by the other person on the phone (if they're not dressed, hair messy, unshaven, etc.).

I also remember hearing about the TV wristwatches, although I'm not sure whatever happened to them.

I recall that they also made a lot of predictions about the Space Program. We were already supposed to have sent someone to Mars by now, and Moon colonization should have already been in full swing.

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 5:33:37 AM

Zonie63

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Also, if Back to the Future is anything to go by, we were supposed to have flying cars and Mr. Fusion by now, too.

In The Jetsons, not only did they have flying cars, they could also be folded up into a briefcase. Now that's what I want!

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 6:22:26 AM

freedomdwarf1

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Zonie63
I think the trouble with video phones is not that the technology doesn't exist, but that many people don't want to be seen by the other person on the phone (if they're not dressed, hair messy, unshaven, etc.).

But there's always been a 'voice only' mode - even in Thunderbirds and movies like the 5th Element etc.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Zonie63
In The Jetsons, not only did they have flying cars, they could also be folded up into a briefcase. Now that's what I want!

That would be great... Gotta put that on my xmas list!

But I was thinking more along the lines of things we've seen working that just vanished, never to be seen again.

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 6:34:21 AM

PeonForHer

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Zonie63

I think the trouble with video phones is not that the technology doesn't exist, but that many people don't want to be seen by the other person on the phone (if they're not dressed, hair messy, unshaven, etc.).

That was a strange phenomenon: something that people thought was a 'must have' before it was made possible - then, when it was, realised that they didn't. On the flip side, far fewer people seemed to dream about something like the Internet. We weren't that keen before getting it (and many, like my mother, still aren't) - but now we've got it, we don't know how we could have been indifferent about it in the past..

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 6:58:16 AM

mnottertail

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That's the thing, some of the ideas look really cool on the drawing board, but in practice, they really aren't practical nor pragmatic.

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 10:32:39 AM

MercTech

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There have been wristwatch videophones for 20 years but no one buys them. Too bloody hard to dial and who wants to use voice dialing and advertise to anyone listening who they are calling?

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 10:43:05 AM

DesFIP

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Actually a tv that small will cause vision problems. 15 years ago my son had some handheld Nintendo that you could only see if you closed one eye. Luckily we found that was the cause of his eye problems and he stopped using it. But I remember the opthlmologist saying he had a lot of kids coming in with major problems because of this toy.

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 11:29:25 AM

Zonie63

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quote:

ORIGINAL: PeonForHer

quote:

ORIGINAL: Zonie63

I think the trouble with video phones is not that the technology doesn't exist, but that many people don't want to be seen by the other person on the phone (if they're not dressed, hair messy, unshaven, etc.).

That was a strange phenomenon: something that people thought was a 'must have' before it was made possible - then, when it was, realised that they didn't. On the flip side, far fewer people seemed to dream about something like the Internet. We weren't that keen before getting it (and many, like my mother, still aren't) - but now we've got it, we don't know how we could have been indifferent about it in the past..

Back in the day, computers were just like suped-up adding machines or glorified word processors.

It's funny because on a Star Trek board I used to frequent, someone brought up the topic of computers and how they were envisioned in TOS versus how they are now. They used terms like "memory banks" back then, but such terms aren't really used nowadays. And if the computer malfunctioned, the voice would start to sound funny and sparks and smoke would start coming out of it.

The idea of talking computers is another thing that probably won't go over either. The technology does exist, and it's useful for visually impaired people, but I don't think most people would use it if they didn't have to. I certainly wouldn't want to be using a computer and have people within earshot be able to hear what websites I'm looking at.

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/1/2013 6:39:14 PM

deathtothepixies

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Zonie63

It's funny because on a Star Trek board I used to frequent

ah mate, you've had a nightmare there, no one is ever going to take anything you say seriously ever again.

As for the OP, if the ideas were that fantastic we would be using them, but they were shit, so we're not.

I'd fall on my own bat'leth if I were you.

ps I had to google that

< Message edited by deathtothepixies -- 11/1/2013 6:40:40 PM >

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/4/2013 9:52:15 AM

Zonie63

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quote:

ORIGINAL: deathtothepixies

quote:

ORIGINAL: Zonie63

It's funny because on a Star Trek board I used to frequent

ah mate, you've had a nightmare there, no one is ever going to take anything you say seriously ever again.

Not that anyone ever did before...

quote:

As for the OP, if the ideas were that fantastic we would be using them, but they were shit, so we're not.

I'd fall on my own bat'leth if I were you.

ps I had to google that

Actually, I don't think Klingons can get into Sto'Vo'Kor if they fall on their bat'leth.

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/4/2013 1:45:25 PM

MalcolmNathaniel

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Y'all missed the most important thing:

IT'S 2013: WHERE IS MY FUCKING JETPACK!

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RE: Whatever happened to.....?? - 11/4/2013 3:17:31 PM

jlf1961

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quote:

ORIGINAL: MalcolmNathaniel

Y'all missed the most important thing:

IT'S 2013: WHERE IS MY FUCKING JETPACK!

Well, it is simple, the rocket belt, aka jetpack, only held enough fuel for 20 seconds of flight in the beginning and the latest models have stretched it to 1:30.

Now there are some propeller driven units that can actually get up to 4000 feet, but they are not as cool looking as the rocket belt.

Now, I want to know who prevented the Eugenics wars that were supposed to happen at the beginning of the 21st century? Also where are the sleeper colony ships? Why isnt there a human colony on Mars, or Asteroid mining colonies in the belt?

Where the fuck is my robot to do all my mundane chores?

What about the genetic medicines that change an existing human body into one preferred by the owner, or customized clones to download our minds into?

I have seen a company advertising prosthetic bodies either.

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