ZylonBane on 2/10/2010 at 16:38
Around the time Back to the Future II came out, I vaguely recall that the world of 2015 as depicted in that movie was an intentional parody of misguided futurism.
Koki on 2/10/2010 at 18:07
Or we'll have another World War.
SubJeff on 2/10/2010 at 18:34
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
Yeah, something like modern smartphones was just unimaginable
10 23 years ago.
I don't know what point you are trying to get at but an explanation instead of your usual snarkiness would be nice for a change.
CCCToad on 2/10/2010 at 21:07
Quote Posted by demagogue
But anyway, I was thinking about this kind of stuff recently because
Back to the Future 2 was on a few nights ago, and holy shit I did not remember that the "far future" was 2015. First it made me feel old (although I'm not really old at all) because it's as far ahead of 1985 as 1955 was back, and 1955 feels like centuries ago. But just the idea that we'd have flying cars and household fusion power and all these things by 2015 is funny. But then again, actually watching it, it was also funny to see how far we *have* come since 1985. In the movie's "far future" nobody was carrying a cell phone, the "You're Fired" message came in on fax machines (?!), there's no concept of the Internet, we do have video phones and 1000 cable channels for tv...
Notice the nature of the things you describe: It seems as if the main area of advancement is in entertainment technology, while other areas of development have stagnated.
fett on 2/10/2010 at 21:26
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
I don't know what point you are trying to get at but an explanation instead of your usual snarkiness would be nice for a change.
It's SO much easier to just accept the fact that SD is smarter and wittier than you, and it also helps him feel better about himself.
ZylonBane on 2/10/2010 at 21:40
Quote Posted by fett
It's SO much easier to just accept the fact that SD is smarter and wittier than you, and it also helps him feel better about himself.
Eh? When did SD post in this thread?
fett on 2/10/2010 at 22:03
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
Eh? When did SD post in this thread?
Oh wait! It's ZB - the poor man's SD. My advice stands.
SubJeff on 2/10/2010 at 22:41
I wish SD had posted itt. At least he would explain instead of just continuing with bs.
Quote Posted by CCCToad
Notice the nature of the things you describe: It seems as if the main area of advancement is in entertainment technology, while other areas of development have stagnated.
Actually its communications tech that hasn't advanced in BTTF2. It's not a great leap to imagine more tv channels but I guess everything else was beyond them.
Scots Taffer on 2/10/2010 at 22:49
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
I wish SD had posted itt. At least he would explain instead of just continuing with bs.
Are you saying you honestly don't understand what ZB meant by that image?
It's quite clear he's saying some components of smart phone tech have been swirling around for a long time (quarter of a century).
Re: this thread, I regularly find it amazing how far we've come in communication and how that's turned the world into a "global community", travelling is so much more common as a result. I had an Aunt who moved to Australia in the 50s and my gran and her used to keep in touch via snail mail because the phone bills used to cost so much.
That said, every time I catch a plane I remember they've been around for decades, same for cars, and the basic concept of the computer has been around for some time, so sometimes I wonder if we have really advanced that much in the past 10-20 years.
ZylonBane on 2/10/2010 at 23:17
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
It's quite clear he's saying some components of smart phone tech have been swirling around for a long time (quarter of a century).
Which is putting it mildly. From a UI and form factor perspective, the iPhone essentially *(
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/2379207825/) IS* a Newton MessagePad, with little added besides Moore's Law and the ever-more tangential ability to make phone calls. The Palm Pilot series, which took the Newton concept and made it commercially viable, is even closer to the iPhone design.
Inline Image:
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~lipoff/palmpilot/images/Tungsten_T3.jpg