Comments on: Virtual Reality? You Will.

By: Terra_Cide

Terra_Cide — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:11:53 +0000

I still make my popcorn the old-school style -- Jiffy Pop on the stovetop FTW!

By: CheekyGuy

CheekyGuy — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:13:34 +0000

The last video truly blew me away. We could actually see that stuff perhaps in the next five years from now because technology is just becoming more and more rapid. The IPAD definately showed the way in terms of touch screen technology, and movies such as ‘Minority report’ gave us a glimpse into manipulating images just through hand movement alone. In the screenplay I wrote ‘117’ (which tells the story of a young Clone Soldier who learns he has a choice) As the story is set in the near future I described the family Home of the title character’s Psychologist. Frameless, touchscreen monitors, that feature glasses free 3D images. Voice controlled, Wifi Enabled cars. Lighting & room Tempreture controlled by Hand gesture. It’s all possible and it’s all doable. Home has genuinely hit on something in terms of social interaction and make believe and i think it could take that step further somehow.
Btw Norse, go raid yur DVD collection because i remember a scene in which Kyle Resse describes the futureworld to sarah Conner as they hide out in the car. ‘One possible future’ he begins ‘In which machines are hooked into everything’ Back then in 1984 you wouldn’t think much about that line, but now when I watch it, the hairs on my neck stand on end..He was describing the ‘Internet’.

By: Aeternitas33

Aeternitas33 — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 05:21:51 +0000

That last video failed to impress me. Does anyone remember Earth: Final Conflict? My memory is a bit fuzzy, but in one of the opening sequences I seem to remember computers which holographically projected wide screen “monitors” which were touch sensitive. At the time I could barely recognize what I was seeing, because it was so different from my accepted conception of what a PC was.

By: Gideon

Gideon — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:30:53 +0000

OH, and the phonebooth in the “you will” commercials made me chuckle. Phone booths. How last century.

By: Gideon

Gideon — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:28:49 +0000

Honestly, the third video is (mostly) application of technology that exists today. I was pretty surprised that in 1967 they imagined of some of the things that we enjoy today. Like… flat monitors. I was also surprised to find that those “you will” commercials are coming up on 20 years old. Didn’t realize they were that long ago. Thanks for the nostalgia Norse. Great article. You talk about quarter century blinking by… it’s only going to go by faster.

The ONE part of the future that will effect all this is the extension of human life. You talk about not being around for the future and the wonders it holds. That may not be an issue for future generations. This may sound fantastic but death will conquered. People will die when they want to. Not when their body gives out. This may not happen in this generation or the next but it will happen someday and people will no longer be limited by time, only by ambition.

By: Aeternitas33

Aeternitas33 — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 01:38:32 +0000

HSM itself is proof that Clarke was correct. Norse and Terra are in Hawaii. Cubes is in England. If we had someone from Hong Kong or Japan on the staff we’d span the globe. Hmmm…

By: Keara22hi

Keara22hi — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:36:33 +0000

What makes our staff meetings particularly interesting to me is that we span 11 times zones! We are actually on opposite sides of the earth. When I was a child, a long distance call to another city, 200 miles away, meant calling the long distance operator, giving her the name and phone number of the person we wanted to call, and then waiting while the operator placed the call for us. And overseas long distance call meant waiting, sometimes, for hours, until that ‘trunk’ call could be made by the operator. Sending a written message meant paper and pen, envelope, stamp, and, if you want it to go by air rather than by ship, you paid extra for ‘air mail’. I am so thrilled to have lived long enough to see all these incredible advances in technology. I hope I live long enough to have my own holodeck to play in! Beam me up, Scotty.

By: Olivia_Allin

Olivia_Allin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:30:13 +0000

It is amazing how often SciFi becomes just Sci. The mid 60’s TV show Star trek had Communicators and Tricorders and now we have smart phones than do most of what they did. I remember hearing that during the first NASA space missions, mission control in Houston had less combined computing power than a 10 year old laptop does now. That amazes me, just think if they lost connection back then. Brings on a whole new meaning to poofing. And look how technology spoiled we have become, I know I have yelled at my microwave because 2 minutes is why to long to wait for popcorn. And these interwebs we all come to love, one small step for Al Gore, maybe the biggest leap for mankind to date. And its not over! I can’t even speculate on whats to come because it seems that if we dream it, it can be done. Holodeck Home… it already is to an extent.
People may become complacent with technology but technology will never become complacent with its shelf. There will always be the drive for “the better mouse trap.” But a watchful eye should also maintain non technological things and fail safes. Push for the 3 rules of robotics. A remote kill switch for Hal…there’s an app for that.

By: Burbie52

Burbie52 — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:25:30 +0000

So true Terra, so true.

By: Terra_Cide

Terra_Cide — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:11:47 +0000

Age is definitely a mindset. I’ve just come home from having breakfast with my parents, and my mother made a comment about the large number of “old folks” dining at the establishment we went to. It took until we were leaving for her to realize that she is in fact one of those “old folks,” as they were all about her age.

Here’s another observation about those of us who grew up in the analog world and those who grew up in the digital one -- the sense of wonder from the former, and the, “oh yeah, that -- that’s always been there” indifference of the latter.

Let me explain.

My eldest nephew is almost exactly ten years younger than Norse; he was born in May of 1990.

As this article documents, he grew up in a world where the current and growing technology always existed. He didn’t go to school and learn about the Cold War as it existed in real time -- he learned about it in history class. When I lived in Florida about ten years ago, he would instant message me over the computer about his school day in the evenings. This was more normal to him than picking up the phone and calling.

To me, this was a wondrous, amazing new way of keeping in touch with family thousands of miles away. To him, it was everyday life. It always existed. It wasn’t as amazing to him as I thought it was.

Now as a young man of 21, he has no real interest in technology, not because he doesn’t like it, but because he’s never known what it’s like to not have it in his life. It’s just not that big of a deal to him.

The same holds true with the “kids” (I use the “” as this can also include twentysomethings) you find in Home. To them, interacting in a virtual world is as normal as waking up in the morning. It’s not extraordinary or amazing -- and their behavior reflects that. They don’t look upon Home with the same childlike wonder as someone my age or Norse’s age (or even Granny’s age!). This is simply the world they have come to know and expect.

I know they won’t listen when I say that there will come a time in the future when they behold some great advancement with the same wonder as I do the advancements now. But it will happen. It will always happen, and the cycle will continue.

By: Burbie52

Burbie52 — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:06:19 +0000

BTW Norse great article!

By: Burbie52

Burbie52 — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:05:56 +0000

Wow! I have to say those videos amazed me, the last one in particular. I think back on everything that happened in my own life time, I was born in 1952, before the space race, before computers, before video games, before fax machines, cell phones, and virtual reality. So much has occurred in my short life so far I can’t imagine what the future will hold for us all, I can only hope I am around to witness some of it.

By: Kid Fleetfoot

Kid Fleetfoot — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:56:12 +0000

Uh huh, very interesting.

Age is a state of mind and physical condition.

Someday remote controls will be understandable by everyone and wow wow zowie people will be able to program their TVs and VCRs <— OOPS! I'm showing my age. Be quiet.

I'm reminded by the article that the ultimate computer, the human brain, has glitches also.

Excellent read.