10 Technologies We Were Promised But Never Got

[Airbot]

In Your Flying Car Awaits, author Paul Milo discusses "robot butlers, lunar vacations and other dead-wrong predictions of the 20th Century." Here are 10 calamitous tech failures. Even the ones that did make it aren't anything like their original visions.

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[Lordbob75]

I still want my flying car!!!

~Lordbob

 

[Qdos]

Amazing how many of these ideas have featured in 007 James Bond films... :shock:

 

[PC WhizzKid]

Amazing how many of these ideas have featured in 007 James Bond films... :shock:

I agree with you.

 

[smarteyeball]

Cities Under Domes

I wouldn't completely rule an idea like that out.

The Food Pill and the Algae Sandwich

In the centuries to come, something akin to this will be available. However it will be entirely synthetic. So don't hold your breath for any robotic whales.

The Flying Car

There will never be a widespread 'personal use/controllable' flying car. Most people can't drive on land as it is, let alone in the sky.

The Knowledge Pill

They will find a way to trigger some dormant inherent abilities, - perhaps it will be available as a suppository. We already know the world is full of smart arses...

Nuclear Bombs for Demolition and Excavation

They will still be used for such. It all depends on who re-denfines the term 'peaceful usage'

Man-Made Oceans

Isn't that what global-warming is supposed to have achieved?

Undersea Colonies

Refer to question above.

The Self-Driving Car

We'll see it happen. In the meantime, I'll just stick to driving on auto-pilot.

The Videophone

This will be common soon enough. I just hope Apple has nothing to do with it. I'd hate having to use an iSeeYou.

The Safe Cigarette

Obvious fail for obvious reasons.

 

[chuckr]

In Your Flying Car Awaits, author Paul Milo discusses "robot butlers, lunar vacations and other dead-wrong predictions of the 20th Century." Here are 10 calamitous tech failures. Even the ones that did make it aren't anything like their original visions.

more...

They forgot "The Paperless Office" (again)...

 

[macgyver2]

now I would love the food pill, I find cooking and eating a large waste of my time. I could be playing on seven forums instead of eating. Now the only things I do like to cook and eat are cookies and cereal. Now even a cookie with all I need would be good.

 

[bigmck]

This is one that we did get as promised. == In 1954, I was 8 years old, my dad and myself were at the Georgia State Fair. General Electric had a building where they were showing things that we would have in the future. There was this small box and the demonstrater cracked an egg and put it inside. He then put a cup of ice cream on top of it. In about ten seconds the egg was cooked and showed everyone that the ice cream was not melted. He gave me the ice cream. At the time there were plenty of Owww's and Ahhh's about it. As you can guess that was a microwave oven. It was a big deal in 1954 though.

 

[seekermeister]

Failures happen. What bothers me more are ideas that they know are lies before they even opened their mouths.

 

[Zidane24]

In Your Flying Car Awaits, author Paul Milo discusses "robot butlers, lunar vacations and other dead-wrong predictions of the 20th Century." Here are 10 calamitous tech failures. Even the ones that did make it aren't anything like their original visions.

more...

They forgot "The Paperless Office" (again)...

That would be nice...

 

[Everlong]

My logic lecturer broke away from his lecture the other day and went on some huge rant about this.

 

[madtownidiot]

how about a $300 version of windows that actually makes everything work on a computer right from the installation disk without having to go searching for drivers. are we ever going to see that?

 

[Lordbob75]

how about a $300 version of windows that actually makes everything work on a computer right from the installation disk without having to go searching for drivers. are we ever going to see that?

Yeah, it is called Windows 7 Ultimate.

~Lordbob

 

[Zidane24]

how about a $300 version of windows that actually makes everything work on a computer right from the installation disk without having to go searching for drivers. are we ever going to see that?

Yeah, it is called Windows 7 Ultimate.

~Lordbob

Unless you have a piece of very old or unique hardware...lordbob is correct

 

[madtownidiot]

Yeah, it is called Windows 7 Ultimate.

~Lordbob

not quite.. I do have to admit for the first time ever, most of the hardware was automatically detected and installed from the windows update site... but ubuntu is free, and everything works right off the live cd... which can be emulated with freeware on a flash drive. I have heard it is possible to do the same with windows 7, but have not been able to make it work.

 

[Zidane24]

Yeah, it is called Windows 7 Ultimate.

~Lordbob

not quite.. I do have to admit for the first time ever, most of the hardware was automatically detected and installed from the windows update site... but ubuntu is free, and everything works right off the live cd... which can be emulated with freeware on a flash drive. I have heard it is possible to do the same with windows 7, but have not been able to make it work.

Read my post above...that will explain it

 

[madtownidiot]

Read my post above...that will explain it

there's nothing old or unique about my laptop. except for the memory and the HDD, everything in it came that way from the factory about 6 months ago

 

[AlexT2889]

The Videophone

This will be common soon enough. I just hope Apple has nothing to do with it. I'd hate having to use an iSeeYou.

.

LOL, the Videophone has been around for about 5 or 6 years now for general public. I am Hard-of-Hearing and my deaf (NOT Gallaudet University - screw that AIDS infected campus) college/high school use Videophones every 3 feet of the way in every direction you walk in. I have my own as well, they're all from Sorenson. The first model was VP-100 and now the current one is VP-200 (the one I use), there is NO point in Videophone for hearing people which is why general public thinks it doesn't exist.

www.sorenson.com

 

[seekermeister]

I saw a TV commercial, within the last couple of days, where Verizon was offering a camera cell phone. On one side phone, on the other a camera. Since a person doesn't have to face the phone to talk, he could transmit audio and video simutaneously...ala videophone.

 

[AlexT2889]

I saw a TV commercial, within the last couple of days, where Verizon was offering a camera cell phone. On one side phone, on the other a camera. Since a person doesn't have to face the phone to talk, he could transmit audio and video simutaneously...ala videophone.

Sorensons VideoPhone can transmit audio and video simultaneously as well...and? .

...on a nice 32 inch HDTV at that...