By the year 2008...

[The Original OC Adventure]

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/03/24/what-will-life-be-like-in-the-year-2008/

A view 40 years in the future (published November 1968).

[CoasterMatt]

Good taste in articles - I posted a link to that in here a while back. :)

[Pirate Bill]

Great predictions about computers, money, shopping, etc. It's like they traveled in time and were reporting on what they saw. If they were able to get that so spot on, what went wrong with everything else? I want my satellite hotel!

[BarTopDancer]

Some of it is true.

Computers also handle travel reservations, relay telephone messages, keep track of birthdays and anniversaries, compute taxes and even figure the monthly bills for electricity, water, telephone and other utilities. Not every family has its private computer. Many families reserve time on a city or regional computer to serve their needs. The machine tallies up its own services and submits a bill, just as it does with other utilities.

Money has all but disappeared. Employers deposit salary checks directly into their employees’ accounts. Credit cards are used for paying all bills. Each time you buy something, the card’s number is fed into the store’s computer station. A master computer then deducts the charge from your bank balance.

Computers not only keep track of money, they make spending it easier. TV-telephone shopping is common. To shop, you simply press the numbered code of a giant shopping center. You press another combination to zero in on the department and the merchandise in which you are interested. When you see what you want, you press a number that signifies “buy,” and the household computer takes over, places the order, notifies the store of the home address and subtracts the purchase price from your bank balance. Much of the family shopping is done this way. Instead of being jostled by crowds, shoppers electronically browse through the merchandise of any number of stores.

TV screens cover an entire wall in most homes and show most subjects other than straight text matter in color and three dimensions. In addition to programmed TV and the multiplicity of commercial fare, you can see top Broadway shows, hit movies and current nightclub acts for a nominal charge. Best-selling books are on TV tape and can be borrowed or rented from tape libraries.

I still want my hover car and jet pack though.

[Pirate Bill]

Not every family has its private computer. Many families reserve time on a city or regional computer to serve their needs. The machine tallies up its own services and submits a bill, just as it does with other utilities.

Actually, this is true. Not every family has a PC. But pretty much anyone can get access to a computer at the library for free, or at a cybercafe for a small fee.

To shop, you simply press the numbered code of a giant shopping center. You press another combination to zero in on the department and the merchandise in which you are interested. When you see what you want, you press a number that signifies “buy,” and the household computer takes over, places the order, notifies the store of the home address and subtracts the purchase price from your bank balance. Much of the family shopping is done this way.

This too is true. It's called the internet. ;)

Instead of typing in a numbered code for the giant shopping center we type a name and let DNS look up the numbered code for us. And instead of a number that signifies "buy" we actually have a "buy" button. The only difference is that our household computer doesn't "take over" and complete the transaction. The remote server does. Minor details but the principle of the prediction is all there.

[BarTopDancer]

Good points Bill.

I still want my hover car and jet pack.

[Disneyphile]

Hey! They predicted the Roomba! :D

[innerSpaceman]

Where's my four-hour work day???

[Kevy Baby]

Where's my four-hour work day???Right there, sandwiched between the two 3-hour work days you must also put in each day. :(

[Moonliner]

Some of it is true.

Not every family has its private computer. Many families reserve time on a city or regional computer to serve their needs. The machine tallies up its own services and submits a bill, just as it does with other utilities.



See: Cloud Computing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing)

[tracilicious]

I want my house cleaning robot!

[tracilicious]

And my undersea resort!

[Kevy Baby]

I want my MTV!










Oh wait...

[Moonliner]

Plus the article totally failed to mention the significance of Bacon in modern society.

[The Original OC Adventure]

Let's see if we can do any better.

Write down your predictions for 2048.

Here's mine.

1. Broadcast television and radio will no longer exist. All content will be distributed on demand over a super fast wireless Internet connection.

2. IBM will replace Microsoft as primary supplier of PC operating systems.

3. A gallon of gas will cost $20.

4. Soccer will be the #1 sport in the U.S.

5. A "big foot" family will be found living in Irvine. All six of them are registered republicans.

6. A strange disease will wipe out all dogs and cats forcing people to adopt monkeys as pets. Chaos follows.

[Alex]

I could have sworn I'd posted in this thread this morning, but apparently it didn't take and I don't want to rewrite it.

[The Original OC Adventure]

Maybe that Big Foot family had something to do with it...

[lashbear]

by 2048 Disney will have built Disneyland Sydney, thus making certain Bears very happy :D ..... of course, said Bears will be 83, thus limiting trips on the wilder rides... :(

Actually, they will have built this by 2010 instead. :D

[Kevy Baby]

Actually, they will have built this by 2010 instead. :DWell, I see that Fantasyland is already open.

[The Original OC Adventure]

by 2048 Disney will have built Disneyland Sydney, thus making certain Bears very happy :D ..... of course, said Bears will be 83, thus limiting trips on the wilder rides... :(

Actually, they will have built this by 2010 instead. :D

I seem to remember reading that a Japanese company had paid Disney for the rights to build Tokyo Disneyland. Is this true? If so, couldn't an Australian company do the same?

If built, would it be successful? Australia is about the same size as the 48 states, but has fewer people than Southern California. I think it would be hard to break even, let alone make a profit.

[Chernabog]

5. A "big foot" family will be found living in Irvine. All six of them are registered republicans.



LMAO!!!

I remember reading this article and my favorite user comment is still the first one: (regarding the sentence "You whizz past a string of cities, many of them covered by the new domes that keep them evenly climatized year round.")

(Comment #1)

"Did you say domed or doomed?" :D :D lol