Lounge of Tomorrow - By the year 2008...

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By the year 2008...

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/...the-year-2008/

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

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

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!

Some of it is true.

Quote:

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.

Quote:

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.

Quote:

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.

Quote:

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.

Good points Bill.

I still want my hover car and jet pack.

Hey! They predicted the Roomba! :D

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman (Post 232336)

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

Right there, sandwiched between the two 3-hour work days you must also put in each day. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer (Post 232294)

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