h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I was a kid I was told by films, magazines, books and even my Sci-Fi obsessed dad that by the time I was "all grown up" (early 21st Century) we would have all sorts of bada** gadgets. Although I am fully aware of the birth of the mobile phone, the internet and the marvel of the cold filtered lager, I have yet to see the much hyped "flying car" or had the opportunity to visit the "underwater bubble cities" that were promised during my youth.
And what about Tomorrows World? They were showing off cool s*** in the 80s that surely must be ready for the marketplace by now.
Is this the future or are we still being obsessed by our own past?

... and I still haven't seen any significant number of people wearing silver jump suits.

so no, we can't be there yet. Fashion has not reached the ultimate yet...

Are we talking Silver jumpsuits with a V-Stripe?
...and whatever happened to Robot Butlers?

exactamudo!

...It's like we're living in the 50's here!

As someone mentioned, if a gadget was on Tommorow's World that usually meant you'd never hear of them again.

What amazes me is such a simple thing as climate control. I read an old book from 1970 or so, predicting that now we should for years have had houses that would cool down when we were not home, say form 9-17, and then start heating up again when it was tome for us to get home. We don't even have such a simple thing. And I still have to flick the lightswitch when I enter a room.

Houses that cool down while you're out and then warm back up again?

You mean like having your heating set on a timer and a thermostat?

. o O (The future is now...)

Y'know in the states they have a device known as "The Clapper" which enables one to turn lights on and off by merely clapping your hands...now why don't we have anything like that?!

I think you can buy a clapper in any gadget shop. But personally I don't like the idea that every time I drop something on the floor the lights go out so I fall over it.

As for the climate, it is not a standard thing in houses yet, and it should not be a timer. More some bluetooth like thing.

Bill Gates has got one of those houses. Wallpaper on demand, security presets what you have access to, blue tooth technology updates things as you walk near them.

It's all rubbish. Bluetooth? Blue Loo brush more like! (Blue Tooth means the tooth has rotted doesn't it ). I think that we are all slaves to Microsoft and their evil ways and THAT is why you can't buy silver jumpsuits.

We are slaves to an INSECT nation. (thanks Bill)

Doublethink your way out of that one.

Ah, interesting point...maybe we can only evolve into a truly futuristic society if we are at the hands of a supergeek dictator, someone like Satan (or is that Bill Gates,I get confused). It would be worth it tho...flying cars and pizza that expands from the size of a mini cheddar into a full on 16"er (a la Back To The Future II)!

Imagine what kind of computer revolution we could have if all the people stopped complaining about Bill Gates lousy products and made some themselves. I dare ya.

And his house is made with cutting edge technology, I want it as standard. There are also flying cars, they are just not rentable yet.

FLYING CARS EXIST???!!!
F***IN' A!
It'll never happen though, will it? The government (etc) are always tetchy about John.Q.Public farting about in the air, we can do what we like on the ground but the minute we elevate ourselves it turns into a big production.
I'd settle for a car with fingerprint I.D and a female voice that soothingly chats about the weather with you (like K.I.T.T but sexier).

I think it was William Gibson who once remarked that his stories are set 15 minutes into the future.
Are we living in it? No. Because the idealised version of the future that was offered by Hugo Gernsbach and his ilk is always one step beyond where you are right now.
I am reminded of sdomething that Laurie Anderson once wrote-'Paradise is exactly like where you are right now/Only much, much better.' I think that applies to the future as well.

Kraftwerk *still* sound like the future to me, even 15 years after their last major release.
Fashion is getting there. Take a trip to Cyberdog in Camden-directly influenced by the look of 2000AD. The future begins today, but can we ever live in it?
I don't think so.

Aye there Xanatic.

Hating Bill Gates - surely the *ultimate* bandwagon.

Party-pooper.

...not you Orcus, the miseryguts before you.

There's been flying cars for a long time. Look up a canadian guy called Moller on the internet.

The saddest thing is that we never did anything about the space programme. And the only technological development it seems we've done since the 50's is to make things smaller.

The future is surely what you make of it !!!!

Hey, if you were living in the future as the present, then all you'd have *would* be the past.
Party-pooper indeed.