Ten... fantasy gadgets you wish you owned
Tomorrow is always round the corner in the world of tech, and gadgets that started life in the imaginations of mad folk are starting to become a possibility. Tools that give us superpowers may seem impossible, but ultramobile computing is a reality these days, with commonplace kit that seems more capable than devices Gene …
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Portal Gun needs to be on that list for sure
(don't you just hate it when you remember something immediately after hitting the submit button)
Interesting...
the Lens was my very first thought, actually, but then, I'm old(ish).
@ ian emery -- Not sure about the jaunting belt, but I think you're wrong about the lens. At the very least, neither Virgil Samms, Rod Kinnison, nor, really, ANY of the patrolmen of "First Lensman" showed any sign of psi abilities before receiving their lenses.
RE: Homo Superior -- Olaf Stapledon apparentlt\y coined the term in his story "Odd John" in the 1930s, although its most common pop-culture usage was probably from Marvel Comics' "X-Men" -- dating from 1963 (Which is where Bowie probably took the reference from -- he was a comics fan). The Tomorrow People producers could have been familiar with either or both of these usages.
I can't resist adding a few
#1 Full Invisibility, not chameleon.
#2 Zat Gun. 1st shot stun, 2nd kill, 3rd Disappear
#3 Asgard Beaming technology
#4 The Thinking Front Porch. (in HHGTTG, there was a field of shovels, and every time anyone thinks about a thought a shovel comes out of the ground and wacks them in the face -- perfect for door to door sales and scammers Meanwhile I'll use either the backdoor or beam in and out.)
Some disagreements
Peril glasses? Really? All the cool toys from the imagination of Adams and you pick the lame peril glasses? What about the infinite improbability drive? Or the SEP cloak? Or maybe one of the various devices designed to distract you so that you miss when you throw yourself at the ground? Or, heck, even the guide itself (an e-book reader that can tell you anything about anything and is able to puzzle out what you're looking for from a simple question)?
In Star Trek the replicator is what I'd want to have. 99% of the time they only use it as a glorified microwave, but they show that the things can make pretty much anything. Consider that for a moment. Want an iPad? It's yours as quick as you can say "Computer, iPad". Heck even as just a food dispenser it's freaking awesome, in no small part because it also disposes of the dishes afterward.
Oh, and holodecks would realistically be no more addictive than World of Warc....eh... nevermind.
Some other gadgets to consider:
The sarcophagus from the Stargate shows
Zatnitticas, also of Stargate origin
A tasp from Ringworld
The laser suck-you-into-the-computer thing from Tron
I'll stop now....I could go all day listing the gadgets I'd like to have from sci-fi.
Bah!
Why on earth would you cram into Bill and Ted's TARDIS knockoff - c'mon, a phone box that time travels? - when you could lounge in the near infinite interior of the real thing?
And, while I'm here: WTF? No flying car? If it has to be Media Coupled to pass muster, I'll take Korben Dallas' taxi from The Fifth Element.
Want a Portal gun!
The portal gun from Portal 2 needs to be on the list!
Larry Niven transport pads
Niven did transporters very nicely. Included conservation of momentum as one of their practical concerns, instead of just assuming it went away.
Transporter rules...
First, the transporter renders most of the other gadgets useless. Want money; transport the bank vault contents to your basement. Want to be invisible; transport around continuously. Want to kill someone; move them 10ft underground. Almost any problem can be solved by the transporter.
Second, the Ray Bradbury clone+kill model of transporting isn't the only one possible - linking two points in space via space-time is a more compelling idea. You needn't clone anything, just superimpose the two points in space then remove the imposition leaving the payload behind. Zero time, regardless of distance. Maybe I should patent it.
Third, Holodeck is 80%? Are you serious? To say its in its infancy is to say that protozoa are akin to infant humans. Fuck, all Sony's game portal can figure out is how to broadcast private information all over the net ( Sony engineer: "the ftp logs are full of anonymous"; Shill: "we were attacked by anonymous" ).
Transporters for all.
The mindet at Sony ...
reminds me of something I read long ago.
'Sony engineer: "the ftp logs are full of anonymous"; Shill: "we were attacked by anonymous" '
"Who blinded you? Nobody did!"
Pron
Admit it, *every* one of these techs will be used primarily for pron or at the very least some related form of sexual activity.
Alien Tech
Surely the Interociter and the Krell IQ boosting machine should be in this list? Every home should have one, particularly the latter if you live in Essex.
Teleportation would solve a lot of problems...
I pondered this while stuck on a train a while ago: teleportation would potentially solve a lot of issues (aside from the obvious transportation benefits). Imagine harvesting plasma from the sun (and/or sending toxic waste the other way), or setting up a perpetual motion machine by using a gravity well to pull a mass between two portals. You could even harvest "negative" energy - imagine cooling your refrigerator by pulling liquid helium from Pluto.
Of course, you've also got the political and social disruption which would come with freely available teleportation, but that's another story...
Jaunting Belts
IIRC the belts were merely a navigational aid, as per The Slaves of Jedikah (Ohhh look Mr Lucas - I see what you did there) & the creators own original novel The Visitor, where TIM chides Stephen for jaunting into the lab without using his belt in an early chapter.
Jeesh I still remember this crap.
Somewhat Evilly ...
Sharks with frickin lasers on their heads ...
Hologram communication
Sorry to spoil the party but tomogram 3D communication, as against hologram, has already been demonstrated using live feeds beaming pseudo holograms into studios!
CNN used the technology provided by an Israeli co. to beam live representations of one of their reporters, Jessica Yellin and Will.I.am of Black Eye Peas fame from the Obama Victory Party in Chicago to their studios.
See:
http://goo.gl/KEFrl
http://goo.gl/52D8W
http://www.virtualvutech.com
and :)))) here
http://goo.gl/TI6cb
These articles from down-under suggests that full live hologram transmission may have already taken place in the Antipodes.
See:
http://goo.gl/qO7ms
http://goo.gl/j1Rxo
The Tomorrow People also had Matter Transporters...
... for use by us normal folks who can't jaunt. ISTR these were belt-worn devices also.
Someone's got a good memory.
I was surprised someone managed to bring up E. E. Smith and the Lensman series, a rather old piece of science fiction (and given our knowledge today, a HEAVY emphasis on the fiction). Still, the very concept of accurate mind-reading in general has a number of moral gotchas, as noted in the article itself, plus there's the potential issue of how to make the system foolproof (as in incapable of being fooled by a tightly-focused mind).
BTW, while there was only one official female Lensman in the series, her 5 children (of which four were girls) all transcended beyond normal Lensmen. Plus there is a Lensman book written by someone else that presented another female.
Two thumbs up for the Lens
Once I wasn't sure which I'd want more--a Lens or the powers of the Mule/Second Foundation.
Things missing from the list:
Foundation shield belt.
Dune shield belt (are they compatible?)
Tantalus Field
Slidewalks.
And I'll second the Larry Niven teleportation pads and Krell mind device (suitably modified for humans.) Add to that the Krell power plant and my personal id monster.
Anti-grav
Haven't you ever wished you could park your car 9 feet in the air out of reach of the parking warden. It would just hang there - like bricks don't!
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