Eight Technologies That Will Change the World 157
lostincyberspace writes "This story looks at existing advanced technologies, and contemplates how they may combine in the future to create the technology of 70's TV shows. Sensors + Mobile Power + Biomanufacturing = ... Bionics. ("We have the technology") The most fascinating part is that all of these new technologies seem like they'll be available in the not too distant future."
technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:1)
Re:technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:2)
Sunny-side-up on I-80.
Re:technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:1)
They did mention replicators (Molecular Manufacturing). The ability to create complex molecular structure without large equipment is a very exciting concept...
Then comes the problem of the trillions of trillions of bytes of storage it would need to know how to create anything. We would probably have to create absolutely incredible new storage and compression technologies to make it work well. That, or we could carry around suitcases filled with Super-MegaDVD v9 discs (the 60 terabyte verions ;) and spend a day watching messages like, "Please insert disc 371..." to have the computer build us that watch we really like.
My bet for future data storage is a microscopic version of IBM's storage brick [slashdot.org] - something that can be easily added to, is self-maintaining, and takes up as little space as is possible.
Re:technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:1)
Just use lossy compression. You will never know the difference.
Rely, hw cud u tl?
Re:technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:2)
:)
Re:technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:1)
Forget about these, the Orgasmatron [imdb.com] is definitively the gadget that the 70s promised but that never was delivered. Talk about technology that has the potential to uproot (no pun intended) society.
:P
Re:technologies of 70s TV shows? (Score:2)
No, hair products that will keep your mutton-chops, afro, handle-bar, etc. picture perfect even after mixing it up with Cylons, Motown-ninjas or mutants from the sewer.
Not from TV... (Score:2)
You alredy have a tractor beam (Score:1)
Larger article on wearables (Score:1)
It's about wearable devices. Read more here.
Personally, I think they look cool.
In Belgium (where I live) there was recently an interview with a company making such things (shown on TV, don't remember when).
They made a shirt + scarf + shoes & glass to see it all.
They also showed a working demo version
Re:Larger article on wearables (Score:1)
It's friday and I'm tired
Future Soldiers (Score:1)
Re:Future Soldiers (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Future Soldiers (Score:3, Funny)
Well, what's going to happen if you want to snap a picture of them [slashdot.org]?
Solomon
Attention Enemy Troops! (Score:1)
(heh heh)FLASH Poof! Poof! Poof!...Poof!
D'OH!!!
Really? (Score:1)
Vietnam... read up. We could take them in a week these days, they are broke, dispirited, and brutalized. You equate a political situation and blunder from the 60's to the reality of today... it just doesn't hang.
A united Europe? LOL. YOu have no shipping for invasion, only two good french and one old brit carrier, a divided political base, a limited amount of nukes, no intercontinental ranged strike AC. Two dozen ICBMs and it is over pally. Worse still, the US wouldn't even resort to that, we would just park 10 nuclear carriers and two dozen top notch attack boats around the edge and blocade your butts while we economically bury you. And finally, you do have the French and Italians, who while nice people (my mom is french), couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag with a shotgun and a map when it comes to war and only know how to wave white flags (must be taugh in basic training), and France is one of your nuclear nations and has the two decent carriers!
chamelic outer coverings ... (Score:1)
chamelic outer coverings [slashdot.org]
I saw it did you?
Re:The Future is Here (Score:1)
Of course the real problem with a rifle that fires 1500 RPM is keeping the soldier equipped with enough bullets!
Can I have a jetpack now?
Best wishes,
Mike.
Soon, to a hospital near you... (Score:1)
The tech may all be close but medical testing and then approval will make this take a lot longer.
Technology previews (Score:2, Insightful)
How about that molecular manufactering. Sounds like the replicator they had on the Enterprise. Truthfully, I don't see this even being in the lab for decades. Sure, we can theorize about these things that it is possible, but I can also theoretically date Britney Spears, and we ALL know that ANIT gonna happen.
I take these tech preview thingies with many grains of salt.
Re:Technology previews (Score:2, Informative)
a quick search on google netted me this:
a home videophone... [innomedia.com]
another home video phone... [bt.com]
and, for what appears to be the prevailing standard: h.232 [imtc.org]
molecular manufacturing is a bit of a different story, but:
a group devoted to molecular manufacturing [imm.org]
some interesting stuff on it [makeitsimple.com]
and, last but not least:
IBM does some cool stuff sometimes [unibas.ch]
hope this helps dispel your mistrust of tech previews (Although i'll admit that at least a grain or two of salt is warranted in many occasions)
Re:Technology previews (Score:1)
Re:Technology previews (Score:1)
So all the people with webcams are dreaming?
The technology is here, and beyond.. sure its changed in its use, but thats the nature of development. And the law of supply and demand of consumers, Vs what the boffins dream up.
Re:Technology previews (Score:1)
I'm going to steal your sig for a shirt if that's alright.
Re:Technology previews (Score:1)
many grains of salt (Score:2)
Re:Technology previews (Score:2)
Re:Technology previews (Score:2)
While it's true that most people don't want to be seen when talking on the phone. It only makes sense for folks like me who want to be seen and see their families who are 5000 miles away. I am in the market for a long distance videophone. Webcams do the trick but the quality is definitely not there yet.
There is a market for videphones but it's not for short distance/local calls. You probably want to videoconference with someone you haven't seen for three years but video-talking to someone you saw last night really doesn't make much sense.
Combinatorial Science is the way to go (Score:1)
Given that technology the rest of the technologies could be achieved rather quickly...
Star Trek TOS Disks (Score:1)
Re:Star Trek TOS Disks (Score:1)
-----
Apple hardware too expensive? How about a raffle ticket? [macraffle.com]
Cognitronics (Score:5, Funny)
two words (Score:1)
uh oh.
There's an idea... (Score:1)
Now, my dear nanobots, build me a Natalie Portman and a fine bowl of... ah, well, you get the picture
Not so distant future? (Score:2)
One of the ideas that attract me the most, "cognitronics", as they call them, is reportedly based upon sensors, advanced analytics and smart materials. And none of those will be sufficiently advanced in the next 10 years to allow for any kind of practical widescale use.
Number Nine: Weird Science (Score:2, Funny)
The big idea:
Providing pleasurable massage sensations without using hands, in the privacy of one's own home.
Image of three intersecting circles, labeled 'Internet connectivity', 'AI', 'ultra-delicate tactile stimulators'
The challenge:
There are two major issues still to be solved: making sure the electrical parts don't get wet and sticky, and hiding the gadgets from the unsuspecting parents.
(I hope I didn't use any naughty words there!)
Re:Number Nine: Weird Science (Score:2)
Right! (Score:4, Insightful)
Right. Which is exactly what they thought in the 70's, too, hence the TV shows.
I would go for the eyesight stuff. (Score:1)
The Companion Piece (Score:3, Informative)
The companion piece to this article, Untangling the Future [business2.com], is also pretty interesting.
Six Million Dollars? (Score:2)
Re:Six Million Dollars? Adjust for Inflation (Score:1)
It would be nearly $19 million today.
[Inflation calculator at http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ ]
i think that (Score:1)
Predicted Slashdot comments breakdown to this: (Score:1, Offtopic)
The standard guff:
1% - "Imagine a beowulf cluster..." posts
2% - "First post" posts
10% - "Off-topic, Microsoft stinks" posts
12% - "Big Business is evil" posts
And the more relevant posts. I predict:
20% - "Very cool and exiting, I want this" posts
25% - "Very dangerous, we do not want this" posts
30% - "Very cool but it'll never happen, people" posts
Re:Predicted Slashdot comments breakdown to this: (Score:1, Offtopic)
Right... forgot about that one. (Score:1)
Gee-whiz predictions the future tend not to work (Score:3, Interesting)
Where's my flying car?
But then again, we do have Soma, err, Slashdot :-)
Sig: What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org) [sethf.com]
Re:Gee-whiz predictions the future tend not to wor (Score:2)
Re:Gee-whiz predictions the future tend not to wor (Score:2, Funny)
Eight Technologies That Will Change the World
Eight Makeup Tricks to Make You Look Thinner
Eight Ways to Keep Your Man Interested
Eight Hot Looks for Summer
Re:Gee-whiz predictions the future tend not to wor (Score:1)
Re:Gee-whiz predictions the future tend not to wor (Score:2, Interesting)
Well, yes, but ... Your kitchen cabinets and most of your cheap, assemble-it-yourself furniture are made of particle board (wood fibers glued together in a plastic matrix). Your countertops are particle board and formica if you're a working joe, and Corian if you're a yuppie. Your subfloor -- and your roof sheeting -- are Oriented StrandBoard (wood fibers glued together in a plastic matrix). Your floor is probably "tiled" with either polyurethane or vinyl, and carpeted with recycled polyester. Your exterior walls have an OSB layer (if you're lucky), a polystyrene insulating layer, and more probably vinyl than brick to face the elements. Your bathtub is either acrylic or fiberglass (silica fibers in a polyester matrix). Your deck is quite likely to be either sheathed in plastic, or simply made of plastic. Your couch is upholstered with polyurethane foam covered with polyester fabric. Your patio furniture is, of course, resin (plastic). Your LOTR chess set is resin (plastic).
etc.
Re:Gee-whiz predictions the future tend not to wor (Score:1)
Hey, give me a break. My note referenced an archetypal "you" -- the average american living on an average wage. The examples you present identify you as someone who either a) makes a lot more money than the average american, or b) chooses expensive, high-quality natural materials and forgoes other varieties of comfort or indulgence that most Americans prefer not to sacrifice.
Drive by any middle-class suburban development and count the houses with vinyl siding versus those with stone walls. In these parts, the ratio is likely to be NAN. A cast iron bathtub (without whirlpool jets) costs $2000. An acrylic tub costs $200. The typical home today is built with a fiberglass tub/shower enclosure, not a cast-iron Kohler tub.
Many people these days can't even tell the difference. The last time I was shopping for used furniture, I saw several particle-board tables that had been advertised as oak by their owners.
Re:Gee-whiz predictions the future tend not to wor (Score:1)
Hey, here's something we've had the technology for (Score:1)
Power Sources? (Score:3, Interesting)
Solution: (Score:1)
- Using the heat of ones body to generate electricity.
- A tiny turbine/generator in the bloodstream. Go easy on the cholesterol or you'll clog it up!
- A micro fuel cell. Heat can be dissipated through the normal body functions, and it would run off regular petrol or methanol. When you go to gas up the car, remember to fill up yourself as well.
- Rechargeable batteries with an induction coupled charger under your bed. No worries.
Keep reading... (Score:1)
Quantum Nucleonics
The big idea: A portable, safe, nonpolluting source of nuclear power
As long as we're being fanciful, why not use these amazing portable nuclear devices to power our whiz-bang portable devices?
Re:Power Sources? (Score:2)
This issue was discussed recently [slashdot.org] following an article on CNN (that's disappeared, unfortunately).
Re:Power Sources? (Score:1)
Too late (Score:2)
Sure.
"The height technologies that will change the world once you'll be in the grave" sounds less attractive.
Not just 70's TV shows... (Score:2)
When can I trade in this ugly body... (Score:1)
It looks like the next step is near, replaceable bodies and the ability to transfer knowlege. The line from Star Wars could come true, Darth Vader was "more machine than man."
I will wait for the first service pack before trading my bio for bio-machine....
Business 2.0 Front Cover (Score:5, Funny)
With regard to the front cover's question, overlayed on possibly the smuggest Bill Gates photo I've ever seen:
"How To Beat Him"
I'm hoping that the answer boils down to "with a large wooden bat, spiked with rusty nails".
Don't drool, beware! (The Luddite approach) (Score:5, Interesting)
Biointeractive Material: An idea with a lot of potential, and that may see light sooner than we think. The risk here is reverse interaction, that may allow your shirt to be hacked into heating just a bit too much...
Biofuel Production Plants: They mention the risks themselves: using bio-engineered plants for fuel production may create mutated species that grow beyond our control. And on another issue, growing GMO for fuel will legitimise using GMO for food, won't it?
Bionics: A wonderful potential, but so many risks: yes, it can be use to cure the deaf, and the blind, but as you go on it allows you to replace organs, even to enhance them, and in due time it will allow you to slowly become a bit like a cyborg. It sounds great to me, but maybe it will create even a greater divide between the "have"s and the "have not"s. Will humanity (the poor of the world, their strenght being the numbers) rebel against the cyborgs (the bionic we) someday?
Cognitronics: The greatest of all greats, but... If ir can control, can it be controlled? If it interacts, can you read my mind? It kind of redefines the notion of "0wn3d"...
Genotyping: Hmmm... What was this one good for, again? Too much potential for the wrong things happening...
Combinatorial Science: Wow! At last, a way for the government to find all about life, the universe and everything without having to bother with those pesky scientists and their silly notions of "moral" and "ethics"...! Anyway, anything that is comparable to Excel has to be a bad thing. :)
Molecular Manufacturing: One of the coolest technologies ever. And yet, a great potential for being abused. This effectively removes the limit of scale on anything we build, be it large or small. But the planet isn't large enough for us to start building our private megalopolis and robot armies anytime soon. This had better come true after generalized space travel and colonization.
Quantum Nucleonics: Hmmm.. Boom?
An answer to one of your questions... (Score:1)
For some insight into that question, may I recommend you view Episode 6 of Sealab 2021--I, Robot. An insightful debate on the issue is contained within.
Re:Don't drool, beware! (The Luddite approach) (Score:1)
Ummm, this is almos a prerequiste to space travel, as builing craft that are reliable, strong, and light enough will almost certainly require this technology.
This is probalby the most likely of those technologies to become realistic in the near(ish) future
Re:Don't drool, beware! (The Luddite approach) (Score:2)
You cover the large bit. The small bit is that anyone can create a large batch of any chemical compound at will as long as they have the raw ingredients. Suddenly instead of kids bringing guns to school, they've got a jar of VX in their bookbags.
You're absolutely right. We ought to be thinking about the risks as well as the benefits on these.
Hook me up... (Score:1)
"Oh, we don't have it in stock. It's the only part for which you want to wait for a truck to arrive in the store."
"It figures!"
Nanotech in Sci-Fi (Score:1)
If any of you have not taken the opportunity (doubtful, but I'll toss it out there in case any one isn't aware of him), Ben Bova has an excellent Sci-Fi series with nanotech as one of the aspects of the near future.
He does a really good job of showing potential applications and FUD spread by political movements.
Check out the first two books:
MoonriseMoonwar
The rest of the series is also very good. Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Asteroid Belt, etc.
Do a search for Ben Bova on bn.com, they have the complete list.Re:Nanotech in Sci-Fi (Score:1)
I was wrong and now those hours (and that $5.95) are lost to me forever.
But... (Score:1)
They always do!
They never ARE!
Re:But... (Score:1)
Like Alpha Centauri (Score:1)
Re:Like Alpha Centauri (Score:1)
Did steve austin see popup ads? (Score:1)
cognitronics - dangerous? (Score:3, Insightful)
Sounds dangerous to me, you have to be carefull what you think instead of being carefull what you do, escpecially when these devices have lethal uses, like a car.
What if you bionic arm would act on your impulsive first toughts after being annoyed or arroused by someone.Instead of pulling your middle finger to another roaduser, the car might try to hit this person.
Thinking is not a crime might not be true in such a future.
Re:cognitronics - dangerous? (Score:3, Interesting)
From my well-thumbed copy of Earth:
Written in 1988, set in 2038, Earth is probably the best 50 year prediction of the future I've ever read. Brin actually extrapolated from the state of usenet at the time of writing to predict something that looks very much like our present www (only with more discussion and less ads. He was out by about 45 years there...).
While much of the novel may well turn out to be inaccurate, and (much to my concern) overly optimistic, it covers many issues that are just beginning to be recognized as important - privacy, globalization, eco-crimes, and so-on. I'm convinced that his "Sea State" - a floating, multi-boat/raft 'nation' of asylum seekers and the like - is only a matter of time (no, Stephenson wasn't first with this idea - although Brin probably wasn't either).
Of course, the subvocaliser is the nearest Brin actually gets to any of the above-mentioned eight. Instead, there's a heavy focus on Gaia theory - very popular at the time of writing. He also invents a new branch of gravitational science, which I won't spoil for you by expanding upon.
Finally, the book has an excellent postscript in which Brin discusses his basis for many of his extrapolations, and issues he considers likely to arise in the next few decades. Those wanting some entertainment along with their speculation upon the next thirty-six years could do far worse than chasing up a copy of Earth.
(My, that wandered a bit. But it's all relevant. Honest.)
"Quantum Nucleonics"??? (Score:2)
Secondly, did anyone else feel like they were reading the Great Library from any of the Civilization games - "Domestication + Iron working = Stirrup" "Bio-informatics + Genetics = Enhanced crops"?
I agree - the tech of the future will come about as combinations of what we have: I'm far too big a fan of James Burke to dispute that. But this article was "a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof".
Interesting theme. (Score:3, Interesting)
Now it seems like the general populace have tired of thinking of computers and the internet as they did before. This lack of interest and the recession have fed each other to a downward spiral. It seems that now the populace is getting more excited about biotech things, as reflected in this article. e-everything and fast communications got boring, but now people see biotech as having the potential for enhancing and extending life in a very real and pervasive way.
So are we about to see a "biotech" bubble like the "internet" bubble we saw in the past few years? Are bio-engineering, genetics, and biology programs about to reach record high enrollments like computer science and engineering programs saw a few years ago (when the general populace thought computer knowledge = big bucks).
Anyway, though boring to the public in general, botany research could have great impact on our lives. Things like spider silk and insulin from plants, as well as enhancing foods to feed more people could offer further reaching impact than anything mentioned in the article, in terms of reaching third world countries, for example. It's pretty exciting. Before long, they expect to be able to produce enough insulin to supply all the world's diabetic population in a few farms. Pretty cool stuff, just hope this stuff doesn't get lost in the noise of "bionic man" super-hyped research.
The Ninth Technology of the Future. (Score:1)
Made up of Linux and about fifty Beowulf Clusters of the latest 'wunderkind' hardware this server will one day almost be able to withstad the force of several thousand people attacking it simultaneously. Thus destroying googles popular Cache service forever.
Slashdot Math 50+5-3= More Karma than I have
neural interface (Score:1)
Although, it says in the article, that someone with a paralyzed leg was able to move the mouse by attempting to move the leg. Makes me wonder how it could work for someone with a complete, healthy body. I remember reading a case study about a person who had two fingers melded together (naturally) at birth. They did an MRI on his brain before and after separating his fingers and the results showed that his brain changed slightly. Their hypothesis was that it made new connections to deal with more input resulting from the extra skin and nerves. So, I wonder if it'd be possible to help the brain make new facultys for input/output. (although, i'm clearly not a neurosurgeon.
Structuralism is for suckers! (Score:1)
In short, believing that everything in the brain is absolutely hard-and-fast controlled by *one place* and *one place* in your brain alone is nonsense. Some of those places that should control various parts of my body (the "default settings," if you will) are long since dead. Other parts picked up the slack, more or less. I wouldn't mind a little cognitronic jolt to the rest to get up to 100% functionality, though...
Cheers,
Interrobang, upright and striving for a reasonable hand-drawn facsimile of "able-bodied" since 1978
Re:neural interface (Score:1)
to all of slashdot that may read this: yes, it's spam guarded for a reason. if you are lowlife enough to start spamming him, then i will personally trace you down, by the recorded IP of your last contact with that webpage, and thus contacting your ISP and he will undoubtedly talk to the FBI about your prank, and yes, i do have that capability and desire. I admire this man more than any other three people i know. (it doesnt hurt that he thinks i'm cool too).
okay, now on to book references:
have you read terminal man by crichton? good book, and sorta related
okay, now really bad jokes:
someone with a completely healthy body would move the mouse with, say, two or three fingers, or for mac ppl, a palm and a knuckle, at the least.
Predicting the future (Score:1)
"The problem with predicting the future is that you either predict that we can do far too much, or that we can do far too little."
I think this applies to these predictions. A good number of them, humourously enough, were in this book that I just quoted from. Eventually, they'll come, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
(IMHO, as always)
No one notices whats done, only whats yet to come. (Score:1)
Which at a glance, might seem right. But thats only because Im guessing there is a pretty youngish age group of readers here (Ie, under 40?) how have grown up with technology to the point, they see it as normal, not gee-wizz. Since its going from 'old computer to better computer' not no computers, to computers etc.
Im sure in some years to come Ill be talking to my kids(Maybe
Technology increase (Score:2, Funny)
Article's crap (Score:1)
Seems awfully redundant (and boring) (Score:1)
Why it takes so long to get this stuff built (Score:1)
No they won't (Score:3, Insightful)
The technology future for the U.S. was yesterday. It's all over, man. We're rushing headlong into third-world status at breakneck speed and there's nobody out there to stop us.
Hey! (Score:1)
Business 2.0 certainly does not know....
So that ears of corn will be able to really hear? (Score:1)
Crops?
The bionic augmentations I want... (Score:1)
built into my retina
I hate how low bandwith spoken language currently is. It takes forever to upload my ideas into others' heads.
never forget a name or face! Play Counterstrike anytime, anywhere.
another perk of the NIC in my nervous system...
Pass advanced calculus in about a week. Older because I don't want any overheating issues... What's that smell
because I can.
fully compatible with the previous device. Get your bionic babe's body and mind off at the same time!
On that note, if there are any bionocists in the house please add me to your waiting list as soon as it's post-beta. Thank you. *g*
No replacement for Jim Rockford (Score:1)
ferroelectric molecular optical nanotechnology (Score:1)
universities around the world for further
info go to
www.colossalstorage.net
Re:Not for everyone (Score:1)
Why not? What part of the chain do you think will fail?