BBC Focus Magazine

[Jamie]

As it's fast approaching 2015, I have to admit that I'm pretty disappointed that we don't have:

- flying cars
- hover-boards
- auto-drying clothes
- dehydrated pizzas
- Mr Fusion
- powerlacing shoes
- automatic dog walkers

What sci-fi tech has failed your expectations ?

[M Paul Lloyd]

Oh dear ... where to start?

Well, back in the days when I was still considered young we were told that we faced a future of total leisure, a world where robots would do all the work for us and we would never have to lift a finger other than to simply find new ways to amuse ourselves. Strikes me we are all now working harder than ever.

I am also hugely disappointing that we do not have a permanently manned Moon base and at least one civilian colony on Mars.

Oh and yes, a flying car, definitely something I had expected to have.

On the up-side I do have a Star Trek style personal communicator (cell phone) and this thing called the internet which allows me to do what I am doing right now, access to an enormous library of information and enjoy a ringside seat at such monumental events as the Martian rover landings and such.

[ChrisH]

One of those vending machines that you talk to would have been nice.
You tell it what you want to eat and it makes it for you.

[Thinker]

Yes it would seem that Back to the Future has a lot to answer for. But who knows, there may be an amazing advance in technology within the next three years that just blows it all out of the water.

My mum always said that she was told that we would have robots ironing for us and doing the housework with holidays to the moon,etc. This is why I am very sceptical when it comes to all this talk about us having brain implants in the future, etc. If if it was possible, there would be so many 'what if it goes wrong' questions that they probably won't advise it.

But where are my moon boots?

[M Paul Lloyd]

My mum always said that she was told that ......................

Your 'Mum' ???........................ I suddenly feel very old.

[Thinker]

Your 'Mum' ???........................ I suddenly feel very old

Remember I am the tender age of 29 Mr. Lloyd. So your not that old...honestly...

[M Paul Lloyd]

At the risk of parafrazing a certain Star Wars charector..... I am old enough to be your father.... Thinker.

[Shadowwolf]

Well he is the Elder One

I have to say I'm not disappointed that the vision of the future from that movie has not come to pass, looked positively boring and futuristic in only the most superficial manner.

I'm somewhat disappointed in the lack of progress space-wise which was in my younger years was always supposed to be much further advanced than where we're at.

Can't say I find the absence of common robotics a disappointment as I think that was given up on by then and is only something likely to arrive much further down the line.

Other than those nothing much springs to mind, can't say that I ever expected that 2012 or 2015 was going to be some bright shining future utopia or even significantly far removed from where we were. I expected that the petty divisions we keep creating would carry on unabated, most of the world would be decades behind the technological leaders and often in grinding poverty, profit for profit's sake would still be the most important endeavour and war would be still quite common. The recent trend towards mediocrity and fantasy further divests me of any illusions about the next few decades.

[Thinker]

At the risk of parafrazing a certain Star Wars charector..... I am old enough to be your father.... Thinker.

Mmmm, to me, sugar daddy, you could be. (In a yoda type voice)

I have to say I'm not disappointed that the vision of the future from that movie has not come to pass, looked positively boring and futuristic in only the most superficial manner.

Would you burst into flames if you were by anyway optimistic Shadows? It wasn't that bad. Are you telling me that you don't want a Pitbull Hoverboard? eh?

[Thinker]

Mmmm, to me, sugar daddy, you could be. (In a yoda type voice)

That was a case of publishing something before looking at the Wikipedia definition. You are by no means and never will be my "Sugar Daddy".

[MikeG]

we would have robots ironing for us and doing the housework

Chances are that future robots will achieve A.I., and conscious thought. The downside to this is that rather than cleaning our carpets, ironing, ect, Jetsons style, they may instead prefer to clean our clocks, Terminator style

[M Paul Lloyd]

Mmmm, to me, sugar daddy, you could be. (In a yoda type voice)

That was a case of publishing something before looking at the Wikipedia definition. You are by no means and never will be my "Sugar Daddy".

You have no idea how very glad I am to learn that Thinker.

[Shadowwolf]

Would you burst into flames if you were by anyway optimistic Shadows?

OPti...what!? Right, where's a dictionary...

Are you telling me that you don't want a Pitbull Hoverboard?

Not in the slightest though I would take a UD-4L Cheyenne, some veteran tactical dreadnought armour or an Imperial Class Star Destroyer in matt black and leave the toys.

[M Paul Lloyd]

I am beginning to notice that to a certain degree the aspirations for future gadgetry seems to depend upon which science fiction era one belongs to.

For myself I'm obviously influenced by the likes of 'Star Trek' TOS whilst for Mr.S it is evidently 'Star Wars' with Jamie, who started the thread, actually referring to 'Back to the Future'.

[Shadowwolf]

Well to be honest only the last item is Star Wars and I was being a bit loose with the OP which was one of those movies that dealt with a near future Terra.

I'm not sure if there ever was any specific technology that was mooted to be on the horizon but has since spectacularly failed to appear that I was all psyched up about. I do know that some techs have come on in leaps and bounds from where they were.

I recall playing some of the then large world but still confined wireframe adventures on the C64, Driller, Castle Master and one actual open but largely empty world game whose name escapes me. I dreamt then of fully three dimensional, large, go anywhere, do anything worlds with interactive characters and npcs going about whatever, how fantastic would that be? Now we got GTA, Fallout, Skyrim and so forth, huge places filled with possibilities, adventures and inconsequential details that are nonetheless there. So in one way the games I wished I could be playing in the future I now can play.

Going back over ten years and mobile phones were barely available, now I've got communication devices with large storage capacity and touch screen interface. I dunno if we we're told this would happen but I wasn't expecting it as such.

[M Paul Lloyd]

I was just highlighting the possibility of age specific sci-fi influence on an individuals future vision Mr.S, sorry for any confusion caused.

As in someone of a particular age will recall their respective vision of the future differently from someone younger or older?

[Jamie]

I have to say I'm not disappointed that the vision of the future from that movie has not come to pass, looked positively boring and futuristic in only the most superficial manner.

Maybe, but when I was 15 it was pretty awesome looking, I mean those hover boards - who wouldn't want one of those?! They would solve all the world's problems.

[Shadowwolf]

Well, any problems that involved solving by hovering a few feet off the ground on a plank, not many I think

[M Paul Lloyd]

But, presumably the same principle is used to make the cars fly. So if it were some sort of anti gravity device..... well now, thats a whole new ball game surely?;)

[Colm]

This is why I am very sceptical when it comes to all this talk about us having brain implants in the future, etc. If if it was possible, there would be so many 'what if it goes wrong' questions that they probably won't advise it.

Well they always advise against it at first, but then they get more and more used to the idea and then people start doing it, and then it they advise, well why the hell not!?

We do have some things like video games where you don't have to use your hands, giant tellies where you can watch different screens at once... And video conference calls. And some things even more advanced - those guys in BTTF 2 don't seem to have mobile "smart" phones or the Internet...

And thankfully we don't have Jaws 19