Category Archives: Yesterday’s Futures
Inventing and Fumbling the Future
Thirty-five years ago this week, Apple introduced a computer that changed the way people communicated with their electronic devices, using graphical icons and visual indicators rather than punched cards or text-based commands. On January 19, 1983, Apple introduced Lisa, a … Continue reading
Posted in Apple, Futures, IBM, Xerox, Yesterday's Futures
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The trouble with predictions: we know where we want to go but futurists don’t know how to get there
From the Pew Research Center: More than 30 years ago, the Institute for the Future, a Silicon Valley think tank, produced a book-length report on the development and potential impacts of electronic information technologies. What’s impressive is how much the … Continue reading
Posted in Futures, Predictions, Yesterday's Futures
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The Present is Not What it Used to Be: Asimov’s 1964 Predictions for 2014
Visit to the World’s Fair of 2014 The New York Times August 16, 1964 By ISAAC ASIMOV The New York World’s Fair of 1964 is dedicated to “Peace Through Understanding.” Its glimpses of the world of tomorrow rule out thermonuclear warfare. … Continue reading
Posted in Predictions, Yesterday's Futures
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50 Years of Visionary Sci-Fi Computer Interfaces
50 Years of visionary Sci Fi Computer Interface Design by Glow New Media
Posted in Science Fiction, Yesterday's Futures
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Yesterday’s Futures: The Limits of Our Vision
In 1969, the Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill, U.K., produced a video titled “Telecommunications services for the 1990s.” Predictably, it extrapolates from the reality (no distortion here) of the telephone network of the 1960s. Only the transmission is digital; the rest … Continue reading
Posted in Futures, Predictions, World Wide Web, Yesterday's Futures
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First U.S. Moon Shot
Today in 1840, John William Draper presented to the Lyceum of Natural History of New York a daguerreotype of the “first representation of the moon’s surface ever taken by photography.” As the Once and Future Moon blog notes, today is also “the 100th … Continue reading
The Counter-Computer Culture B.S.J.
“Ready or not, computers are coming to the people.”–Stewart Brand, 1972
Posted in Computer history, Quotes, Yesterday's Futures
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Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs, Creating New Industries
Today in 1931, Thomas Edison died. He will be remembered as the most prolific inventor in U.S. history, having registered 1,093 U.S. patents over the course of his lifetime. Harold Evans in They Made America: “Hundreds of his 1,093 patents … Continue reading
Television in the World of Tomorrow
Today in 1939, the 1939 New York World’s Fair had its grand opening, with 206,000 people in attendance. The April 30 date coincided with the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration as President in New York City. President Franklin D. … Continue reading
Posted in Television, Yesterday's Futures
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The Story of Information 