Sunday, March 17, 2013

Life in 2013.... as predicted in 1988

On April 3, 1988, the Los Angeles Times Magazine pub­lished a 25-year look ahead to 2013. This year, USC pro­fess­or Jerry Lock­en­our is us­ing the series of art­icles in a gradu­ate en­gin­eer­ing class he teaches.

The article, written by Nicole Yorkin, who later went on to become a screenwriter and producer for television series such as Battlestar Galactica and FlashForward, traces a day in the life of a fictitious family. It begins in the morning when their coffee maker turns itself on (tick) and ends with one of the family reading the collected Jackie Collins in bed on a laser disc (semi-tick). Meanwhile, the entire family’s data is stored on credit-card-sized computers called “smart cards” and films are watched on “ultra-thin, high-resolution video screens”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/what-no-jet-packs-life-in-2013-as-predicted-in-1988-8538049.html