Arthur Clarke Predictions in 1974
In this clip from 1974, Arthur C. Clarke predicts the computer will taken as much for granted in our homes as a phone. (Still have a land-line?)
As they are standing by the massive main-frame computers of the day, it reminded me how noisy they were.
How many correct predictions can you find?
As they are standing by the massive main-frame computers of the day, it reminded me how noisy they were.
How many correct predictions can you find?
Comments
No, HAL, AC Clark wasn't dissing you and your kind so, will you please open the hatch?
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 04/16/13 at 09:48 AM
gdanea, a lot of the noise in those rooms was a result of all the cooling equipment carrying away the heat of stack upon stack of transistors and resistors in those big boxes.
As for Clarke's pontifications, that's the problem with predicting the future - it tends to prove you wrong. He hints at the grand interaction possible with interconnected computing equipment yet I cannot recall him ever defining the decentralized communication infrastructure that we call the "internet" specifically. His response here shows the general philosophy of centralization prevalent at the time.
As for Clarke's pontifications, that's the problem with predicting the future - it tends to prove you wrong. He hints at the grand interaction possible with interconnected computing equipment yet I cannot recall him ever defining the decentralized communication infrastructure that we call the "internet" specifically. His response here shows the general philosophy of centralization prevalent at the time.
Posted by KDP on 04/16/13 at 12:31 PM
Back in '74 the internet was the interconnecting thread of science and academia. For Clark to foresee a centralized base of all knowledge wasn't, really, a prediction as it was an expansion of what already existed.
That said, there are pools of consolidated knowledge within the existing openness of our web. Why, just look at this humble page alone where all the weirdness of the world is gathered for any who would drink from its waters.
That said, there are pools of consolidated knowledge within the existing openness of our web. Why, just look at this humble page alone where all the weirdness of the world is gathered for any who would drink from its waters.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 04/16/13 at 12:41 PM
@Expat, "You're a better man than I, Gunga Din." :coolsmile: :lol:
Posted by Tyrusguy on 04/16/13 at 03:20 PM
Wonder how he'd react if he'd live long enough to see that room full of equipment out performed by a pocket sized phone that does so much more than he predicted?
Posted by Captain DaFt on 04/16/13 at 09:45 PM
He died in 2008. He was 90 so if he was still mentally among us or not I don't know but *HRS's were pretty well advanced by then.
*Husband Recall System
*Husband Recall System
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 04/16/13 at 10:41 PM
The noise was from cooling fans and the motors that spin the reel-to-reel magnetic tape data storage systems. The REALLY noisy room was the one next door with the card-punch machines, card readers, and the teletypes. 'Hard drives' were still pretty new and CDs and DVDs were non-existent.
Posted by tadchem on 04/17/13 at 05:05 AM
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Category: Futurism