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I remember thinking in the 90s that being able to use irc on a portable wireless device (pre wifi) would the most cyberpunk cool future I could imagine. A roomm

I remember thinking in the 90s that being able to use irc on a portable wireless device (pre wifi) would the most cyberpunk cool future I could imagine. A roommate had a palm pilot, and co-workers were already developing that weird stylus dislexia where they couldn't write cursive again after using the Palm pad scheme. Between slack and signal groups on my phone(s) today, I'd say the future is annoying. There was just no way of knowing then that the hidden desire of the long tail of people in the world was that each of them needed a way to share pictures of their butt, where previously you needed both a photocopier and a fax machine, and the fax numbers of people you wanted to send it to, where now, we have instagram. Everybody can fax literally everybody. We thought this would be paradise.

pndy 5y ago
> I remember thinking in the 90s that being able to use irc on a portable wireless device (pre wifi) would the most cyberpunk cool future I could imagine. There was this Australian tv show for kids in the 90s in which prop department turned one of Sharp PDAs [1] into futuristic multipurpose smartphone-alike device with built-in camera that allowed (from show PoV) live video conversations, conferences across the globe via a single abandoned satellite. Back then the idea was amazing and I did wonder if we ever get such gizmos in real life. Some 30 years later we can indeed have video calls with our smartphones and where the other person is around the world it really doesn't matter. The other factors do matter like the platform - can you reach someone only via Watsapp or Telegram or maybe Skype? Do we use Discord or Zoom, or perhaps Jitsi? [1] - http://blog.compuseum.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/P1300578_HDR-1024x918.jpg http://blog.compuseum.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/P1300578...
roughly 5y ago
> There was just no way of knowing then that the hidden desire of the long tail of people in the world was that each of them needed a way to share pictures of their butt, where previously you needed both a photocopier and a fax machine, and the fax numbers of people you wanted to send it to, where now, we have instagram. Everybody can fax literally everybody. We thought this would be paradise. Jesus Christ, these three sentences deserve an award.
- motohagiography 5y ago
  Hah, thank you! I have certainly savoured that compliment. Cheers.

pndy 5y ago

> I remember thinking in the 90s that being able to use irc on a portable wireless device (pre wifi) would the most cyberpunk cool future I could imagine. There was this Australian tv show for kids in the 90s in which prop department turned one of Sharp PDAs [1] into futuristic multipurpose smartphone-alike device with built-in camera that allowed (from show PoV) live video conversations, conferences across the globe via a single abandoned satellite. Back then the idea was amazing and I did wonder if we ever get such gizmos in real life. Some 30 years later we can indeed have video calls with our smartphones and where the other person is around the world it really doesn't matter. The other factors do matter like the platform - can you reach someone only via Watsapp or Telegram or maybe Skype? Do we use Discord or Zoom, or perhaps Jitsi? [1] - http://blog.compuseum.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/P1300578_HDR-1024x918.jpg http://blog.compuseum.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/P1300578...

roughly 5y ago

> There was just no way of knowing then that the hidden desire of the long tail of people in the world was that each of them needed a way to share pictures of their butt, where previously you needed both a photocopier and a fax machine, and the fax numbers of people you wanted to send it to, where now, we have instagram. Everybody can fax literally everybody. We thought this would be paradise. Jesus Christ, these three sentences deserve an award.

motohagiography 5y ago
Hah, thank you! I have certainly savoured that compliment. Cheers.