Flowers by Alice (Part 2, 1992)

Part 2 of the US West concept video Flowers by Alice features the business tools of the future. Voice recognition technology seemed to be very popular in concept videos of this era.

See also:
Flowers by Alice (Part 1, 1992)

Flowers by Alice (Part 1, 1992)

The 1992 US West concept video Flowers by Alice features themes and products similar to that of Accenture's Vision and AT&T's Connections, both produced in 1993. This clip from Flowers by Alice introduces us to the main characters as well as two emerging technologies.

The skyway's backed up but the bullet train is moving right on schedule.

See also:
Vision (Clip 1, 1993)
Vision (Clip 2, 1993)
Vision (Clip 3, 1993)
Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future (1993)
Writer and Producer of Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future

Vision (Clip 3, 1993)

Clip 3 from the 1993 concept video Vision, produced by Andersen Consulting, shows us what the portable communications device of the future could look like. I'm pretty sure you could kill an elephant with that tablet she's holding.

See also:
Vision (Clip 1, 1993)
Vision (Clip 2, 1993)
Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future (1993)
Writer and Producer of Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future
Tablet Newspaper (1994)

Vision (Clip 2, 1993)

This clip from the 1993 concept video Vision demonstrates why the videophone has never caught on.

There is nothing communicated between the characters that necessitates visuals. If the best application of videophone technology you can think of is proving that helicopters exist, there probably isn't a pressing need for the technology.

See also:
Vision (Clip 1, 1993)
Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future (1993)
Writer and Producer of Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future
The Road Ahead: Future Homes (1995)
Starfire (1994)
Apple's Grey Flannel Navigator (1988)
Apple's Knowledge Navigator (1987)
AT&T "You Will" (1993)

Vision (Clip 1, 1993)

In 1993 Andersen Consulting (now known as Accenture) created a concept video called Vision, which demonstrated the communications possibilities of the future. The clip below shows us a universal language translator, digital personal assistants, a tablet, as well as the pervasive videophone culture we were supposed to see by now.

(Thanks to the iSight camera on my Mac, the barcode scanner shown at the beginning of the video is essentially a reality. I'd be a little surprised if we didn't see barcode applications for all of our mobile phones soon.)

See also:
Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future (1993)
Writer and Producer of Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future
The Road Ahead: Future Homes (1995)
Starfire (1994)
Apple's Grey Flannel Navigator (1988)
Apple's Knowledge Navigator (1987)
AT&T "You Will" (1993)

Starfire (Part 4, 1994)

Part 4 of the Starfire video looks at the possibilities of media creation without shooting new scenes with new actors.

See also:
Starfire (Part 1, 1994)
Starfire (Part 2, 1994)
Starfire (Part 3, 1994)
Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future (1993)
Apple's Knowledge Navigator (1987)
Apple's Grey Flannel Navigator (1988)

Starfire (Part 2, 1994)

Part 2 of the 1994 Sun Microsystems video Starfire contains remote manipulation of a camera via tablet. Pretty sweet.

See also:
Starfire (Part 1, 1994)
Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future (1993)
Apple's Knowledge Navigator (1987)
Apple's Grey Flannel Navigator (1988)

Starfire (Part 1, 1994)

With the annoucement of Microsoft Surface it seems like a great time to reflect on similar technologies projected in 1994 for the year 2004. Part one of the Sun Microsystems video Starfire sets the scene with an unfortunate reference to Princess Diana and then gives us a glimpse of the user interface to come.

There are eight parts to this video, so stay tuned.

See also:
Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future (1993)
Apple's Knowledge Navigator (1987)
Apple's Grey Flannel Navigator (1988)
1999 A.D. (1967)
Online Shopping (1967)

Tablet Newspaper (1994)

Knight-Ridder produced a video in 1994 demonstrating their faith in the tablet newspaper of the future. Below is the video in its entirety.

We may still use computers to create information but we'll use the tablet to interact with information.



The expert of the video insists that newspaper loyalty will not disappear with the digital age:

Many of the technologists.....assume that information is just a commodity and people really don't care where that information comes from as long as it matches their set of personal interests. I disagree with that view. People recognize the newspapers they subscribe to.....and there is a loyalty attached to those.

In short, "the technologists" were right. Newspaper companies are suing Google because their readers are less loyal than ever and simply want trustworthy news, whatever the source.

You can download this video at the Open Video Project.

Project 2000 - Apple Computer (1988)

[Update: The Paleo-Future blog has moved. You can read and comment on this entry here.]

In 1987 Apple Computer held a competition called Project 2000. Apple asked student research teams to submit papers detailing what the computing technology of the year 2000 would look like. In early 1988 Steve Wozniak, Alvin Toffler and Ray Bradbury, among others, sat on the judge's panel. The winning team was from the University of Illinois with their paper called Tablet: The Personal Computer of the Year 2000. Below is an excerpt and various images from the paper. You can read the paper in its entirety here.


Our machine will have the same dimensions as a standard notebook. It will look like an 8"x11" monolith from the movie 2001, and be reminiscent of the Dynabook. This rectangular slab will weigh but a few pounds, and have no buttons or knobs to play with. The front surface will be a touch-sensitive display screen and will blink to life upon touching two corners.




There is supposedly a 12-minute video called "Project 2000" floating around. I have yet to see it but would love to see if it's in the same vein as Apple's Knowledge Navigator from 1987.

See also:
Apple's Knowledge Navigator (1987)
Connections: AT&T's Vision of the Future (1993)