With the release of JJ Abrams' new Star Trek film, people are beginning to take a retrospective glance back to the technologies that were showcased in the original series. How much of the fictional technologies from the 1960s Star Trek have become actuality? I didn't grow up watching Star Trek, and so the novelty is somewhat lost on me. But having seen the film, my interest was piqued. I found an answer to my query on the guardian.co.uk, a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. This site has just about everything you want to know about anything.
Star Trek Communicator - precursor to the flip up mobile phones which are now widespread technology that young people like myself take for granted.
Captain Kirk's daily log, an electronic notepad...
...the PDA: a handheld computer notepad.
The bridge of the Starship Enterprise had no windows, so the crew could only see where they were going via a giant viewscreen.
Today's equivalent: flatscreen television, like this Panasonic 150in HD plasma screen.
Uhura's ultra fancy earpiece, as shown above...
...can be seen adorning thousands of ears as the Bluetooth earpiece.
The handheld phaser was the Star Trek weapon of choice, which could be set to kill or just to stun...
...and the Taser, which police officers use to stun rather than to kill.
While there were several other technologies that I didn't cover here [and you should check out guardian.com.uk's website to see the rest], one fictional technology remains a dream. Sadly, the Transporter is still beyond our grasp. We may, however, get a handle on this technology in the next 300 years or so - there is still hope.
My point in sharing these predictions is to emphasize (again) that technology is fueled by concepts. Science fiction - like the Star Trek series - drives the creative process. Digital media needs innovative thinkers who are not afraid to voice their ideas, no matter how ridiculous that concept may sound at the time. I am sure that Uhara's fancy earpiece was considered 'far out' in the 1960s, but Bluetooth earpieces have become commonplace today.
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