Ten... fantasy gadgets you wish you owned Tomorrow is always round the corner in the world of tech, and gadgets that started life in the imaginations of mad folk are starting to become a possibility. Tools that give us superpowers may seem impossible, but ultramobile computing is a reality these days, with commonplace kit that seems more capable than devices Gene …
"Perhaps writers for the new seasons hit a wall one day though and decided to bring it back, as they've featured the handheld tool in an array of episodes since 2005."
Call me cynical if you want, but a wand with an LED on the end and makes a high pitched warbling sound is both desirable as a toy (when backed by an entire TV series showing how cool it is) and incredibly cheap to make, which makes for a healthy profit margin.
using the SS to unscrew some screws. The screws in question were about three inches diameter on the heads, but still slotted screw heads (no posi-drivers in the far future!). He applied the SS side on to the screw heads, more like a sonic-wrench, but it got the job done.
Your picture of the 'Tomorrow People' does not show then wearing the jaunting belts that you are referencing ... the jaunting belts have buckles made of black and white squared patterns (pixels if you will) but I'll forgive you for the Clarissa Macdougall reference in the Lensman section and the Lensman section itself ... ;-)
...what the hey:
Babel Fish. After the infamous tower.
Mind you, Babblefish has a certain charm to it.
I quite agree on the sonic screwdriver, though; it's turning into a bit of a deus ex machina plot device these days. The Doctor is beginning to remind me of a smartphoneaholic*; constantly reaching into his pocket, thinking "there's an app for this..."
Nice roundup. Good stuff...
* I speak as an acknowledged smartphonaholic who HAS the sonic screwdriver app installed...
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and it's called the hydrogen bomb.
Having said which, there are some minor wrinkles regarding the range of its effects, the unavoidable millions of fatalities and unfortunately persistent fallout which still have to be ironed out; but I can say with 100% confidence that you will never have to worry about mobile phones or personal stereos ever again.
It's also great for getting stones out of horses hoofs, warding off dangerous dogs, sterilising river water and attracting attention if you are lost in remote areas.
I'll never forget a time many years ago (before the days of DVD and vhs rental was king) when a friend phoned up the local video rental store wanting to hire Flash Gordon for their kids birthday party and the person at the store asked them wether they wanted to rent the first or second film.
Good job there's no Flash Gordon 2 or the birthday party would have been a real eye opener...
Ah, but if you manage to persuade a GSV to humour you (or better), think of the possibilities. Everything the Culture has on offer.
That's why I would like just this one thing, for everything else, decadent or otherwise, will follow thence.
Of course, if it gets pathologically fixated on you, there could be... err.. disadvantages...
I totally second that one!
"A Lazy Gun is roughly half a metre long, 30 cm wide and 20 cm tall. The Lazy Gun is "light but massy", and weighs three times as much when turned upside down. The Lazy Gun is the only weapon known to display a sense of humour.
When the Lazy Gun is fired at humans, many different things may occur. An anchor may appear above the person, giant electrodes may appear on either side of the target and electrocute them or an animal may tear their throat out. Larger targets such as tanks or ships may suffer tidal waves, implosion, explosion, sudden lava flows or just disappear. When fired at cities and other such targets, thermonuclear explosions are the norm, although in one instance a comet crashed into the city."
What a great article. No doubt all manner of folk will add additional bits and bobs, so here's my tuppennyworth:
Oxy-gum - Marine-Boy's super stick of Wrigley's that allows you to breathe underwater (without an aqualung)!
Sport Billy's Omni-Sack - A bag that can hold ANYTHING!!
X-Wing Fighters and Millennium Falcons! Just because!
The 3DS image is still on a flat screen. It just uses optics to send different bits of the screen to each eye. The image is not projected above the screen, even if it looks it. You certainly can't walk around it or share the image without being quite intimate with others, personal-space-wise.
When 'real' 3D comes out, one wonders what it will be marketed as, since they are fast wearing out the term on what could far more accurately be described as 'stereoscopic'.
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