Cloud Computing from 1963

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Doriano

I love seeing old video of new technology or predictions of the future. Here’s a classic piece from 1963 called Timesharing: A solution to Computer Bottlenecks which is basically about cloud computing. It truly is amazing how far we’ve come when it comes to computers. Even the web as we know has transformed dramatically since 1993, nevermind 1963! Also, keep this in mind, some day in the future people will look back at our technology and laugh at how primitive we were.

Future Shock

Posted on March 1, 2008 by Doriano

One of my favorite sites to visit is Paleofuture which covers the wild and whacky and sometimes eerie predictions of the future from days gone by. Here are some of my favorite visions of the future from the past.

1999 AD (1967) has gotten a great deal of attention in the press lately because of the uncanny predictions that were made in the movie. Some of the innovations they covered were things like the internet, online shopping, online bill paying, live video chat, automated kitchen, microwave meals, maximized health and more. It’s incredible how something from over 40 years ago could describe many of the technologies that we use today such as the Internet.

Here’s some news coverage of the movie: (You will recognize one of the actors from the movie)

Here’s the intro to 1999 AD:

Here’s a another video clip of 1999 AD which will surely impress you. Remember, this was made over 40 years ago!

Here’s a clip of home shopping, online bill pay, email and even twitter (OK maybe not that one) and more:

Both 1999 AD and Future Shock are part of the Yesterday’s Tomorrow Today DVD from A/V Geeks.

The legendary Orson Welles starred in Future Shock (1972) which made some bold statements about the dangers of a technological future overloaded with information! Sound familiar? It’s based on a book by Alvin Toffler.
Here’s a video clip of the Orson Welles introduction to Future Shock:
[dailymotion id=x1t4ci&v3]

Future Shock (Orson Welles Intro)
by donaldtheduckie

Here’s part 1 of 5 of the entire film:

Here’s part 2 of 5:

Here’s part 3 of 5:

Here’s part 4 of 5:

Here’s part 5 of 5:

Here’s the author of Future Shock:

Things to Come (1936) is a movie from 1936 based on the H.G. Wells’ classic. It peers into 100 years into the future of 2036 and while most of the wild predictions were way off (we landed on the moon 50 years sooner than Wells surmised), the anti-war theme and the perils of a new plague were powerful elements of the story.

Summation:

Maybe it’s part of my uber-geekiness but I just LOVE this stuff. There are tons of amazing predictions of the future from our past. Sure, there are many silly and ridiculous predictions (like flying cars), but there are also plenty of fascinating ones as well. I think it’s just as much fun to predict our technological future today.

Triumph of the Nerds

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Doriano

“Triumph of the Nerds” (1996) is my all-time favorite documentary on computers or technology ever! I remember the first time I watched it and how informative, entertaining and inspirational it was to me. I was still a break and fix technician and I recall being extremely inspired to do more with my career in I.T. I immediately took a leap of faith and quit my hardware technician position with a major Value Added Reseller in Atlanta to become a Network Administrator which was a bold move at the time and the best thing I ever did in my career. It changed everything forever and I can say that this geekfest on PBS had a great deal to do with it. I still love watching it. I think it is still relavent today and a must see for anyone who is interested in computers and technology. It covers the birth of the information age and documents how we arrived where we are today and where we are headed in the future.

You will see young Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and learn exactly how their respective companies got started and the truth behind their incredible successes and failures. I believe even you Microsoft bashing Macheads will change your view of Bill Gates and company after watching this movie. Even if you despise what Microsoft has become and loath their products, you will develop a healthy respect and appreciation for the way they achieved success not only for themselves but for the entire computer industry itself. Far too many of us are guilty of forgetting the facts and all that Microsoft did for technology. It has become en vogue to mock and ridicule the modern day behemoth. It’s not fair of us to rewrite history in this manner. We must not lose site of all the good that Microsoft has done for technology and believe or not, continue to do! Insert gasp here.

So, sit back and grab some popcorn and your mountain dew and enjoy a techno classic called “TRIUMPH OF THE NERDS” in its entirety.

Here is the entire movie

The Sequel

Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet (1998) is the 3-hour documentary sequel to Triumph of the Nerds, written and hosted by Robert X. Cringely. Nerds 2.0.1 was broadcast two years prior to the 2000 dot-bust of Silicon Valley. It documents the development of the ARPANET, the Internet, the World Wide Web and the Dot-com boom of the mid and late 1990s. Notice how the title pre-dated the whole Web 2.0 craze by almost a decade!