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Old 02-18-2014, 06:19 AM
 
Location: SC
8,793 posts, read 8,116,884 times
Reputation: 12991

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We all want safer airplanes, home automation, and better internet streaming, but what technological advance are you most disappointed hasn't happened yet?

For me:

(a) back in the nineties, i wanted a VCR that i could call from my cell phone and tell it what to record in case I wasn't home in time. We have gotten close, but still aren't there yet.
(b) i am amazed that i still cannot buy flat components to go with my flat tv. So, I have tvs that fit snug to the wall, but then have to have a shelf sticking out to put a receiver and dvd on. Why cant they mount flat to the wall too?
(c) why cant i buy a pc tablet that will mount into my car so i can have all the power of the radio, nav, cell phone, and other apps all in one place? And be able to take it with me into the office preventing the car from starting?
(d) why hasn't anyone invented something that will absolutely keep animals off the highway?
(e) personal shielding - so i can go to the movies or get gas without some nut shooting me would be nice.

What do you want. List it here. Maybe we can change the future.
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Old 02-18-2014, 09:20 AM
 
Location: Tyler, TX
23,613 posts, read 23,913,776 times
Reputation: 14921
Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
(a) back in the nineties, i wanted a VCR that i could call from my cell phone and tell it what to record in case I wasn't home in time. We have gotten close, but still aren't there yet.
Yeah we are. I can do this with my Windows Media Center based HTPC.

Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
(c) why cant i buy a pc tablet that will mount into my car so i can have all the power of the radio, nav, cell phone, and other apps all in one place?
What's stopping you from doing this now? It's not a lack of technology.

Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
And be able to take it with me into the office preventing the car from starting?
You could have this done, if you wanted to. All it would take is a bluetooth device attached to the car and having a custom app written for the tablet. Something like this may already exist. Have you looked?

Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
(d) why hasn't anyone invented something that will absolutely keep animals off the highway?
They have - they're called fences. But fencing both sides of the entire length of a highway to keep an occasional animal from trying to cross isn't cost effective.

Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
(e) personal shielding - so i can go to the movies or get gas without some nut shooting me would be nice.
Life isn't safe. If you're concerned about being shot, be prepared to shoot back.

Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
What do you want. List it here. Maybe we can change the future.
Still waiting for my flying car. And a replicator would be nice, too.
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Old 02-18-2014, 09:25 AM
Status: "Made the Retirement Run in under 12 parsecs!!!" (set 11 days ago)
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,124 posts, read 76,705,928 times
Reputation: 45445
I want a transporter to deliver me across town without having my entrails scrambled.
"Beam me, Scotty. All of me, just how I am."
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Old 02-18-2014, 12:09 PM
 
2,265 posts, read 3,688,430 times
Reputation: 1815
Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
We all want safer airplanes, home automation, and better internet streaming, but what technological advance are you most disappointed hasn't happened yet?

For me:

(a) back in the nineties, i wanted a VCR that i could call from my cell phone and tell it what to record in case I wasn't home in time. We have gotten close, but still aren't there yet.
I can do this with my FIOS DVR easily, and have been able to do so for a few years now. I go into an app, I can see my guide, I select the show I want to record and boom, done.
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Old 02-18-2014, 05:06 PM
 
23,553 posts, read 70,067,529 times
Reputation: 49051
How about a remote control or phone ap with a "Fire the advertiser" feature? Whenever an obnoxious advertisement comes up, you press a switch and it gets removed from your ever having to see it again. If there are sufficient "YOU'RE FIRED" clicks, the ad gets removed from whatever media it is on for everyone. If the same advertiser makes three ads that get removed within a year, they get sent to prison for a year and made to watch "Barney the Dinosaur" 12 hours a day.
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Old 02-18-2014, 06:04 PM
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n/a posts
Electromagnetic engine cars....such a simple technology and I'm not sure why it wouldn't work.

On board holographic dash computers for your car. Basically a holographic computer imposed on your windshield. Make the whole windshield a computer, outlining the road (even in bad conditions), maps, speed, oncoming traffic....etc etc etc. Endless....

A good way to go anywhere in the world and make it home for dinner.

Train cars....Personal cars for train tracks? Trans continental train bridges?
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Old 02-18-2014, 10:31 PM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,141,773 times
Reputation: 7693
We all want safer airplanes, home automation, and better internet streaming, but what technological advance are you most disappointed hasn't happened yet?

For starters I feel safer in an airplane than I do in my car driving to work, everything I wanted to automate in my home is finished and haven't had one issue with Internet streaming... My condolences you haven't partaken in modern technological tools and feel air travel is less safe than driving to work..

All I still want in 2014 is for the government to give me (with no strings attached) a 1963 split window Corvette 327 fuelie with free maintenance and fuel for life.
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Old 02-19-2014, 09:14 PM
 
Location: Currently living in Reddit
5,652 posts, read 6,958,123 times
Reputation: 7323
I would simply like Apple to continue to support my 2007 MacBook.
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Old 02-19-2014, 11:41 PM
 
Location: Fiorina "Fury" 161
3,509 posts, read 3,710,420 times
Reputation: 6546
The mobile experience is still awful, yet that's the direction a lot of Web sites are now developing for. And by mobile, I mean that I, personally, only count a mobile device as a smartphone or smartphone equivalent. It cheapens the browsing experience, it's slower, and there is a lack of area coverage depending on where you are located. On the same connection speed, my computer runs much faster, no touch-button lag, faster load times, etc. I'm not sure if they do, but sometimes I think when these sites/companies collect traffic data, they count larger devices such as the iPad and tablets as mobile devices, but due to the larger screens size, I wouldn't classify that as a true mobile device. I would like to see high-speed Internet satellite with universal location coverage in the palm of my hand. The mobile infrastructure still has a long way to go.
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Old 02-20-2014, 03:42 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,694,851 times
Reputation: 36642
Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl View Post
We all want safer airplanes, home automation,
No we don't. I want cheaper public transport, not safer. I can deal with menacing gum under the seats spreading the plague. I can't use the home appliances that I've got, because I don't understand the touchpad commands.
Give me back my microwave with a ticking rotary pointer showing how long to run.

I want technology in banking. I want to transfer funds, on my keyboard, to any other bank account. Or, at least, something simpler than mailing a personal check, or cheaper than paying $25 for a wire transfer, or Western Union's 10% commission. Or faster than waiting several days for my funds to be deposited in my PayPal account.

Last edited by jtur88; 02-20-2014 at 03:53 PM..
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