[the-facts-machine] Apple Watch and more sci-fi innovations that took time

From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <the-facts-machine@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2015 16:39:03 -0400
BlankApple Watch and more sci-fi innovations that took time 

This week's introduction of the Apple Watch harkens back nearly 70 years, to 
Dick Tracy and his two-way radio watch. He didn't check weather forecasts or 
track his daily fitness activity, though. 

We look at roughly how long it took for technology to go from being popularized 
on page or screen to reaching the real world. 

In 1965, secret agent Maxwell Smart showed just how easy it was to make phone 
calls on the go in the TV show Get Smart . Just remove shoe and dial. In 1984, 
Motorola released the first commercially available personal mobile phone (not 
tethered to a car). The DynaTAC 8000 sold for about $4,000 and was 
not-so-affectionately nicknamed "the brick. 

In the 1989 movie Back to the Future Part II , the future family of Marty McFly 
(depicted in 2015) use "video glasses" to watch TV (two channels at once!) and 
make video phone calls. In 2013, Google Glass made its small-scale debut, but 
its built-in camera almost immediately raised privacy concerns. The product was 
pulled off the market this year, at least until it can be retooled. 

On Star Trek , which debuted in 1964, Capt. James T. Kirk bickered with enemy 
Klingons via a giant videoscreen on the bridge of the Enterprise. Starting in 
2003, you could share sweet nothings (or bicker) with your significant other 
from your personal computer. 

How did the Jetsons keep their apartment in the sky so tidy in their 1962 show? 
Rosie, a robot housekeeper, took on the tedious task of vacuuming, although not 
without a little attitude. In 2002, iRobot released the Roomba, a small, 
disc-shaped appliance that sweeps your floors while motoring around your home, 
sass-free. 

In the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey , the ship's computer HAL 9000 speaks in 
a soft, soothing tone while staging a mutiny. "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I 
can't do that. In 2011, Apple's iPhone 4S came with an implanted personality 
called Siri, complete with a soft, soothing voice but less-evil intent. 

In a 1946 comic strip, Dick Tracy first used his handy wristwatch for police 
communications. By 2013, tech companies Samsung and Pebble were releasing 
mass-market smartwatches so the public could make and receive calls and learn 
more than just the time via apps. 

In 1982, David Hasselhoff fought crime with the help of a computerized Trans Am 
called KITT in Knight Rider. Today, Google is testing prototypes of a 
driverless car, with decidedly less personality. Apple is also reportedly 
looking to get into this race.
[the-facts-machine] Apple Watch and more sci-fi innovations that took time

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