Editing 1623: 2016 Conversation Guide
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
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As each year turns (or other milestone dates, perhaps set out in popular fiction) it is common enough to remember that what is now the present was once considered ''the future!'' | As each year turns (or other milestone dates, perhaps set out in popular fiction) it is common enough to remember that what is now the present was once considered ''the future!'' | ||
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;Self-driving car | ;Self-driving car | ||
− | + | From the fields of automation, the {{w|Autonomous car|self-driving car}} has had a lot of recent development put into it, with many and varied prototypes being tried out, and may actually end up featuring in our immediate future, even if not in 2016. Google has built a very good prototype but it needs improvement. | |
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;Floating sky city | ;Floating sky city | ||
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;Hoverboard | ;Hoverboard | ||
− | + | The {{w|Hoverboard|levitating Hoverboard}} has been popularised by the {{w|Back_to_the_Future_Part_II|''Back To The Future'' franchise}} of films, with several attempts to fully emulate such a device with air-blast or magnetic levitation, but the ''term'' "Hoverboard" has ended up being applied to a {{w|Segway}}-like {{w|Self-balancing_two-wheeled_board|personal transport system}} that has at least become a mass-produced device (albeit with a number of {{w|Self-balancing_two-wheeled_board#Safety|safety concerns}}) even if it doesn't fly or levitate. The very concept of the hoverboard is therefore predicted to be reduced mostly to arguments between opposing camps of opinions; and then, in the title-text, the conclusion that giving up and resorting to old-fashioned walking is inferior to ''any'' of the possible alternatives. | |
− | The {{w|Hoverboard|levitating Hoverboard}} has been popularised by the {{w|Back_to_the_Future_Part_II|''Back To The Future'' franchise}} of films, with several attempts to fully emulate such a device with air-blast or magnetic levitation, but the ''term'' "Hoverboard" has ended up being applied to a {{w|Segway}}-like {{w|Self-balancing_two-wheeled_board|personal transport system}} that has at least become a mass-produced device (albeit with a number of {{w|Self-balancing_two-wheeled_board#Safety|safety concerns}}) even if it doesn't fly or levitate. The very concept of the hoverboard | ||
;Robot butler | ;Robot butler | ||
Meanwhile, the long-held science-fantasy aim to create a robot that can do odd tasks, like {{w|Robby the Robot}} or {{w|List_of_The_Jetsons_characters#Rosie|Rosie}} from ''The Jetsons'' has been {{w|Roomba|limited}} or {{w|Amazon Alexa|differently implemented}}. The ''fully'' [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Omnicapable omnicapable] version is probably almost as far out of reach as it always was considered to be. "Jeeves" as a less than superb robot butler presumably refers to the early search site {{w|Ask Jeeves}}, and may be a reference to the robot of that name that can be "built" by characters in the popular {{w|Massively multiplayer online role-playing game}} {{w|World of Warcraft}}. "Jeeves" as a stereotyped butler name goes back to {{w|P.G. Wodehouse}} in 1915. | Meanwhile, the long-held science-fantasy aim to create a robot that can do odd tasks, like {{w|Robby the Robot}} or {{w|List_of_The_Jetsons_characters#Rosie|Rosie}} from ''The Jetsons'' has been {{w|Roomba|limited}} or {{w|Amazon Alexa|differently implemented}}. The ''fully'' [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Omnicapable omnicapable] version is probably almost as far out of reach as it always was considered to be. "Jeeves" as a less than superb robot butler presumably refers to the early search site {{w|Ask Jeeves}}, and may be a reference to the robot of that name that can be "built" by characters in the popular {{w|Massively multiplayer online role-playing game}} {{w|World of Warcraft}}. "Jeeves" as a stereotyped butler name goes back to {{w|P.G. Wodehouse}} in 1915. | ||
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+ | Self-driving cars has become a [[:Category:Self-driving cars|recurring topic]] on xkcd and they were mentioned again already in the title text of [[1625: Substitutions 2]] just two comics after this one. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |