The Home Of The Future: Year 1999 A.D. from 1967 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: akos_nemeth
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2017, 10:30:45 pm
content: This prognosis is not very far away from the current possibilities, except that everything has a look and feel of the sixties. Poor wife is trapped in the house and has to model with clay, since she has no "real" job and the duties of a real housewife is done by the "computers".Unfortunately the prophecy of the following program has not yet come to true:https://youtu.be/9wSiodbKonc

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2017, 11:59:33 pm
content: To someone who was around in 1967,it is really cringeworthy!For something released under the auspices of an Engineering firm, there seems to have been little or no input from Engineers.The "futuristic" car in the beginning is from 1962 --the Ford Seattle-Ite XX1 concept car,which was apparently put together for the Seattle World's Fair.It looked dated,even back in 1962 (I remember seeing a photo in a car magazine),& by 1967,positively dowdy!Flashes of the "computer" which appear from time to time look like something from the early 1950s,with all the toggle switches & patch cords --though they did show some Nixies!1967 computers,although still fairly large,were a lot more "appliance like" in appearance.An EE would have probably have given them a few clues about the (then) future of such devices,After all,the first commercial microprocessor (Intel 40040 ) came out just 4 years later!Mostthings in this video smack of the 1950s, from the clothes, the furniture,to the music in the last bit, which was very much "pre- Rock 'n' roll".It's almost like the people producing the film hoped all those nasty late 1960s things like R&R,miniskirts,Hippies,Enviromentalists,etc, would all just go away,so that 1999 would be more like 1949!The gadgets screamed "made in the Prop Department under a very strict budget".-----a bit like early "Dr Who" episodes."Frozen serving sized food portions"-------people in the 1960s were already familiar with "TV meals" & knew they were crap!"Cooked in seconds in the microwave oven"------Yeah! Lots & lots of seconds!"Chemical clothes cleaning closets"?----Anyone who had ever been to a Dry Cleaner would know that would never fly in a home, due to the horrendous smell.The acting?That kid is as annoying as Will Robinson, the Mum and Dad come across as wooden.Still,maybe they worked cheap!Young people of today, through the lens of "quaintness" may think that 1960s people would have lapped it up, but,in fact, it would have been laughed at !

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 12:52:09 am
content: I'm watching that and I am thinking the Dad looks VERY familiar - oh yeah, it's Wink Martindale! Mostly known as a game show host.The Mom is Marj Dusay, mostly known for being on various soap operas. Also played the mom of Blair on Facts of Life.There are a bunch of people commenting on YouTube about how the parents were supposed to be in their 40's and all that - dunno why you would assume the parents of an 8 year old would be over 40. MY parents were, but both my kids past 8 before I turned 40. Anyway, Wink was 33 at the time and Marj was 30, per IMDB bios.Many of the concepts were not too far off, the execution was just horrible. I really think that at the time no one thought here could be another type of display for numbers, and the Nixies looked more futuristic that the scrolling mechanical counter like you see on the original Star Trek all the time, Multifunction was clearly not in their vocabulary, but outside of the ranks of buttons on the Dad's computer displays, they look not too far off from a later 80's/early 90's vintage PC with monitor sitting on top. About the size of an XT or maybe an AT case, flatter than a CRT, thick like early LCDs.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 09:32:09 am
content: Quote from: rrinker on March 31, 2017, 12:52:09 amMarj Dusay is still alive. 81 years old. She looked great then and has aged well too.IMO, in general, women in the late 60's and early 70's seemed more attractive than they are now. Nicer clothes, much nicer hairstyles, less militant feminism, nicer make-up, and more sophisticated and refined. I remember in 1977, I had only met ONE couple who were "living in sin", which was very rare in those days. Shacking up with a chick was almost unheard of. People married before they moved in together. And I grew up in a tough area. It would be interesting for the 1967 people to have done a social mores prediction on our society in 1999.Aldous Huxleys Brave New World was a pretty accurate prediction. In the US it is inequality that almost defines people as alphas down to epsilons.The boy playing chess... the accuracy was uncanny. It looked like was was playing Sargon II.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 03:10:45 pm
content: If you get over the style problems, the general predictions are uncannily accurate. Most sci-fi predictions 30-50 years out are wildly wrong. Either over promises with colonies on other stars and robots with full AI, or distopian reqressions into the dark ages. This one is pretty close.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 04:47:41 pm
content: Some of their predictions, seem to be spot on. There may be other things I missed or forgot, but ...Online/virtual shopping, seeing the purchasable items on a thin, large screen (and hence the internet, sort of).Finding out about things a long way, away, such as the weather in a far off place (i.e. Internet again).The Chess playing computer is potentially spot on.The large, wall mounted, flat screen (TV/monitors) pretty much spot on. We these days can use flat screen TVs or projectors, to do it.The rather thin, TV/monitors on desks, pretty much spot on.The food being frozen (potentially spot on), then microwaved (spot on, although a few seconds to heat up is a bit on the quick side).The disposable food serving containers (**Hides Pizza boxes and microwave meal disposable cardboard thingies**, Joke) potentially spot on for some people.The various plentiful computer systems they suggested, potentially correct.(Fortunately!!) they don't seem to have invented the BOSSY computer, which tells you how much exercise you need, each day.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 11:24:28 pm
content: Quote from: rrinker on March 31, 2017, 12:52:09 amProbably because the clip told us so:-Mum at 1:19, & Dad at 2:26!QuoteVaccum Fluorescent Displays (VFDs) were already commercially available, whilst 7 segment LED displays & LCDs, although not yet on the market, were just "on the cusp" of availability & their existence was well known to EEs & others in Electronics.QuoteThe general appearance of the "displays" is "homemade", & not what you might expect from a major Electronics company if there wasanyEngineering input.Surely, it wouldn't have been hard to make up some proper metal panels, illuminated pushbutton switch banks with proper labelling, etc?Hell, I've worked on 1960s equipment that looked more futuristic!

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 11:58:33 pm
content: Quote from: MK14 on March 31, 2017, 04:47:41 pmMy Grandmother used to ring up the corner store, they would pack & deliver----all that went away with self service supermarkets.Large retailers sent out enormous catalogues with pictures of all their stock, so people could buy remotely.A computerised version of either of the above was pretty much a "slam dunk" prediction.QuoteAlready possible in 1967, by watching TV.QuoteAgain, already something that had been done in the 1960s.QuoteNot a huge leap in 1967----Ideas for wall mount flatscreens had been worked on by the Electronics industry for years.They were always "just about 10 years away"!QuoteLooking a bit too far forward--CRT type monitors were still more common in 1999.QuoteAs I've already pointed out,such "TV dinners" were already well known in the 1960s.People warmed them up in conventional ovens rather than microwave ones.Not really spot on, as they are still not the normal way food is consumed.QuoteThey totally failed to predict the rise of takeaway food, though!QuoteNo big, central computer, though, & the microprocessors in most home appliances do what mechanical switches or bi-metallic switches already did quite adequately!QuotePeople wear computers that nag them instead via their smart phones.

author: raspberrypi
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2017, 02:14:09 am
content: Even in 1999 the wife still spends all her husbands money. You'd think that they could give her some domestic reeducation to fix that. I like how chemicals are a good thing. The kids a little shit, probably will get caught with a ray gun by the time he's 16 and have to be shipped off to a space penal colony. Guess computers aren't very good at parenting.They didn't forsee the concept of things getting small. Those memory moduals must have been tape drives.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2017, 07:36:09 am
content: Quote from: vk6zgo on March 31, 2017, 11:58:33 pmI agree with many of your points, but not all of them.Your Grandmother ringing the local store.A long, long time ago, we had Green Shield Stamps (UK), which were given out when you purchased Petrol.You then had a catalogue (very similar to a modern day Argos catalogue), which had a huge range of stuff you could choose to buy with those Green Shield Stamps.So in a sense the Green Shield stamps catalogue purchasing system, was a bit like the modern day online Amazon ordering (or Argos). But if anyone wants to disagree, I accept they are nowhere near 100% equivalent.You said "Already possible in 1967, by watching TV." as regards long distant weather reports.I don't think that is the same, because with the internet (and shown in that 1967 clip), you can do it atANYTIME. Whereas TV weather reports, are only at certain times (at least in countries without thousands of TV channels)."The Chess playing computer is potentially spot on.""Again, already something that had been done in the 1960s."But the thing is that in the 1960s, playing Chess against a computer could only be done inside a very small number of computer centres (e.g. University). It could not in general be played at home, unless you had a big (in the 1960s) computer at home, or a terminal to one. Which was extremely rare (at home) and unlikely in the 1960s."The rather thin, TV/monitors on desks, pretty much spot on.""Looking a bit too far forward--CRT type monitors were still more common in 1999."I agree with you. I was somewhat too early, for 1999.From memory, I think it was 2001 and definitely 2002 when they became increasingly common place.So not exactly miles out."(Fortunately!!) they don't seem to have invented the BOSSY computer, which tells you how much exercise you need, each day.""People wear computers that nag them instead via their smart phones."You're right. I'd forgotten about that, and not thought about it like that.BUTsince you have told me off, for claiming LCD flat screen TV monitors wereNOT1999, but 2001/2 and later. I will have to (Pedantically) point out that it is now 2017, and those nagging exercise apps/gadgets were not around in 1999, as far as I can remember.