I don’t remember ever expecting much.
I though surely by now autocorrect would not still be horribly wrong in its predictions
Duck you!
If AI is just autocorrect on steroids (it is), I wonder if actual good old autocorrect will see any improvements
All autocorrect now defaults to Reddit comment style
High speed rail (USA)
#FUCKcars
Land of the free™.
You’re free to choose anything you want as long as the shareholders benefit.
Not a particular technology, but I really had a little bit of hope that we’d be able to tackle climate change like we tackled ozone depletion due to CFCs/HCFCs/HFCs with the Montreal Protocol.
Yes what the fuck happened? As a planet, we came together to end CFCs but now everyone just shrugs and says, “nah”
One problem is a bit easier then the other. No one’s economy is entirely based around CFCs and CFCs have excellent alternatives.
From the perspective of a kid in the 70s, I thought for sure some level of space colonization, whether it be a Moon colony or O’Neill type settlements. Along with that would be moving industry into space to tap unlimited resources and allow the Earth to heal.
Just because there are nearly unlimited resources out there, doesn’t mean we won’t keep abusing the ones down here.
Bluetooth that works. The ability to email large files. Low cost broadband. The right to repair. Not lose the ownership of digital media.
Also printers that work
Digital media just kills me. Back in the CD and DVD days I sent back a bunch of discs that were too scrarched to use and i would get coupons to replace them. Often times the publishers included an extra one just because they didn’t want you to pirate stuff. Buying physical media meant you licensed it even when you physically couldn’t so they were compelled to solve the problem.
It’s been a long, long while that I’ve had any issues with any Bluetooth device.
Can you listen to music or watch a movie while on a discord call using the hands-free microphone in your Bluetooth headset? Full duplex audio still halves the nominal bitrate for both the microphone and media playback audio; same as when the HSP/HFP protocols we’re first showcased in 1999. It’s ridiculous, especially now that very few flagship devices still include a headset jack.
A more civilized, earth friendly, peaceful world working for the common good.
I’m more concerned with the things we had a few years ago that are now gone, and the new fascist hand me downs that are popping up everywhere.
Something, anything in the freaking moon.
Why haven’t we been back there in, like, 50 years? That mission was done with computers that were less powerful than my stupid phone.
Anything, a telescope, a transmitter of I-don’t-know-what shit, a lunar farm, a Coca-Cola or Disney advertising, ANYTHING!
Yeah, there was a period in time where people were discussing Helium-3 as a source of fuel that we could very easily and efficiently farm on the moon, which was seen as a key step in becoming a space-faring species. Okay, so we know where the fuel is and we can get there, so companies can start using Earth fuel to send helium-3 extraction machines, which can then be used to collect fuel for them to use in further missions and eventually, a small amount of helium-3 will be used to fuel a mission that returns with massive amounts of it, so we have a fuel, and now we can start exploring space even further, with people. It was the clear direction to take.
It’s a bit of a fantasy, I think. There is nothing profitable about space exploration. It’s either science experiments or nationalist dick measuring.
Short answer: it’s not that we don’t have the technology, its that we don’t have a reason to. With very few exceptions, if you can do it on the moon you can do it on earth or in Earth orbit
Long answer: in the space industry/field the moon is incredibly boring, relatively expensive to get to, and adds an extra step of logistics to an already complicated mission profile. Most space related technology advancement efforts have gone into doing things in orbit and there is more to do there than on the moon, it’s logistically simpler, and cost is orders of magnitude less. Stuff is still advancing there, think Hubble vs James Web, GPS 1 vs GPS 3, the entire GOES system. In terms of technical challenges, they’re far more interesting than anything on the moon, but it’s not as flashy/headline grabbing so it’s not talked about much.
The US going to the moon in the 60/70s was a rare combination of a win for scientists, politicians, and the people. The political incentive went away since as the USSR space program collapsed so too did political pressure to continue to put men on the moon and “prove 'Murica is better than those damn commies”.
In modern times the political incentive is returning with the continued efforts by China to do more stuff in space so we get the Artemis program, but the incentives aren’t that strong which is why the program has moved so slowly.
I know all that, it’s what causes me the most frustration. In the end the “Greatest Achievement of Mankind” is not much different than a guy jumping to touch the ceiling because they told him “bet you can’t reach”, and after that, unless they find oil or some shit like that on the moon, they’re never coming back… At least the Americans, since the Chinese do plan to establish “something” there, at least to show they can.
For me, I view Apollo as the highschool quarterback winning the homecoming game.
In the context, its a great achievement. A lot of time, effort, and luck all came together at just the right moment to create an entertaining spectacle. The school is all happy and celebrating, students will remember that moment for years to come. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big of an achievement since everyone there will move on to bigger and greater things, except they won’t have a student body cheering them on.
I think saying the Apollo program is one of the greatest achievements of mankind falsely puts it on a pedestal and forever sets up all other achievements as being lesser. Makes us all feel like anything that isn’t chasing that glory isn’t worth it. It’s an achievement for sure, but not the biggest. If I had to give the greatest achievement in space technology to anything, I’d give it to either GPS or GOES.
For me the one of the greatest is the Sputnik, it was the beginning of something amazing.
Antigravity looked like the clear favourite for scientists, but then they all went into astronomy and the age of the universe.
Not backsliding into feudalism?
You don’t like the extra steps we added?
The utilization of global powers to collaborate and defeat climate change before the doom clock hits zero.
Laptops with good build quality, I mean the type of build quality Thinkpads used to have
Honestly, Tuxedo Computers and Framework I think do that.
They do it in comparison to other laptops released today but cannot compete with older Thinkpads. Ive held and personally seen a Framework 16 (arguably their laptop with the best build quality) and I can tell that it has some massive sacrifices. Its not as durable and not built as well most likely due to manufacturing issues, in addition its clearly trying to be somewhat slim which im not a fan of. Im not sure about Tuxedo because theyre basically a German first brand (granted you could technically get it imported but you have to pay over €100 in shipping and additional import fees/customs. Also im pretty sure it’ll take significantly longer). Ok I just checked the build quality looks good (german engineering and manufacturing is famously good) and they sell some hefty laptops, obviously its sold at a very high premium.
Advanced cybernetics. From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel.
It’s saddening to see the slow slow progress of cybernetics.
Me too. Every morning I wake up and scream in existential terror at the slimy corpuscle that is enveloping my soul.
You what?!
- open source software that pays for contributions
- privacy laws that protect people against corporations
- living wage
- end of sexism and mysoginy
- global democracy
This one hits different