Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

When you were younger, which inventions or technological developments did you think we would now have in 2010, but which have not come to pass?

Have Your Say Apr. 15, 2010 - 05:00AM JST ( 39 )

Order by Time Order by Popularity

39 Comments

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smartacusApr. 15, 2010 - 08:18AM JST

When I was growing up in the 1980s, 2010 was too far off to think what life would be like. Even 2000 seemed unimaginable. However, I did think we would have flying cars (that comes from watching "Back to the Future") and transporters like in "Star Trek." I expected plane travel to be a lot faster. Perhaps Tokyo-New York in just 4 or 5 hours.

I definitely thought that there would be cures for cancer and Alzheimer's disease by now because genetic therapy was all the buzz back then.

I also thought we would have some kind of universal language translator, maybe in the form of a helmet.
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pamelotApr. 15, 2010 - 08:48AM JST

Settlements on Mars, the Moon... Teleportation... A new form of medicine that cures disease without surgery, or medication...
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KazamaiApr. 15, 2010 - 09:03AM JST

*immortality *utopian society *nano bots that can construct, repair or deconstruct anything *Artifical Intelligence that would surpass humans
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combinibentoApr. 15, 2010 - 09:23AM JST

Personal jetpacks to get around, flying cars, being able to control things with your mind.
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nisegaijinApr. 15, 2010 - 10:01AM JST

flying cars, cure to AIDS, manned mission to Mars.
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perspectiveApr. 15, 2010 - 10:27AM JST

cold fusion, better solar technology, no need for fossil fuels.
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lovejapan21Apr. 15, 2010 - 10:40AM JST

Everything I have imagined has come to be minus the flying cars..i expect the medical part will come to be when a great catastrophy happens
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chottoApr. 15, 2010 - 11:32AM JST

Mission to Pluto completed. Flying cars / automatic cars that run on sensors in the ground. Under-sea links between Europe and America.
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aaronlennonApr. 15, 2010 - 11:43AM JST

Silent vacuum cleaners and hangover cures.
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blvtzpkApr. 15, 2010 - 11:44AM JST

"We were promised jetpacks!"
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kazanApr. 15, 2010 - 11:47AM JST

A cure for AIDS, a base on the moon, teleportation devices, and of course, robots that would mow the lawn instead of me.
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combinibentoApr. 15, 2010 - 12:04PM JST

I'm surprised those awesome Nike shoes from Back to the Future II never came to be... I at least thought we could do that by now.
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DavinApr. 15, 2010 - 01:02PM JST

For me it was the 60's and 70's, I always wondered when we all would have a robot like the one on Lost In Space!
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GurukunApr. 15, 2010 - 01:18PM JST

a wrist watch phone. When it rings, just pull out an earphone and talk into the watch. Dick Tracy style!!
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Badge213Apr. 15, 2010 - 01:20PM JST

OK it is still 5 years away...but...remember in Back to the Future part 2? (which part of it takes place in 2015) Marty had those self lacing Nike shoes, man those are cool, when is someone going to invest that?? They still got 5 years...

As for 2010, where are my flying cars? Its the freaking 21st century and we got no flying cars!
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JustAGoodOlBoyApr. 15, 2010 - 01:41PM JST

A microphone that doesn't pick up speaker feedback creating those horrendous sounds when someone is handed a mic on stage and is too close to the speaker. Incredible how often that still happens.
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KwaabishApr. 15, 2010 - 01:49PM JST

X-ray glasses
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blvtzpkApr. 15, 2010 - 02:01PM JST

More Star Trek stuff

Phasers - I could put one of those babies to stunning use.

A Tricorder for the doctor's office, too. No more intrusive examinations, hearing a surgical glove being snapped on, and an MD asking you to cough. ;)
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SiouxChefApr. 15, 2010 - 02:49PM JST

combinibento

Personal jetpacks to get around

Did you miss this one? They're here! And surprisingly, are only priced at just under 90,000 USD.

http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/world-s-first-commercially-available-jetpack-goes-on-sale-675944
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SiouxChefApr. 15, 2010 - 02:52PM JST

robots that would mow the lawn instead of me.

Robotic mowers exist, too.

http://www.robotshop.ca/robot-mowers.html
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bobbafettApr. 15, 2010 - 04:10PM JST

Sexy android lovebots
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OkinawamikeApr. 15, 2010 - 04:23PM JST

A raygun The pill to instill common sense in Japanese Self Service Love Hotels Budwiser that will not give me the runs/hangover Popup barriers that come up when the light turns yellow Stop signs that will whack your car if you don't "STOP"!
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combinibentoApr. 15, 2010 - 04:42PM JST

Thanks SiouxChef, I did indeed miss that one. Now I know what to save my money for!
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diddlefingerApr. 15, 2010 - 04:50PM JST

earthquake/ disaster warning and better day to day weather forecast
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maxpowerApr. 15, 2010 - 06:39PM JST

Forget flying cars, I want a Tardis. 'Dr who' style
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dammitApr. 15, 2010 - 10:33PM JST

I really thought they'd have found a cure for the common cold by now. They're just so tardy!

But I'll tell you what I thought would never happen, home computers. I never thought they'd shrink from huge room-sized monstrosities, and I never thought anyone would bother trying. And the thought of little old me sitting on my butt typing things that would be seen instantly by anyone looking in the right place? Never. And now I'd be lost without it!
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bakabakabakaApr. 15, 2010 - 11:33PM JST

Flying cars. I was sure that we would have flying cars!

Why don't we? It just seems weird, like we've been technologically stagnant the last ten years.
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NessieApr. 15, 2010 - 11:40PM JST

Love-bots. Because we could all use a little love.
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NessieApr. 15, 2010 - 11:41PM JST

Forget flying cars, I want a Tardis. 'Dr who' style

Never go full Tardis.
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Icewind007Apr. 16, 2010 - 02:51AM JST

I am STILL waiting for my hoverboard.
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R_M_sApr. 16, 2010 - 09:45AM JST
> Nessie at 11:41 PM JST - 15th April
```
Forget flying cars, I want a Tardis. 'Dr who' style
```
Never go full Tardis.

haha, wise words Nessie.
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unscrejectsApr. 16, 2010 - 09:47AM JST

A Slumber Machine - definitely! Woodie Allen used it in "Sleeper". Anyone remember? I lived in Boulder Colorado and part of our morning training runs went past the Sleeper house - the mushroom shaped house. Sometimes we ran up to NCAR - scene of the famous escape... And not a single run went without one of us asking where we could acquire one of them gadgets.
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cactusJackApr. 16, 2010 - 10:10AM JST

I had hoped to see a manned mission to Mars. I guess I will never witness it now. I thought we were on track with the "Biosphere experiment" in Arizona a while back. I am jealous of the people who have witnessed firsthand the first manned moon landing. It must have been very exciting to see it on TV.
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NoripinheadApr. 16, 2010 - 05:24PM JST

Moonbase Alpha. The trains in Tokyo are reminiscent of the moonbase's travel tube though, with their flat screen video displays. Just need to transplant that system to Luna.
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SpanishEyez37Apr. 16, 2010 - 11:42PM JST

I'm still waiting on the flying cars. That was one of the things I looked foward to as a kid watching ''The Jetsons'' LOL!
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worthlessApr. 17, 2010 - 02:21AM JST

Flashlights with atomic batteries that would offer perpetual illumination. [This deadly concept was dreamed up in the mid 1950's.]
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frontandcentreApr. 19, 2010 - 09:29AM JST

Time travel. Mind you, perhaps people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have already done it.
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SimpleLifeApr. 21, 2010 - 12:53PM JST

Flying cars... When I was a kid and in Europe, I was myself already imaging going overseas like the US by car.