50 yrs. of Star Trek!

From: Murray McCullough Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2016 10:04 AM ST:TOS didn't really envision small computers. Systems like the M1 were obviously modeled on the mainframes of the day, taken to a logical extreme in which they were so powerful as to become self-aware. (Compare Mike in RAH's _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_.) The communicators used in the same series actually did influence the Motorola flip phone design--as stated by the designers at the time that this device was introduced. They recognized their early adopter audience. But cell phone technology was in place a decade and a half prior to ST:TOS, so the development of what became the flip phone was simply an instance of Moore's Law in action, not a direct influence from the show. Although a lot of young tech people of the 60s and 70s enjoyed Star Trek, it was more a matter of world view than any direct influence on technological developments. The program was not, in the end, about, nor even particularly friendly towards, technology. Hi tech was simply the milieu within which stories of interpersonal interactions, one on one or civilization to civili- zation, could take place. ("Wagon Train to the Stars", as Roddenberry envisioned it.) My $0.02. Rich Rich Alderson Vintage Computing Sr. Systems Engineer Living Computer Museum 2245 1st Avenue S Seattle, WA 98134 mailto:RichA at LivingComputerMuseum.org http://www.LivingComputerMuseum.org/