Remember 1986 ? My retentiveness of the time are a bit hazy , since I was just three years sure-enough and all . But patently , the pitiable fool of the mid-1980s did n’t even have rain buckets HD flick pouring through their cyberspace thermionic valve . The horror !
The September 28 , 1986 version of the Doylestown Intelligencer in Pennsylvania published an clause about the “ video rotation ” that was to hail . In their depiction of the former 21st century , they optimistically characterized the media landscape painting as providing uncounted opportunities to better “ enjoy the fruit of our culture . ”
The thing about many of these predictions is just how mundane they sense today . But in 1986 , they were unbelievably forward - thinking ( if slightly button-down ) visions for rest home entertainment .
From the Doylestown Intelligencer :
More program stations will take to the air and the advent of a 4th internet this tumble may be just the beginning of a trend toward a proliferation of internet .
diligence expert predict the turn of premium cable length service will produce slowly or persist static while the number of basic services increases . It may become accepted practice for local cable television distributor to institutionalise by the channel .
Today ’s technology will be incorporated into the home with many — if not most — families owning large - screen stereo television set with an desegregate VCR , laser magnetic disk television and sound recording systems and dwelling information processing system with connections to external database services .
Newspapers will benefit from improved presses and will expose more color picture and more graphics . Some parentage quotations and news program data may be selected by a personal computer from wire services usable in the home .
Movie theatre will stay inviolable and videotape or videodisc sales agreement will follow on the heels of box seat office achiever .
merchant will more and more extend their wares on television or cable permitting viewing audience to scrutinise and order goods without getting up from their chairs .
The one prediction that sticks out to me as the most conservative is actually the one that was perhaps most radical for the clip : news program information provided by personal computer .
Predictions aboutnewspapers of the futureoften centered around some kind of calculator ( commend that PC were just begin to take off in mainstream America ) but these vision often included mention of “ telegram services . ” The implication being that everyone would pay directly for the old - fashioned print intelligence that was getting piped into their household — it would just come electronically .
https://gizmodo.com/the-newspaper-of-tomorrow-11-predictions-from-yesterye-512623230
Of naturally , some people still pay newspaper publisher straight for their news show . But I ’d wager you have n’t gotten a bill from Gizmodo in quite a while . ( But if you do get one , do n’t blank out to make the curb out to Matt Novak … )
icon : Bedroom scan from the 1984 bookThe Media Design Book
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