“You Will”

Cool set of AT&T ads from 1993 about how cool technology would change the future …

1. Reading books from anywhere (except that we do it with text on the Net, not with video images from thousands of miles away).
2. In-car navigation systems (check!)
3. Send a fax from a wireless tablet PC (well, we have the latter, but why would you send a fax vs. an e-mail?)
4. Non-booth tollways (except that they don’t require swiping your credit card on the dash board)
5. Online ticket purchases (except you do it from your PC, not from an ATM)
6. Personal video conferencing (which is cool and available … but what’s a “phone booth”?)
7. Voice-activated door locks (that would be cool)
8. Personal smart cards with your medical history (still being talked about, but more likely to be online than on a card)
9. Video conferencing from the beach (check!)
10. On-demand video (check! Though … not via a TV with a touch-screen)
11. Remote, interactive learning classrooms (check, though more likely off of a PC than a specialized mass video conferencing console)

“And the company that will bring it to you … AT&T” — which … didnt’t, really.