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Jon Morgan
Inventions
Jon Morgan
Contents
1 Inventions
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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2 Discussion Question #1
What is an idea that youve had for a new invention? . . . .
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3 Question #2
Name a failed or forgotten invention . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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4 Forgotten Technology
5 Discussion Question #3
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Name an invention or technology that you wish somebody
would invent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6 Waiting for the Future
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Inventions
Introduction
In this edition of The Internet Show, were going to talk a little bit
about inventions, and about how some have caught on while others
didnt. And how have certain inventions changed the way the world
works?
View as: | Interactive Presentation |
Have you ever encountered a parking spot which was too small for
your car, but yet strongly desireable? A video I saw recently demonstrated a modication which allows a car to turn 360 degrees and get
you in and out of almost any tight spot.
Of course, this video is from the 1950s, and cars do not actually
do this kind of thing.
After I saw this video, I began to think about all of the things that
people have invented. For every invention that takes o, there seems
to be ve that fade into history.
Discussion Question #1
Question #2
Forgotten Technology
When you think about it, the technology industry has introduced
a lot of inventions that never seemed to take o. For example, in
September of 2000 while I was in the hospital waiting for my daughter to be born I watched an infomercial which introduced The Cat.
This was basically a palm sized scanner with someone could use to
visit websites for companies and businesses. When youre reading a
magazine, for example, you might come across an advertisement which
included a bar code type thing. You would use The Cat, which was
connected to your computer, to translate that bar code into a URL
which you would use to visit the business website and nd out more
information.
Later, during a visit to a mall I actually obtained a free Cat but
of course never used it. Since then, this gizmo has been forgotten but
the concept lives on in the form of QR codes which we can now scan
with our smartphones.
There were a couple of other pieces of technology that I remember
which didnt seem to last long. While I was working at an ISP called
HomeTown Online, one of my co-workers had a smart watch which
could synchronize with a computer. When you wanted to synchronize
your watch with your computer, you would hold it up to its screen
while lines of colors ashed on and o.
WebTV came out around the same time that I was working at the
ISP. WebTV was a device which allowed you to browse the Internet
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on your television without a computer. This was like an early version
of the Chromecast or the AppleTV.
When you think about it, there is a lot of technology which failed
because it was attempted at the wrong time. Apple released a handheld computing device called the Newton years before the iPad and
it didnt catch on. WebTV was a blip in time, but now it feels really natural to surf the internet from our couch. There are also new
products which gain traction because of older attempts.
Discussion Question #3
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The other type of technology thats on the horizon is articial intelligence and robots. These are two things which are right around
the corner. But, how badly do people need robot butlers?