Beam you up? Warp speed? Don't bet on it

[Ivan Seeking]

Before we get too cocky about our multitasking cell phones, global data networks and other gizmos that match "Star Trek's" sci-fi tools, let's remember: Most of the standard equipment on the starship Enterprise is still in the realm of "where no one has gone before."

Replicators to instantly synthesize any food we want? Nope. Universal translator machines to convert any form of speech into English? Not yet. Transporter rooms to beam us to the next planet? No way.

Warp Drive to speed between star systems? Fuggedaboudit.

Some of these technologies are not only beyond what we can do, they're beyond what we can imagine finding a way of doing.

That doesn't mean we aren't trying. "Star Trek" continues to inspire the questing mind and sets a cultural benchmark for what we could achieve.[continued]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...hive/2004/03/15/BUG8L5K0M31.DTL&type=business

 

[selfAdjoint]

Hell, when I was a little kid we had antigravity - in the stories. What ever happened to that?

 

[Janitor]

You young'uns couldn't possibly know how many times I have read over the years that we were soon all going to be commuting to work in flying cars, probably powered by an onboard nuclear generator that used a pellet of plutonium.

 

[DarkAnt]

What, I'm not going to get my flying car?
Just you wait...