Who watched the Jetsons? If you say yes to that question then we are of a similar age or you are a real geek. If you say “no” then google it – and that simple statement “google it” is what this blog is about – technology today. No one told me I’d have Google in the 2000s but they did promise me a flying car. Google flying cars and you will see many interesting ideas – but nothing that is going to practically get me to Scotland quicker for my holiday or ease that commute into the city – have a look at this blog – 1960s | Alexandru Duta – he is saying the same thing.
But we do have a lot of other toys. The car I drive would amaze my grandfather with all the gadgets it has. He was pleased when his new car had an “automatic choke”! The computer I am typing on right now, the computer in my pocket we call an iPhone, remote control for the house lights and heating when we are out, GPS and real time mapping thanks to the military needing a more accurate way to drop bombs, cameras in our smartphones, the smart watch on my wrist monitoring my health and activity and even telling the time – the list goes on and on. And our cars talk seamlessly to the same smartphones.
Now there is one thing we do have that I would swap the flying car for – electronic books. I love reading and just like Oscar Gordon I need to read something before I go to sleep (obscure 1960s literary reference and I do not care). Once upon a time that meant a pile of paperbacks. My Dad and I used to go to jumble sales to buy cheap sci-fi books. I bought new and second-hand books at a small bookshop in London because they would take the books I had read as trade-ins. When our library started stocking the latest paperbacks (we’d read most of the sci-fi they had on the shelves) that was a good day for my Dad and me.
Now comes the problem. In 1985 I went travelling in Europe and books then became an issue. Long train rides are the perfect time to read, but how to pack them in a rucksack that was already pretty full – the “Europe on $5 a Day” and the “European Train Timetable” printed on bible paper were already bulky. Add to that the books I thought I might like to read and things were getting out of control – so I only took a couple of smaller books and hoped for the best.
I had to use many strategies to cope:
- Swapping books at Youth Hostels or with other travelers on the train
- Finding an English language bookshop in the current city – that was the first time (but not the last time) I visited Shakespeare and Company in Paris (Friends of Shakespeare and Company | Friends of Shakespeare and Company).
- Reading things twice
- Reading books I would not normally have chosen (both a good and a bad point)
- However I did not have to read the contents of a cereal packet to get my fix (another obscure literary reference – still do not care)
Today it is not a problem – we live in the age of ebooks, Kindles, pdf books and instant purchases and downloads. If needed I can even read a book on my watch.
No timetables, country or city guides needed, just use the internet.
Today I would just take my iPhone and ebooks (other brands of smartphone are available).
I would still like a flying car though…
Clive
Caption for the featured image “1960s flying cars”.
