Tech (Small) Talk

[duchessashley]

I love sci-fi, as most of you probably do. I'm sure you're well-versed in movies, books, TV shows...

If you could possess a piece of technology from the sci-fi or even the fantasy world, what would you choose?

I'm thinking the transporter beam from Star Trek - maybe even the long-range version from Galaxy Quest, or the FTL capabilities from Battlestar Galactica.


Happy Ides of March!

[scintor]

I would choose any technology that could reliably tell the truth from a lie! It would completely change society more than any other possible technology.

Scincerely,

[e-mail]

[Christian Soldier]

I'd have to go for replicators. The idea of being able to ask for almost anything and get it... well... I like that idea.

[mongoose]

Telling the truth from a lie? Any device that doesn't read the mind can return false positives. Watch the show "Lie To Me." Awesome writing. Plot twists that aren't cliche.

Phasers are cool, and I was always into weapons, in a kind of cerebral way, but I think the Tricorder would be far more useful for many more purposes than a phaser.

Still, one of the things that annoyed me most about Star Trek was that they only ever went on away missions with phasers, tri-corders, communicators and MAYBE a small med kit. I much prefer Star Gate's approach to reconnaissance load out.

[metalikhan]

I always thought the speeder bikes from Star Wars were cool. I also liked the blasters and the light sabers.

From a more practical standpoint, I could sure use Hermione's time turner (from one of the Harry Potter books); I always have too much to do and too little time. One of the wands would come in handy, too — I'm not looking forward to doing roof repair this spring and concrete repair this summer. It would be so wonderful to just point a stick and say Reparo.

[tris]

Holodecks, definitely! Can you imagine getting to stand in the midst of the Orion Nebula? Or walk through the Greater Magellenic Cloud?

Not to mention interacting with people or places from the past!

[torainfor]

I dunno. Cell phones are such a huge thing, you know? Being able to talk to anyone (except me, cus I always forget to charge it) anywhere they are? That's pretty amazing.

I think I'd have to go with a weather controller. Being able to regulate rainfall and disperse hurricanes before they hit land would be a big deal.

[Therin]

A think I'd go for a cloud of powerful nanobots that I can control with a cerebral implant. That would be a very versatile piece of technology: rearranging the nanobots into whatever I happen to need/want at the time.

[Christian Soldier]

Dangerous stuff, that

[knightofhyn]

Give me a replicator, a holodeck, a power generator and a bathroom and I will never come out...

[torainfor]

See, that's the danger, methinks, of the holodeck. Major threat of addiction. (See Red Dwarf's Better Than Life.)

Oh, poop! I've gone and gotten it in my head again. There's nothing for it:

"It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere..."

[Christian Soldier]

*screams* MAKE IT STOP! *breathes hard* Is it gone? ... no, I'm just in denial.

On the subject of Holodeck addiction, Star Trek handled that issue in the form of Charles Barclay.

[myrthman]

I think a talking computer would be great. You wouldn't have to dig into the registry to figure out what's making it run so slow! (Any help would be hot!)

[Christian Soldier]

Download Eusing Free Registry Cleaner and CCleaner and run both. What happens next is a miracle. Oh... then have someone like me run through the programs that start with your computer, too, or download Startup Mechanic .