Back to the Future: How accrurate was their prediction?

Introduction:
Who knows what the world will look like in 2045. The way that technology is improving day-by-day, there is no telling what will change between now and then. For us to make a prediction would be difficult. However, this was a similar question posed in 1989, when “Back to the Future 2” was released. The film saw Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel to the future, set in October 21st 2015 – the date of today. They predicted what the world would look like. So on the day being called “Back to the Future Day”, let’s take a look at how accurate their prediction was.

What they got Incorrect:
Sadly they were unable to predict some aspects of life in 2015. These include:

• Fax Machines – The film predicted that fax machines would be used hugely, being everywhere in this year, in reality, they are not used much at all!
• Smartphone Technology – Trying to predict the trends in technology are next to impossible. But without doubt one of the most prevalent features of day-to-day life all around the world is the use of smartphones.
• Flying Cars powered by rubbish – Although there has been some movement on flying cars, there hasn’t been enough to suggest they got that one right. But in 2045, perhaps then all would have changed!

What they predicted right:
To rightly predict anything within this time frame is a huge achievement, so the fact that the following list is of a good length is testament to the filmmakers.

• Thumbprint technology: A character in the film named “Biff” paid for a taxi journey with a thumb print. Of course, fingerprint technology is now seen on the iPhone 6, as well as selected apps such as Bounce.
• Video Glasses: Wearable technology is a fast-expanding industry, with again Back to the Future getting this one right. The “Google Glass” is perhaps the best example of this, while Microsoft announced recently the “Hololens” – again they got this one right.
• Video Calls: As well as video glasses, they also correctly predicted that video calls would be part of life. The characters in the film talk to each other through screens, just like Skype or WhatsApp.
• Flat-Screen Televisions: In the 1980s TV’s were very large, yet all these years on we see flat-screen televisions frequently, in a range of sizes too. The film correctly predicted that this would take place.
• Self-tying shoes:  Nike are believed to be developing trainers with inbuilt motors, which will allow laces on shoes to be self-tied.

How the Internet has reacted:
As always with these cultural phenomenon’s, the Internet has reacted hugely to the day. Police Forces all over Australia have been making light of the day, suggesting they are investigating crashes or incidents involving vehicles reminiscent of those within the film. Twitter has been the source of most of the discussion, with users all around the world interacting. In an age where sad news dominates the headlines, this is certainly a welcome break. Great British TV Channel ITV2 have been hosting a “back to the future” day, which has included the film series being shown, back-to-back.

2045?
It is only right to also predict what the future will look like some time from now. Of course, it is very difficult given how quickly the world advances, but you would think that given how fast technology is improving, that day-to-day life would have been further revolutionized even then. One thing is for certain, on this date in, for example, 2045, that we are all in the position to look back on the last thirty years and be happy with how our lives have panned out. It is up to us in this present day to be responsible for this.

Conclusion:
It has been a happy day for many. Everywhere you looked there was some sort of reference to Back to the Future. The film series has left a lasting impression that is very impressive. They correctly predicted many features of life in 2015, which was no easy feat. There is no telling what will change in the forthcoming years, but these are surely exciting times to be alive. I wish for a very successful and prosperous next few years for all those reading this. We shall have to wait and see what the future holds!

/MF/
(‘063’)

Nick Jonas: On the Charge

For fans of singer Nick Jonas, these are exciting times. After starting out as one third of the Jonas Brothers, he has gone from strength to strength in the last year, with a bright future seemingly ahead for Jonas. However, despite this bright future, this didn’t seem too likely a couple of years ago, with Jonas doing very well to get back into the public eye. Looking ahead, Nick Jonas is in a very good positon!

Jonas was born in 1992 in Dallas, Texas, United States of America. He came to prominence thanks to the success of the pop-rock band the “Jonas Brothers”, made up of Nick and his two older brothers – Joe and Kevin. He also had acting roles in Disney programs. In August 2006 the first album produced by the brothers was released – entitled “It’s about time.” After an underwhelming time at their first record label, the band switched to Hollywood Records soon enough. A self-titled album helped to gain the band mainstream popularity.

After a few years success, Nick Jonas then undertook solo projects, including various acting positions. In late 2013, the Jonas Brothers officially split. While there has been limited news about Joe and Kevin since, Nick has made the most of the split. July 2014 appeared to be the start of a new era for Jonas, after the release of his song “Chains”, he began to get a foothold once again in the ultra-competitive pop music industry. His next song “Jealous” was a huge, international success which has helped him hugely. The song charted all around the world, with this song putting Jonas firmly back in the eye of the public.

2015 has so far seen him touring, making the most of his success. Jonas seems to have a very bright future ahead of him. He continues to release songs periodically, with it easy to forget that he has only just turned 23 – his best years are surely ahead of him. Comments on social media tend to be very positive towards him – suggesting that he could be around for a long time yet, perhaps to the extent of becoming one of the most famous and potentially successful pop artists in the world, though these are early days yet of course.

The point of this post was to highlight the persistence of Nick Jonas. When I was in Secondary school and the Jonas Brothers were in their pomp, they were the “heart-throbs”, with all of the teenage girls being mega-fans of the trio. I would hear about them all of the time, with all the girls gushing over their every move! Somewhere along the way, their popularity waned and I, unbeknownst to be at the time, didn’t hear about them for years, I completely forgot about them. Then in mid-2015, when I heard the song “Jealous”, I kept replaying it. Soon enough I realised it was Nick Jonas who was singing it! It seems that after a two-year lull, his hard work is paying off now.

Overall, as the introduction suggested, any fans of Nick Jonas are in a good moment. Jonas has seen his popularity increase a lot recently and will have high hopes for the future. Whether it be acting or singing, the supremely talented American will surely be around for many years yet. It is great to see a talented individual do well – Jonas has worked hard to get back into the public eye, with only now it seems he is reaping the rewards. The next few years will be important as he looks to cement his place as one of the most well-known pop stars not only in USA, but the world. Given his ability, anything is possible for Jonas.

/MF/
(‘062’)

Intel: How their Free Merchandise reflects the Technology of today

Today, as part of my University course, I attended a company fair, with the aim of finding out about possible internships and graduate jobs. There were a number of highly-reputable and famous companies being represented – Microsoft, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Santander among others. Perhaps one of the most famous was Intel. Intel don’t have the same drawing-power as Microsoft, yet still, like Microsoft, play an integral part in computing, particularly spearheading several technological advances we have seen in recent times.

So it was at this fair where Intel gave each interested student a bag, inside of which was mostly information based on placements, internships and graduation jobs. But also it included several “freebies”, which included several items of high value. Included was the Intel “Power Bank’ – a device which allows portable charging without the use of electricity. This is a device which is sure to grow in popularity in the coming months thanks to the incredibly saturated smart-phone market. Next was some headphones. Rather underwhelming yes, but they were packed in a very nice Intel box, plus my other ones had recently stopped working, meaning this was a real blessing!

There was one other device that came free, the one that led me to write this blog post. It was a 4GB memory stick. I was surprised to see this included in the free merchandise. However, the more I thought about it, the less surprised I was, with the use of memory stick’s rapidly declining in the past few years thanks to the advancement in online and cloud storage. So this made me think about how much technology has changed in the past few years, with the memory stick the perfect example of this.

Ten years ago, the memory stick was heavily-used by millions of people. It was the “must-have” gadget, something that would allow you to move any file from computer to computer, without the use of the Internet. Replacing the less-fashionable “floppy disks”, memory sticks became crucial to own. For many years they remained prominent, with even to this day incredibly 500gb memory sticks available.

But in this moment, memory sticks aren’t anywhere near used as much as they were previously. Thanks to the advancement in online and cloud storage, there is little need for a memory stick. The OneDrive by Microsoft is an example of the replacements for the memory stick. The OneDrive is an incredible program, offering any user the chance to access their documents all around the world, of course provided the computer is capable of running the Internet. Apple also has a well-renowned cloud storage system, with many companies now offering it.

The switch from the memory stick to online storage sums up how technology has changed. Although I will use the memory stick, many of my fellow students won’t even think of using them. But it is testament to how much technology has advanced in such a short space of time, there is no telling what the new trends will be in ten years time in relation to online storage. It is certainly an exciting time to be alive in terms of technological advancements.

Intel are sure to be at the fore-front of technology in the coming years. Their free merchandise is highly generous, after some research into them, it seems that Intel is a very harmonious place to work, I intend to enjoy their free merchandise. In relation to the title of this post, the memory stick obviously doesn’t sell so well at the moment, allowing Intel to use it as one of their “freebies”, without losing much potential revenue. In the coming times, there is no telling what will happen next, but thanks to the brave souls at Intel, along with the highly-creative minds in other technological firms, we can be sure great advancements will take place!

/MF/
(‘061’)

Thanks for reading this post! Feel free to follow this blog for more! Intel provide a wide array of products, their website is http://www.intel.com – this provides information on their latest products and developments.