Originally posted by udet
well, actually, I can't make the connection between 1984 and GPS. In 1984 the monitoring was via a 2 way screen in every apartment.
Ok, you caught me on that one. I have yet to read 1984. However, the 2-way screen is being done today, via telephone.
The communicators in Star-Trek function more like walkie-talkies than phones.
No they don't. The communication is still open channel, does not make use of words to signify the end of one segment of communication(Ex: "What is the status of the ship? Over").
The writers just do not have two people trying to talk over one another on the communicator. Those situations are confusing enough in real life.
Come on, most of the technologies envisioned in the past have not come to fruition, while othe technologies nobody dreamt of are everyday occurence!
The big lie sells easier. As does the truly fantastic. There is probably as well the aspect of the authors not knowing how difficult it would be to create certain technologies(likely they weren't astrophysicist, or engineers).
But we do have variations of the techs you brought up. They just aren't as developed yet. Japan made a walking robot that can traverse stairs, we have game playing computers(abeit, not as good as a human though), and we are in space, but not on Mars.
And another aspect is that authors focused on the darker, social aspects of the techs, instead of the techs themselves. Selling fear is easy and good business for novelists and directors of alledged documentaries.
