How Star Trek Artists Envisioned the iPad... 23 years ago.

As a hard core geek, I thoroughly enjoyed this article and figured I'd share it with you. There are certainly some fascinating parallels with the touch-driven user interfaces of late 80's/early 90's Star Trek and the iPad:

How Star Trek artists imagined the iPad... 23 years ago

Interesting article, as i am a HUGE Star Trek fan from the early days.
It is funny in the difficulty they still had in designing a User interface that looked real, and was believable to the audience and they didnt even need to right code for it lol

Thanks for the memories

Cheers

Amazing that what started out as a budget limitation led to such forward thinking and in some small part to the tech of today and probably that of tomorrow.

For some reason I can't get the link to work....or it's taking forever to load.

I can see the iPad being the "clipboard" like thing that a lot of the female Star Trek crew would bring to Kirk to read or approve while he was sitting in the Captain's/Command chair.

Then I could see the iPod Touch being the device that the crew would bring with them on their belt or on "away missions". Sort of like a Tricorder, medical scanner, or other hand-held computing device.

The touch interface on either the iPad or iPod Touch is what really "seals the deal" on it's futuristic-like attraction!

- Nick

TNG rules all

KoDorSean said:

TNG rules all

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Agreed. I was too young to appreciate the original series (although my dad watched the reruns as I was growing up), it was TNG that really pulled me in as a kid. I watched the original premier at 9 years old in 1987 and never missed an episode until the series ended.

Loved that show. TNG was the first complete TV series that I bought on DVD. I'd grab it on release day, watch the whole thing over the weekend and then have to wait anxiously for the next season. If they put it out on B-R, I'm afraid this is one that I'd be forced to upgrade. I just wouldn't be able to help myself.

bobtomay said:

Loved that show. TNG was the first complete TV series that I bought on DVD. I'd grab it on release day, watch the whole thing over the weekend and then have to wait anxiously for the next season. If they put it out on B-R, I'm afraid this is one that I'd be forced to upgrade. I just wouldn't be able to help myself.

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I'd be surprised if it was shot in widescreen, although I'm sure they could do some editing tricks to remaster it on B-R.

cwa107 said:

Agreed. I was too young to appreciate the original series (although my dad watched the reruns as I was growing up), it was TNG that really pulled me in as a kid. I watched the original premier at 9 years old in 1987 and never missed an episode until the series ended.

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It sounds like our childhoods were similar in this aspect. I was 6 when I saw the premier and I also was too young to appreciate the Kirk days. I got into DS9 and Voyager and all the others a bit but nothing compares to TNG in my opinion.

I still have our theater tickets for the World Premier showing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was released on my wife's birthday the same year we met.

I'll take TNG in full screen. They've done some impressive work with the original series for B-R.

Great link cwa107. Love TNG and CLassic Trek. Never got into the others, aside from the movies. I once saw on history channel that whoever came up with the iPod got the idea from TNG as well.

Loved the original series. Used to watch it in syndication when I was little back in the 80s, just before the 80s Twilight Zone would come on. Then in the late 80s to early 90s, my gramps and I would watch TNG together. I believe new episodes came on Thursdays.

BTW, you're dating yourself horribly, bobtomay! lol

bobtomay said:

I still have our theater tickets for the World Premier showing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was released on my wife's birthday the same year we met.

I'll take TNG in full screen. They've done some impressive work with the original series for B-R.

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I stood in line for that movie and it was and still is my favorite of the original cast.