Tom Selleck: 1993's Voice of the Future

[Wicky_42]

He even nailed Skype - that was some impressive shit right there, and a bit more accurate than other predictions of that decade and its precursor of nuclear fusion powered flying cars and personal jet packs for all. That's all coming next decade...

 

[DaxStrife]

Did they really think people would pay for tolls without slowing down by sliding a card into their car? What if the receiver didn't work, or there was a signal delay? Would the car just plow through the barricade?

 

[theSovietConnection]

Wow, not only were many of those predictions accurate, if not dead on, their representation of many of the systems were also incredibly close to what we have now.

 

[The Salty Vulcan]

That is amazing! I was only young, like four years old, back in 1993. Who'da thunk it eh?

Oh, and a phone booth is a public restroom. Just saying.

 

[RowdyRodimus]

Actually, there are a number of security systems which are voice-activated, and you can keep your entire medical history on an SD card in your wallet.

to be even more accurate, you can have an RFID implanted that also contains your entire medical history, the only difference is that not all hospitals have readers for them yet.


OT: AT&T, we already have the technology, we decided on when YOU get it.

I have an RFID chip on a card that they sent home with me when I was in the hospital from my stroke. It's like a credit card, but has all my medical info the hospitals need when you check in (name, allergies, religion, blood type, etc.) with the chip molded inside it and everytime I give it to them when I go for a visit and they update it with my new files. Pretty awesome that they have 34 years worth of stuff on something that small. (that;s what she said lol)

Edit: Great find, Elizabeth. It really makes you appreciate what has changed in the last 17 years. I guess since I was 17 at the time, everything just happened as a course of nature and just didn't think anything of it.

 

[Ldude893]

I hope they made more updated versions of those commercials, I've never seen accurate predictions of the future like those before.

 

[Ipsen]

...To those that think this was an amazing feat of prediction... Don't you think that the inventors/designers of some of the items that have come true (iPad, GPS, etc.) took inspiration from this commercial, or other mediums putting these ideas forth?

 

[Arcanist]

This commercial reminds me of this fun little Three Panel Soul strip -

Living in the future is awesome.

 

[vxicepickxv]

I still don't understand being able to tuck a baby in from a phone booth: What's a phone booth?

A phone booth was a place where ancient devices called pay phones were located. The purpose behind the phone booth was so that someone could make a private phone call in a relatively public location. Typically they contained phone books, ancient relics that contained a large percentage of a city's telephone numbers. The phone books were normally missing pages. For a reference on phone booths, see episodes of the first Superman television series.

Of course, the phone booth was used for other hijinks, tomfoolery, mischief, and shennagins. People often had contests to see how many individuals could fit into one of them, as this was in a time before video games, D&D, and nobody did drugs because they were legal and boring.

 

[samsonguy920]

These commercials aired the year I graduated from high school. I remember seeing a few of them, and thinking "Wow, it'll be cool if we actually do get that stuff".

We did get that stuff. And it is cool.

A year after mine. All I can think of with tucking your baby in from a phone booth is the scene on the space station from 2001:A Space Odyssey.
I love taking the Wayback Machine for trips like these. Thanks, Elizabeth!
Oh, and a phone booth? Yeah, that would be a place you don't want to be:

 

[cjbos81]

Have you ever e-mailed a photo of your genitals to a coworker, wasted countless hours tending someone else's virtual farm, or run over a pedestrian while sending a text message? You will. And the company that'll bring it to you: AT&T.

 

[zxBARRICADExz]

Tom Selleck is a witch!! BUUUUURRRRNNNN WITTTCHEEESSS!!

 

[Rigs83]

To you want to look at porn anywhere, anytime and pay nothing. You will. And the company that'll bring it to you: AT&T.

 

[Smokeydubbs]

...To those that think this was an amazing feat of prediction... Don't you think that the inventors/designers of some of the items that have come true (iPad, GPS, etc.) took inspiration from this commercial, or other mediums putting these ideas forth?

I think it's more of a case of people already working on the technologies. But it's most likely a mix of both scenarios.

 

[Denamic]

Voice recognition has too many inherent flaws to really work.
Ever had a cold?

 

[MNRA]

"What's a phone booth"

Oh the hillarity!

 

[Dr. Octogonopus]

I still don't understand being able to tuck a baby in from a phone booth: What's a phone booth?

A phone booth was a place where ancient devices called pay phones were located. The purpose behind the phone booth was so that someone could make a private phone call in a relatively public location. Typically they contained phone books, ancient relics that contained a large percentage of a city's telephone numbers. The phone books were normally missing pages. For a reference on phone booths, see episodes of the first Superman television series.

Of course, the phone booth was used for other hijinks, tomfoolery, mischief, and shennagins. People often had contests to see how many individuals could fit into one of them, as this was in a time before video games, D&D, and nobody did drugs because they were legal and boring.

This is a popular misconception. Phone booths were only used as a telecommunications location for the first few years after it was implemented. It quickly became used as a recreational and arts and culture room for chavs, shelters for homeless people as well as the main hub for hired escort services. The 'phone' part of these phone booths were actually more of a public piggy bank system where after one would insert 50p one would be greeted by a female voice asking you to "please insert 50p".

 

[tomasz2048]

a phone in a booth?!

wow, I can get rid of this, finally!

 

[antidonkey]

They also claimed ATT was going to bring us all these kick ass tech products. If i recall correctly, ATT brought pretty much none of them. Still, I remember seeing these ads when I was younger.....dang, I was 18....and wanting all this stuff. Too bad I can't renew my driver's license at an ATM but I guess from my living room is good enough.