Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Chuck Klosterman on Tulsa’s Time Capsule

The August 28, 2007 issue of Esquire ran a piece by Chuck Klosterman on the Tulsa time capsule we examined a few weeks back. An excerpt appears below and you can read the entire story here. In June of 1957, the community of Tulsa buried a Plymouth Belvedere in a downtown concrete bunker beneath the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Classroom of the Future (Part 3, 1987)

Without further ado, the third and final part of the 1987 concept video, Classroom of the Future. See also:Classroom of the Future (Part 1, 1987)Classroom of the Future (Part 2, 1987)Homework in the Future (1981)The Answer Machine (1964)The Road Ahead: Future Classroom (1995)Closer Than We Think! (1958-1963)Connections: AT&T’s Vision of the Future (Part 7, 1993)

Tech News Matt Novak

The Disease of the Future (1970)

The August 3, 1970 issue of Time magazine profiles Alvin Toffler and his book Future Shock. An excerpt appears below but you can read the entire article here. What brings on future shock, according to Toffler, is a rate of social change that has become so fast as to be impossible for most human beings…

Tech News Matt Novak

Classroom of the Future (Part 2, 1987)

Part 2 of the 1987 concept video Classroom of the Future is fairly accurate in depicting what the Internet would eventually allow people to do. Again, the voice synthesis and recognition seem superfluous. See also:Classroom of the Future (Part 1, 1987)Homework in the Future (1981)The Answer Machine (1964)The Road Ahead: Future Classroom (1995)Closer Than We…

Tech News Matt Novak

Pop Culture and the Space Age

Today’s New York Times has a very interesting piece about the effect of the Space Age on popular culture. An effect was much more than simply a spillover from the silvery streamlining of the space program. It was an increasing preoccupation with the future and technology that helped change not only the country’s look in…

Tech News Matt Novak

Boy’s Flying Machine of the 20th Century (1900)

This image ran in a supplement to the December 29, 1900 Minneapolis Journal called The Journal Junior. The caption reads, “A look to the future: The boy of the present has a glimpse of the twentieth century boy.” Minneapolis Journal cartoonist Charles Lewis Bartholomew, better known as Bart, drew it. My nerd-excitement was off the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Libertarian Paleo-Future

Reason magazine has a very interesting article by Katherine Mangu-Ward about the paleo-future. The piece can be found in the October, 2007 issue and an excerpt appears below. If this is the future, someone forgot to stock it properly. Where are the personal service robots, the moon vacations, the self-contained cities rising out of the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Closer Than We Think! Poor Man’s Yacht (1958)

The July 20, 1958 Chicago Tribune ran this Closer Than We Think! strip. Not only will every family of the future have their own yacht, it will be powered by the family car! The luxury of yachting may be within the reach of almost everyone in the world of tomorrow. Mass production of low-cost plastic…

Tech News Matt Novak

Technology and Man’s Future (1972)

The introduction to the book Technology and Man’s Future has a tone appropriate for 1972. The words seem to offer a first glimpse into true disillusionment with early 20th century futurism. And yet, the book nurtures remnants of optimism; of hope that the future may hold some version, however imperfect, of that shiny, happy future.…

Tech News Matt Novak

Classroom of the Future (Part 1, 1987)

The 1987 GTE concept video Classroom of the Future demonstrates videophone technology as an essential tool in making people more productive. Sadly, it doesn’t seem like kids of the future are any more intelligent. Check out part one of this paleo-futuristic gem. See also:Homework in the Future (1981)The Answer Machine (1964)The Road Ahead: Future Classroom…

Tech News Matt Novak

Futuristic Hairdo Hits Women Like New Atom Bomb (1948)

As we see over and over again, the abstract concept of “the future” has been sold many different ways over the years. An article from the September 27, 1948 Daily Register (Harrisburg, IL) titled, “Futuristic Hairdo at $35 Per Do Hits Women Like New Atom Bomb,” seems to describe post-War hopes and anxieties for the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Laser-Holography (1979)

This image appears in the 1979 book Future Cities: Homes and Living into the 21st Century. The magic of laser-holography, a new technique which creates 3-D pictures apparently out of thin air, could result in business conferences like the one shown above. On the left the heads of a branch office have just come in…

Tech News Matt Novak

US West’s Flowers by Alice (1992)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 See also:Connections: AT&T’s Vision of the Future (1993)Writer and Producer of Connections: AT&T’s Vision of the FutureApple’s Knowledge Navigator (1987)Apple’s Grey Flannel Navigator (1988)Vision (Clip 1, 1993)Vision (Clip 2, 1993)Vision (Clip 3, 1993)

Tech News Matt Novak

Credit Card Rings (1964)

The May 24, 1964 New York Times Magazine ran this ad from Sheaffer Pens. Marty Z was kind enough to send this my way, and mentions that it may not be too far off from the microprojectors featured at CES this year. The text of the ad appears below. Notice the fine print of the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Space Travel To Be Commonplace (1957)

The March 21, 1957 Corpus Christi Times (Corpus Christi, TX) ran a short blurb titled, “Rickenbacker Says Space Travel To Be ‘Commonplace.'” Interplanetary travel will become “commonplace” in the next 50 years, World War I ace Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker predicts. “In fact,” he told an audience of Rotarians yesterday, “space ships in the year 2007…

Tech News Matt Novak

Japanese Retail Robots (1986)

Danforth France sent me this great link to a 1986 news report on the future of Japanese retail. The new mantra of paleo-futurists may become, “Where’s my personal robot shopper?” See also: Online Shopping (1967) Mobile Malls (1981) The Robot Rebellion (1982) Robots: The World of the Future (1979) Robots Will Be Kings (1949) Mammy…

Tech News Matt Novak

Tulsa Time Capsule (1957)

On June 15, 1957 a Plymouth Belvedere was buried in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The car was to serve as a time capsule which would be opened in 2007. Among other things, it was packed with films, a commemorative plate and gasoline (in case the people of 2007 didn’t have any to start the car). The June…

Tech News Matt Novak

Flowers by Alice (Part 5, 1992)

And now, the thrilling conclusion to the 1992 US West concept video Flowers by Alice. See also:Flowers by Alice (Part 1, 1992)Flowers by Alice (Part 2, 1992)Flowers by Alice (Part 3, 1992)Flowers by Alice (Part 4, 1992)

Tech News Matt Novak

Closer Than We Think! Magic Beam Highway (1961)

This Closer Than We Think! strip ran in the October 15, 1961 Chicago Tribune. The government may soon build an automatic highway, on which drivers can look the other way while electronic controls pilot their cars. One type of robot road has already been demonstrated by General Motors and RCA. Guidance strips and loops in…

Tech News Matt Novak

French Prints Show the Year 2000 (1910)

Flying Firemen The National Library of France (BnF) has an amazing collection of prints from 1910 which depict life in the year 2000. They are credited to Villemard. There’s speculation that they were included with “foodstuffs” of the era, much like the German postcards we looked at back in April. Car Shoes The Barber The…

Tech News Matt Novak

Matt Novak

Chuck Klosterman on Tulsa’s Time Capsule

Classroom of the Future (Part 3, 1987)

The Disease of the Future (1970)

Classroom of the Future (Part 2, 1987)

Pop Culture and the Space Age

Boy’s Flying Machine of the 20th Century (1900)

Libertarian Paleo-Future

Closer Than We Think! Poor Man’s Yacht (1958)

Technology and Man’s Future (1972)

Classroom of the Future (Part 1, 1987)

Futuristic Hairdo Hits Women Like New Atom Bomb (1948)

Laser-Holography (1979)

US West’s Flowers by Alice (1992)

Credit Card Rings (1964)

Space Travel To Be Commonplace (1957)

Japanese Retail Robots (1986)

Tulsa Time Capsule (1957)

Flowers by Alice (Part 5, 1992)

Closer Than We Think! Magic Beam Highway (1961)

French Prints Show the Year 2000 (1910)

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Travelers Experiencing the Longest Security Lines in TSA History

Could There Be a ‘Project Hail Mary’ Sequel?

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees