all 108 comments

[–]GlutenIsGreat 58 points59 points  (9 children)

This, and the rest of the book is pasted on the inside of one of the toilet cubicles at the local hackerspace...

[–]ABC_AlwaysBeCoding 25 points26 points  (6 children)

Hijacking top comment to link to a copy of the relevant book online @ archive.org because, how cool is that??

[–]MSACCESS4EVA 11 points12 points  (2 children)

I love the "totally not R2D2, nope not R2D2 at all" robot in the beginning.

[–]freshthrowaway1138 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Do you remember the RB5X?

[–]ABC_AlwaysBeCoding 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I didn't, but its wiki said that an old arcade game show called Starcade used to give it away and... Wait a minute... ARCADE game show? How am I just learning about this, I was 12 when that was a thing!!

[–]adammcbomb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

oh man that is so cool. unfortunately they must have cut out some ads or something because the 2 page spreads stop lining up midway through.

[–]gaztelu_leherketa 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Oh my god, I used to have this book. I wonder if it's still around the house.

[–]ABC_AlwaysBeCoding 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's probably worth a shit-ton of money if still in reasonable condition btw

[–]brainstorm42 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I love when places have things to look at while pooping

[–]Tramagust 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Take some photos!

[–]secular_eric 55 points56 points  (7 children)

"The lone survivor presses her panic button before passing into unconsciousness." This is how the watch will help people in the future. I mean, a person.

[–]andybev01 33 points34 points  (0 children)

It will aid in the search for her corpse.

r/morbidretrofuturism

[–]DylanCO 6 points7 points  (2 children)

That got dark quick.

[–]Parlangua 16 points17 points  (1 child)

I think that was actually the optimistic prologue. The first ship to arrive had a questionable crew that raped her unconcious body but thanks to the audio record of her risto the trial went well. It's a good thing too because neurological damage from oxygen deprevation left her partially paralyzed but all the publicity she got using her risto allowed her to found a charity to educate people of the benefits of ristos. The constant exposure to enormous amounts of risto radiation now leaves her confined to bed covered in multicolored growths and begging for the release of death we refuse to grant as there is much yet to be learned from her condition. Look for ristos soon in a department store near you but don't forget to purchase the accompanying stylish woven lead safety garments!

[–]Tasgall 2 points3 points  (1 child)

A

[–]secretrebel 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That really bothered me.

[–]Lukianox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Reminds me of the Breitling Emergency watch

[–]apolotary 28 points29 points  (3 children)

I wish some Chinese company started producing low-cost retrofuturistic gadgets, I'd buy the shit out of them

[–]Tasgall 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the crazy thing is that this, as shown, is actually *very possible right now.

We just don't have it because the goalpost moved from "a phone and radio in your watch" to "a fully featured smartphone in your watch".

Someone should get on this.

[–]ThreeOne 5 points6 points  (0 children)

retropunk is the new steampunk

[–]austinzheng 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A sufficiently motivated Westerner with a bit of technical aptitude could probably move to Shenzhen, get to know the supply chains, design and manufacture some of these things, and sell them on the Internet via word-of-mouth. Seems like a nifty idea for a hardware startup.

[–]Professor_Laser 39 points40 points  (7 children)

I like how the panic button is just on that little keypad in the middle of everything else. Seems problematic.

"Ok, going to call my friend aaaaand I just called 911 again."

[–]FUCKING_HATE_REDDIT 9 points10 points  (2 children)

My problem is, if you have a whole band around the arm you can run an antenna through, why the fuck do you need pop-up aerials?

[–]moonra_zk 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Duh, antennas need to be straight.

[–]xtraspcial 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No no, you run the antenna through your arm.

[–]zirdante 3 points4 points  (2 children)

That is actually painfully true, old people constantly dial 911 just to get to talk to someone.

[–]MadMadHatter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is one of the problems with a national health care system. I live in Japan where they have national health care and the clinics and hospitals are always flooded with old people. They can't ALL be in dire need of a doctor; I truly feel that at least half of not more are there just as a routine talk to the doctor thing in their otherwise boring lives.

[–]alohadave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One place I used to work at changed the outside line number to 7 because people kept dialing 911 by mistake then hanging up.

[–]Blalal 11 points12 points  (8 children)

It's weird that voting was one of the main functions mentioned. Oh also, there would be a large margin of error in voting. It's waaay to easy to press the wrong button. "Shit I just voted for Trump! I take it back!"

[–]michaelnoir 6 points7 points  (3 children)

What about a message that pops up on the display: "Are you SURE you want to vote for Trump? Press 1 for yes, 2 for no".

[–]scotscott 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Press 1 for Clinton, PANIC for Trump.

[–]thecoffee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

WAHHHH!

You yelled: ONNNNE!

Is that correct?

[–]moonra_zk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How about "Press 1 for YES, 9 for NO"?

[–]ApologiesForThisPost 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Considering even paper ballots can be confusing to some people.

[–]Jaakkoc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hahah, yup. I would scrap the "important" and replace it with "mildly interesting".

[–]Servalpur 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it's kind of funny how so many people could envision some type of internet-thing, but also just made the assumption that it would be completely secure. I'm sure there were writers and science fiction authors who predicted the idea of hackers well before networking gained any kind of prominence, but the vast majority of infographics and articles designed for mass consumption always just talk about how something internet-like will be capable of voting, no matter how dangerous it may be due to insecurity.

[–]broogndbnc 17 points18 points  (2 children)

The new Apple Watch looks great!

[–]crozone 24 points25 points  (1 child)

This one doesn't have a headphone jack either

[–]muideracht 5 points6 points  (0 children)

dat courage tho

[–]djtodd242 5 points6 points  (3 children)

[–]Cybrknight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Loved that book when I was a kid.

[–]tchernik 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cool little books. I asked my parents to get them all. Them and Neil Ardley's World of Tomorrow books left me a strong vibe of how the future would look.

Seeing them again after all these years surely brings some memories.

[–]Nicknacklemore 12 points13 points  (11 children)

I have a smartwatch, and I wish it looked like this.

[–]no_skillz 9 points10 points  (3 children)

Look at mister money bags over here /s

[–]Nicknacklemore 4 points5 points  (2 children)

I'm just your average werebear millionaire.

[–]michaelnoir 6 points7 points  (1 child)

You're a regular a-risto-crat.

[–]ovopax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ba-dum-tsshhhhh

[–]SparkPlug24 6 points7 points  (3 children)

I'd spend money on a smartwatch only if it looked like this.

[–]gonk_droid_prototype 1 point2 points  (2 children)

[–]Augustus_Trollus_III -1 points0 points  (1 child)

I love the look, I don't need the fitness part at all. I wonder if dx has a knock off.. hmm.

[–]gonk_droid_prototype -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Well, in case you change your mind, the fitbit does talk to satellites like the one in the book.

[–]Servalpur 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I have one, but I basically never use it. There's just no point. I bought it because it's a fucking smartwatch. How cool is that? It's like the future, from when I was a kid.

The uselessness of it hurts my soul. Smartphone makes up for it though, real life is definitely better than past-future.

[–]Nicknacklemore 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm glad it was a gift. The only time I ever used it was for cheating on a test with the calculator.

Ninja edit: NOT A MATH TEST TECHNICALLY DONT GET BUTTHURT

[–]garmonboziamilkshake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those antennae look a little pokey

[–]plushieshark 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Fisto.

[–]getsfistedbyhorses 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please assume the position.

[–]Numb3r_6 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Let's take this over to /r/shittykickstarters and see if we can push this as a real campaign.

[–]ademnus 4 points5 points  (1 child)

And not a tiny word about loss of privacy. They didn't see that coming.

[–]rwsr-xr-x 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because nobody really cares about that

[–]CowboyProgrammer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow.. only an hour to count those votes? lol

[–]bitwise97 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In 2016 I have a risto made by Apple computer. My 1979 self = mind blown.

[–]mutokangius 1 point2 points  (6 children)

what does the M button do?

[–]michaelnoir 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Calls your mum.

[–]Duckfang 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Probably to have the Risto memorise/save a number.

[–]mutokangius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh yeah duhhh it probably could also stand for "menu"

[–]OkToBeTakei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, the oldest cell phones used to have these.

[–]scotscott 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Adjust throttle map and shift map, change power steering mode, set traction and stability controls to sport mode. Oh, are we not talking bmws?

[–]chatrugby 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Haha I read that as Fisto at first.

[–]privatly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmmm. I dig.

[–]mobius_sp 1 point2 points  (12 children)

It's a nice idea for a gadget, but it's no Fisto. Beware of numbness, though.

[–]secular_eric 0 points1 point  (11 children)

Where is this, "Fisto," from?

[–]mobius_sp 3 points4 points  (10 children)

Fallout: New Vegas. The entire series is a retrofuturistic, post-apocalyptic mashup.

Fisto has certain... skills... if you follow a certain questline.

[–]secular_eric 2 points3 points  (9 children)

Cheers. I did not know that.

[–]ABC_AlwaysBeCoding 1 point2 points  (8 children)

Here's a video of doing his quest with typical Fallout campy humor. The quest is called "Wang Dang Atomic Tango" lol

[–]secular_eric 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Ha ha. Ok, I definitely feel informed now.

[–]ABC_AlwaysBeCoding 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Not sure if you're "the gamer type" but I really enjoyed that game (and the whole series, really).

[–]secular_eric 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I haven't played games in years- my last unit was a PS2.

[–]ABC_AlwaysBeCoding 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Dad? /lol

[–]secular_eric 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I might know him.

[–]Hegiman 1 point2 points  (2 children)

A Ted nudgent reference.

[–]ABC_AlwaysBeCoding 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I was not aware!

[–]Hegiman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He has a song called "wang dang sweet poontang" (poontang being vagina) as well as a song called "Wango Tango" so they used bits of each song title it seems and threw in the word atomic to make it fallouty sounding.

Edit: after writing that I realized they may have even wanted to call the quest "wang dang atomic poontang" as that would make sense, but we're told they couldn't say poontang.

[–]aftli_work 0 points1 point  (2 children)

This is great. I wish I could see the page on the right with this magical satellite that could handle the entire nation of ristos. Also, I want to see the magic computer that can count 100 million votes in a mere hour - I'm sure Facebook would love to get their hands on that!

[–]PC-Bjorn 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Facebook can handle serving megabyte upon megabyte of images, news and videos to more than 1.000.000.000 users, and a large part of these are constantly logged on. Reddit alone handles about 25.000.000 votes per day (source).

[–]aftli_work 3 points4 points  (0 children)

thatsthejoke.jpg

[–]ABC_AlwaysBeCoding 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems very British

[–]kilroy123 0 points1 point  (1 child)

This is pretty close to what we actually have in real life. This watch actually has a satellite emergency beacon: breitling watch

Plus, I have a GPS device that you can use to send text messages /emails / facebook posts via satellite. Soon we're going to have broadband internet, as well as current voice.

It won't be long at all, until we'll have this all wrapped up in smart watch.

[–]babkjl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also have an InReach that I use to email my wife when I'm out hunting. It's not as small as the watch, but it fits inside a pocket and works quite well. It's a little expensive to use, but reasonable for what it does in the middle of nowhere.

[–]zzzuluz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The conceptual artist sure must like the numbers 8, 3, 6, 0, and 1.

[–]Tuxpc 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Usbourne (?) Book of the Future, baby! I wish I had gotten the omnibus edition, but it now sells for a fortune. I have the transportation one, and the one about houses and cities, I think.

[–]TechnicalAardvark 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ha, a friend gave me a copy this year they found working at an op-shop (which he bought for like $1), I had no idea it was so pricey. I love all the artwork, even if they were a bit hit-and-miss with their predictions.

[–]hijack73 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plus, I have the transportation one, and the one in the middle of everything else.

[–]Mr_Pinkish 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh also, there would be a large part of these and thought it looked like this.

[–]Fidodo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Risto sounds like a startup name

[–]hairchest666 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Loved that book when I was 12 when that was a kid.

[–]J0ofez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember this! I remember reading this in a book in my primary school library back in the late 90s! Man these books were the best. Anyone got the title?

[–]rocket_raccon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Emergency button. For "emergencies" only.

[–]Dragonair476 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why would it take an hour to count 100 million electronic votes?

[–]TotesMessenger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:

If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / Contact)

[–]Robotman1974 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I think this is from the Osbourne Book of the Future.

[–]djtodd242 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It definitely is! I must have read this book a hundred times as a kid.

Edit: You bastard. I fell for that.