Comments on: Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 Newspad http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Sun, 19 May 2013 04:22:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: One Dr. Moore http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-702981 One Dr. Moore Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-702981 It's not the future yet, folks. Sounds like the Newspad can multitask. It’s not the future yet, folks. Sounds like the Newspad can multitask.

]]> By: SkullHyphy http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703237 SkullHyphy Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703237 I had to look up "foolscap." I had to look up “foolscap.”

]]> By: metafactory http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-702982 metafactory Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-702982 I can't help thinking of Freud's "Mystic Writing Pad" when I read about these. The German is even more evokative: Wunderblok! Where's my wunderblok? "For Freud, all means of mechanically supplementing the memory suffered from one of two drawbacks. Permanent means of recording, like paper, can only be written on once--they quickly become filled and need to be further supplemented. The alternative (eg: a chalk board) is infinitely receptive, but only if one erases the previous inscriptions. The Mystic Writing Pad, however, represented an admittedly imperfect but illuminating example of how the psyche itself records material. Like the chalk board, it can record an infinite amount of material while always remaining "new." But, like the piece of paper, this material leaves a faint, but perceptible trace on the waxen surface below, a trace which can be seen if one were to lift up the sheet of plastic and examine the wax surface. This, for Freud, is analogous to the way the psychic system which received sense impression from the outside world remains unmarked by those impressions which pass through it to a deeper layer where they are recorded as unconscious memory. Thus, "the appearance and disappearance of the writing" is similar to "the flickering-up and passing-away of consciousness in the process of perception" (SE XIX:230)." http://elab.eserver.org/hfl0257.html I can’t help thinking of Freud’s “Mystic Writing Pad” when I read about these. The German is even more evokative:

Wunderblok!

Where’s my wunderblok?

“For Freud, all means of mechanically supplementing the memory suffered from one of two drawbacks. Permanent means of recording, like paper, can only be written on once–they quickly become filled and need to be further supplemented. The alternative (eg: a chalk board) is infinitely receptive, but only if one erases the previous inscriptions. The Mystic Writing Pad, however, represented an admittedly imperfect but illuminating example of how the psyche itself records material. Like the chalk board, it can record an infinite amount of material while always remaining “new.” But, like the piece of paper, this material leaves a faint, but perceptible trace on the waxen surface below, a trace which can be seen if one were to lift up the sheet of plastic and examine the wax surface. This, for Freud, is analogous to the way the psychic system which received sense impression from the outside world remains unmarked by those impressions which pass through it to a deeper layer where they are recorded as unconscious memory. Thus, “the appearance and disappearance of the writing” is similar to “the flickering-up and passing-away of consciousness in the process of perception” (SE XIX:230).”

http://elab.eserver.org/hfl0257.html

]]> By: Ugly Canuck http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703498 Ugly Canuck Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703498 I miss my old love pad. I miss my old love pad.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-704025 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-704025 Since when isn't it Apple's turn to take credit for something that isn't new? Today we adore it, tomorrow Apple claims to have invented it. Meanwhile, Apple's only tablet innovations seem to be the lack of flash and the total app store lockdown. Since when isn’t it Apple’s turn to take credit for something that isn’t new? Today we adore it, tomorrow Apple claims to have invented it. Meanwhile, Apple’s only tablet innovations seem to be the lack of flash and the total app store lockdown.

]]> By: farrellmcgovern http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703004 farrellmcgovern Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703004 From the Geosync Comsat, to the Newspad and the Minisec, Sir Arthur C. Clarke seems to have had communication stuck on his mind! From the Geosync Comsat, to the Newspad and the Minisec, Sir Arthur C. Clarke seems to have had communication stuck on his mind!

]]> By: blatantdisregard http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703005 blatantdisregard Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703005 Yeah, but does it do Flash? Yeah, but does it do Flash?

]]> By: andygates http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703006 andygates Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703006 There's surely a reason gadgets come to resemble future-fiction: designers grow up watching Star Trek and reading 2001 and then tech advances, and they have the ability to actually build them. There’s surely a reason gadgets come to resemble future-fiction: designers grow up watching Star Trek and reading 2001 and then tech advances, and they have the ability to actually build them.

]]> By: PFlint http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703270 PFlint Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703270 Everyone is missing the obvious: the iMonolith. (iLith?) It's the LAST device you'll ever need. Ever. Everyone is missing the obvious: the iMonolith. (iLith?) It’s the LAST device you’ll ever need. Ever.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703782 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703782 So he's moving away from Earth at "thousands of miles per hour." yet he can still access Earth's papers within milliseconds? Somebody's doing some time traveling. So he’s moving away from Earth at “thousands of miles per hour.” yet he can still access Earth’s papers within milliseconds? Somebody’s doing some time traveling.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-704039 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-704039 Tablets and even Pocket PCs have been able to do that and more long before the ipad was even thought of. Tablets and even Pocket PCs have been able to do that and more long before the ipad was even thought of.

]]> By: thequickbrownfox http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703275 thequickbrownfox Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703275 Flash? "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave." Flash? “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Dave.”

]]> By: Church http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-705073 Church Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-705073 Apple's gig isn't teaching dogs to sing. What they do is teach dogs to sing *well.* Apple’s gig isn’t teaching dogs to sing. What they do is teach dogs to sing *well.*

]]> By: adamnvillani http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703034 adamnvillani Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703034 I'm with nanuq #6. We've had online newspapers for years. Two weeks ago this passage would have seemed just as prescient as it does today. I’m with nanuq #6. We’ve had online newspapers for years. Two weeks ago this passage would have seemed just as prescient as it does today.

]]> By: Steve Schnier http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703291 Steve Schnier Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703291 It ain't the future until we get our jetpacks. Don't kid yourselves kiddies. It ain’t the future until we get our jetpacks.
Don’t kid yourselves kiddies.

]]> By: efergus3 http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703053 efergus3 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703053 This is all very nice, but where's my jetpack? This is all very nice, but where’s my jetpack?

]]> By: ValuedRug http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703066 ValuedRug Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703066 "Hal, open the 'pad's closed store." It was a stretch but I had to do it. “Hal, open the ‘pad’s closed store.”

It was a stretch but I had to do it.

]]> By: Mark Dow http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703069 Mark Dow Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703069 Clarke (and 2001) used foolscap, but the iPad is foolscap folio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foolscap_folio Clarke (and 2001) used foolscap, but the iPad is foolscap folio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foolscap_folio

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-714091 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-714091 This piece doesn't surprise me. Arthur C Clarke, was, among many things, the greatest speculative science fiction writer of last century. This piece doesn’t surprise me. Arthur C Clarke, was, among many things, the greatest speculative science fiction writer of last century.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703342 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703342 1987 called, they want their headline back http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/go/index.html 1987 called, they want their headline back

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/go/index.html

]]> By: Michael Smith http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703870 Michael Smith Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703870 38&39, "Milliseconds" referred to loading pages from memory on the pad, not from loading them from Earth. The text is about Floyd who only went to the moon in 2001, so loading a page from Earth in one second would have been possible. The photo is Bowman on the way to Jupiter (Saturn in the book) and news would have been sent by push processing unless the AE35 had crapped out again. 13, Indignant antenna designers are invited to contemplate ABM search radars and to THINK BIG. Thats not related, I just wanted to repeat it here. The minisec was more of a palm pilot I think. It had ultraviolet networking rather than infrared. 38&39,

“Milliseconds” referred to loading pages from memory on the pad, not from loading them from Earth. The text is about Floyd who only went to the moon in 2001, so loading a page from Earth in one second would have been possible. The photo is Bowman on the way to Jupiter (Saturn in the book) and news would have been sent by push processing unless the AE35 had crapped out again.

13,

Indignant antenna designers are invited to contemplate ABM search radars and to THINK BIG. Thats not related, I just wanted to repeat it here.

The minisec was more of a palm pilot I think. It had ultraviolet networking rather than infrared.

]]> By: ZoneWombat http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703107 ZoneWombat Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703107 <pedantic> Clarke, not Clark (in title) </pedan... </pedanti.. Who am I kidding? That tag never closes.

Clarke, not Clark (in title)

Who am I kidding? That tag never closes. ]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703636 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703636 Hmmmm. *laugh* "Captain. I have just received an update to my communicator telling me that I am now eligible to increase my p***s size considerably." .... "That's nice Spock. Hope you have a good time." Hmmmm.

*laugh*

“Captain. I have just received an update to my communicator telling me that I am now eligible to increase my p***s size considerably.”

….

“That’s nice Spock. Hope you have a good time.”

]]> By: edgore http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703127 edgore Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703127 "he would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship's information circuit" He plugs it in. PLUGS. IT. IN. Wow. “he would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship’s information circuit”

He plugs it in. PLUGS. IT. IN.

Wow.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-702880 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-702880 ISTR seeing somewhere a piece on just how hard that effect was to acheive with the technology of the day. ISTR seeing somewhere a piece on just how hard that effect was to acheive with the technology of the day.

]]> By: zikman http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-702883 zikman Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-702883 man... this really is the future! man… this really is the future!

]]> By: Avram / Moderator http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-703139 Avram / Moderator Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-703139 <b>ValuedRug</b>, I laughed and winced at the same time. ValuedRug, I laughed and winced at the same time.

]]> By: wgmleslie http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-702904 wgmleslie Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-702904 Just like Star Trek's communicator (via Dick Tracy's two-way wrist radio), a lot of consumer products seem to be the result of self-fulfilled prophecies. Just like Star Trek’s communicator (via Dick Tracy’s two-way wrist radio), a lot of consumer products seem to be the result of self-fulfilled prophecies.

]]> By: dougrogers http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-702906 dougrogers Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-702906 Interesting future-paradox anachronism in the description of the Newspad as 'foolscap' sized. If the Newspad has made paper obsolete (an assumption, yes) would people of the future know the obsolete word? So larke is using it, even then an obscure word to describe it to present day users, in the present tense from the future third person point of view Interesting future-paradox anachronism in the description of the Newspad as ‘foolscap’ sized. If the Newspad has made paper obsolete (an assumption, yes) would people of the future know the obsolete word? So larke is using it, even then an obscure word to describe it to present day users, in the present tense from the future third person point of view

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/02/arthur-c-clarks-2001.html#comment-706746 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-706746 The future? This aint the future untill I have a hover-board. The future? This aint the future untill I have a hover-board.

]]>