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| Back to the Future II: What did it get right and wrong? | Back to the Future II: What did it get right and wrong? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| It's almost Back to the Future Day - the date Marty and Doc crashed the future in the second of the three time-hopping sci-fi adventure films. | It's almost Back to the Future Day - the date Marty and Doc crashed the future in the second of the three time-hopping sci-fi adventure films. |
| The sequel was released in November 1989. | The sequel was released in November 1989. |
| And watching it back nearly 26 years later, it's impressive to note how many tech trends it predicted, even if it also contained its fair share of misfires. | And watching it back nearly 26 years later, it's impressive to note how many tech trends it predicted, even if it also contained its fair share of misfires. |
| Getting around | Getting around |
| "Where we're going, we don't need roads..." - well, that's one promise that didn't work out. | "Where we're going, we don't need roads..." - well, that's one promise that didn't work out. |
| Flying cars have always seemed to be just over the horizon. Boston-based Terrafugia, for example, promised to start selling a model in 2012, but is still trying to get its business off the ground. | Flying cars have always seemed to be just over the horizon. Boston-based Terrafugia, for example, promised to start selling a model in 2012, but is still trying to get its business off the ground. |
| But while BTTF was overly optimistic about vertical take-offs becoming the norm, it did nail one detail. | But while BTTF was overly optimistic about vertical take-offs becoming the norm, it did nail one detail. |
| Listen to the sound effects used for its automobiles as they pass, and you hear the near-silent hum that's become associated with Toyota's Prius and other electric-powered four-wheelers. | Listen to the sound effects used for its automobiles as they pass, and you hear the near-silent hum that's become associated with Toyota's Prius and other electric-powered four-wheelers. |
| Throwing your rubbish into a car's Mr Fusion energy converter to provide it with power remains fanciful. | Throwing your rubbish into a car's Mr Fusion energy converter to provide it with power remains fanciful. |
| But there have been moves towards powering vehicles with waste. | But there have been moves towards powering vehicles with waste. |
| Bristol and Bath recently started running buses powered by treated thrown-away food and sewage, and there are efforts elsewhere to convert agricultural waste into a petrol supplement. | Bristol and Bath recently started running buses powered by treated thrown-away food and sewage, and there are efforts elsewhere to convert agricultural waste into a petrol supplement. |
| Furthermore, Biff's payment of his taxi ride with a thumb-print isn't totally dissimilar to how we now hail cars and cashlessly pay for them using Uber, Hailo, Lyft and innumerable other pick-up services. | Furthermore, Biff's payment of his taxi ride with a thumb-print isn't totally dissimilar to how we now hail cars and cashlessly pay for them using Uber, Hailo, Lyft and innumerable other pick-up services. |
| Even the film's iconic hoverboard chase scene is no longer totally outlandish. | Even the film's iconic hoverboard chase scene is no longer totally outlandish. |
| Lexus showed off a working hoverboard of its own in August, albeit one that relied on a hidden metal track being buried into the ground. More recently, skateboarder Tony Hawk was filmed trying out a rival version, called Hendo, based on similar magnet-based technology. | Lexus showed off a working hoverboard of its own in August, albeit one that relied on a hidden metal track being buried into the ground. More recently, skateboarder Tony Hawk was filmed trying out a rival version, called Hendo, based on similar magnet-based technology. |
| (The less said about non-hovering hoverboards the better.) | (The less said about non-hovering hoverboards the better.) |
| Barcode registration plates, however, have made little progress beyond the odd April fool. | Barcode registration plates, however, have made little progress beyond the odd April fool. |
| Looking good | Looking good |
| The tech world's current fascination with wearable tech was foreshadowed by Marty's talking jacket. | The tech world's current fascination with wearable tech was foreshadowed by Marty's talking jacket. |
| And while today's clothes can't yet blow-dry us when we get wet, some fashion pioneers are experimenting with weaving electronics into their fabrics. | And while today's clothes can't yet blow-dry us when we get wet, some fashion pioneers are experimenting with weaving electronics into their fabrics. |
| So, BTTF's message-flashing police hats have a parallel in CuteCircuit's tweet-displaying dresses, and Nike has even filed a patent for self-lacing shoes similar to those featured in the film. | So, BTTF's message-flashing police hats have a parallel in CuteCircuit's tweet-displaying dresses, and Nike has even filed a patent for self-lacing shoes similar to those featured in the film. |
| When it comes to our own bodily care, we can't yet exfoliate away the years with a Doc-style "rejuvenation clinic" facial. | When it comes to our own bodily care, we can't yet exfoliate away the years with a Doc-style "rejuvenation clinic" facial. |
| But the 6.7 million botox injections and 1.2 million chemical peels carried out in the US last year suggest many are at least trying. | But the 6.7 million botox injections and 1.2 million chemical peels carried out in the US last year suggest many are at least trying. |
| Rise of the robots | Rise of the robots |
| BTTF's drones may only make fleeting appearances, but feel very "of the moment". | BTTF's drones may only make fleeting appearances, but feel very "of the moment". |
| Media organisations, including the BBC, have started deploying camera-enabled aircraft to get new perspectives on the news - even if they might not be comfortable sending them into the kind of crowded situation USA Today's model films in the movie. | Media organisations, including the BBC, have started deploying camera-enabled aircraft to get new perspectives on the news - even if they might not be comfortable sending them into the kind of crowded situation USA Today's model films in the movie. |
| Dog-walking drones are also a real thing - at least if you believe everything you see on Vimeo and YouTube. | |
| Another type of robot featured in the film is a mechanical car fuel attendant. | Another type of robot featured in the film is a mechanical car fuel attendant. |
| The Netherlands has already tested such a device a few years back, with the TankPitstop project, and Tesla is developing something similar for its electric vehicles. | The Netherlands has already tested such a device a few years back, with the TankPitstop project, and Tesla is developing something similar for its electric vehicles. |
| Entertainment | Entertainment |
| We've, thankfully, been spared Holomax sequels to Jaws. | We've, thankfully, been spared Holomax sequels to Jaws. |
| But the film industry hasn't given up on the idea of 3D technologies - its latest pitch is a laser-projection system said to deliver "brighter, crisper and clearer" images. | But the film industry hasn't given up on the idea of 3D technologies - its latest pitch is a laser-projection system said to deliver "brighter, crisper and clearer" images. |
| Rather neatly, the innovation premiered in London earlier this month with Robert Zemeckis' latest film The Walk - he is, of course, also the director of the BTTF trilogy. | Rather neatly, the innovation premiered in London earlier this month with Robert Zemeckis' latest film The Walk - he is, of course, also the director of the BTTF trilogy. |
| Back to the Future II was closer to the mark when it came to home entertainment. | Back to the Future II was closer to the mark when it came to home entertainment. |
| A roll-up flatscreen shown in the McFlys' home is reminiscent of the flexible panels LG recently showed off at trade shows, which are rumoured to be featuring in commercial products soon. | A roll-up flatscreen shown in the McFlys' home is reminiscent of the flexible panels LG recently showed off at trade shows, which are rumoured to be featuring in commercial products soon. |
| Meanwhile, voice-controlled televisions are already a reality thanks to smart TVs from Samsung and Sony as well as set-top boxes from Amazon and Apple. | Meanwhile, voice-controlled televisions are already a reality thanks to smart TVs from Samsung and Sony as well as set-top boxes from Amazon and Apple. |
| Smartglasses but no smartphones... | Smartglasses but no smartphones... |
| We get little hint at what Marty Jr sees via his hi-tech specs in the film, and their brand, JVC, is a much smaller force in consumer electronics than it once was. | We get little hint at what Marty Jr sees via his hi-tech specs in the film, and their brand, JVC, is a much smaller force in consumer electronics than it once was. |
| But several of today's bigger names are betting on various forms of the tech, whether it's Microsoft's Hololens, Facebook's Oculus Rift virtual reality headset or version two of Google Glass. | But several of today's bigger names are betting on various forms of the tech, whether it's Microsoft's Hololens, Facebook's Oculus Rift virtual reality headset or version two of Google Glass. |
| The film's biggest miss, however, is arguably its lack of a smartphone. | The film's biggest miss, however, is arguably its lack of a smartphone. |
| Marty Jr is even seen using an AT&T payphone at one point - all the more ironic since the company was first to offer the iPhone. | Marty Jr is even seen using an AT&T payphone at one point - all the more ironic since the company was first to offer the iPhone. |
| It's not that BTTF's filmmakers didn't envision a data-connected world - a Skype-like video chat program features at one point showing off not only the caller but also private details about them - but repeatedly communication occurs via a TV rather than a handheld display. | It's not that BTTF's filmmakers didn't envision a data-connected world - a Skype-like video chat program features at one point showing off not only the caller but also private details about them - but repeatedly communication occurs via a TV rather than a handheld display. |
| Likewise, it's hard not to feel the film missed a trick by using a newspaper to warn of Marty Jr's impending arrest, instead of a touchscreen. | Likewise, it's hard not to feel the film missed a trick by using a newspaper to warn of Marty Jr's impending arrest, instead of a touchscreen. |
| Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - released two decades earlier - had already featured its own "newspads". | Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - released two decades earlier - had already featured its own "newspads". |
| And a campaigner trying to restore Hill Valley's clock tower even seems to be using a tablet in one of Back to the Future II's other scenes. | And a campaigner trying to restore Hill Valley's clock tower even seems to be using a tablet in one of Back to the Future II's other scenes. |
| An offline future | An offline future |
| It's hard to be too critical, however, when you consider that the World Wide Web was only invented the same year that the film was released, and Tim Berners-Lee did not create its first browser until the following year. | It's hard to be too critical, however, when you consider that the World Wide Web was only invented the same year that the film was released, and Tim Berners-Lee did not create its first browser until the following year. |
| That might explain why CD-Roms and their larger counterparts Laser Discs feature so prominently in piles of rubbish. | That might explain why CD-Roms and their larger counterparts Laser Discs feature so prominently in piles of rubbish. |
| Similarly, in an age before email even got its name, it's perhaps not surprising that the film's futurists imagined we would want to fax from the pavement. | Similarly, in an age before email even got its name, it's perhaps not surprising that the film's futurists imagined we would want to fax from the pavement. |
| But even that does not quite explain why the McFlys' home has quite so many fax machines. | But even that does not quite explain why the McFlys' home has quite so many fax machines. |
| Other hits and misses | Other hits and misses |
| Computer-controlled ovens are still a relative rarity - although a robotic chef was indeed one of the highlights of a recent start-up showcase in San Francisco. | Computer-controlled ovens are still a relative rarity - although a robotic chef was indeed one of the highlights of a recent start-up showcase in San Francisco. |
| Sadly, pizza hydrators are still the stuff of pepperoni-fuelled dreams - and selfie-taking fridges have proved to be scant compensation. | Sadly, pizza hydrators are still the stuff of pepperoni-fuelled dreams - and selfie-taking fridges have proved to be scant compensation. |
| BTTF does score a hit with computer-controlled door locks - Yale was the latest to release such a product earlier this month. | BTTF does score a hit with computer-controlled door locks - Yale was the latest to release such a product earlier this month. |
| But the idea of an Ortho-lev machine holding George McFly upside down seems like a rush of blood to the writers' heads - until you realise it was only included in the movie to disguise the fact that a different actor was portraying the character than in the first film. | But the idea of an Ortho-lev machine holding George McFly upside down seems like a rush of blood to the writers' heads - until you realise it was only included in the movie to disguise the fact that a different actor was portraying the character than in the first film. |