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Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

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Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#391

Post by dkersten »

Animats wrote: post #92

Virtual worlds. The "metaverse" of Snow Crash. "Snow Crash", the TV series, has been green-lighted by Amazon. That may drum up more interest. Second Life comes close. They've had a working system for over a decade and have with adequate solutions to most of the problems. But it's hard to use, and not that many people are interested.

> Second Life comes close.

I never got the value proposition of Second Life. It wasn't game-y enough to be a game and, for me at least, it didn't really add much over more "traditional" collaboration/communication/socialising methods like text and video chat, social networks, twitter etc.

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#393

Post by herbst »

grumblestumble wrote: post #108

E-Ink. It is the "correct" choice for display technology, and with enough research money put into it, it could replace these abominable light-emitting displays. But what we already have is "good enough", despite all of the hidden costs, and so we're stuck with it.

Still strong and evolving with smart watches and eReaders isnt it?

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#395

Post by hans_mueller »

Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #363

I don't know if this has a name, but... ICQ-like "searchable" instant messaging. Let me explain myself. In the late 90s, there was an IM client called ICQ. For starters, its UI was leaps and bounds ahead of anything to be seen in the next decade, and it had functionality like bots or groups, that has again become widespread a few years ago. But what I'm talking about is the fact that I could look for "female, age bet…

this is how I met my until now best friend about 15 years ago.

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#397

Post by icebraining »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #90

Optical computing. I remember talking to a bloke working on it back in 1990, and he said they had a working optical transistor so all the hard bits were done. Soon we'd have computers that used multiple frequencies of light to process operations concurrently on the same hardware! Still waiting...

It's already being used commercially: http://www.lucedaphotonics.com/en

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#399

Post by wrinkl3 »

herbst wrote: post #386
Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #363

I don't know if this has a name, but... ICQ-like "searchable" instant messaging. Let me explain myself. In the late 90s, there was an IM client called ICQ. For starters, its UI was leaps and bounds ahead of anything to be seen in the next decade, and it had functionality like bots or groups, that has again become widespread a few years ago. But what I'm talking about is the fact that I could look for "female, age bet…

Facebook Graph search was like this (and creepier as people didnt always know _how_ they are searchable) nur Facebook heavily crippled this in the Last years.

I remember when Facebook hyped the Graph search as the next big thing, a truly social search engine. Years later I only occasionally remember about its existence when trying to find someone/something specific on Facebook, and even then it's at most mildly helpful.

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#400

Post by hans_mueller »

herbst wrote: post #386
Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #363

I don't know if this has a name, but... ICQ-like "searchable" instant messaging. Let me explain myself. In the late 90s, there was an IM client called ICQ. For starters, its UI was leaps and bounds ahead of anything to be seen in the next decade, and it had functionality like bots or groups, that has again become widespread a few years ago. But what I'm talking about is the fact that I could look for "female, age bet…

Facebook Graph search was like this (and creepier as people didnt always know _how_ they are searchable) nur Facebook heavily crippled this in the Last years.

FG probably would allow advertisers to bypass FB products for identification of potential customers and hence is not in best financial interest of FB.
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