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When were you last truly amazed by technology?


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Old 23-12-2016, 21:23
JimothyD
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For me, Google Earth. I remember when I discovered it, I spent hours on it just traveling around random places around the world and had never experienced anything like it.

In terms of tech I've never personally experienced, a recent item I saw on the news was amazing - radio waves targeted at a specific part of a guys brain in place of invasive surgery fixed his 20 year tremoring hand instantly. Incredible.
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Old 23-12-2016, 21:29
Raquelos.
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When I used Google translate to read the explanatory notes in a Spanish museum. Watching the words change from Spanish to English was amazing. I loved it (even though the weird literalness was a bit hit and miss once or twice).
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Old 23-12-2016, 21:33
Turbulence
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Probably the concept of being able to go on the internet on a mobile phone. It's frightening how quickly it became something 'normal' that people now take for granted.

That was the last time, which was the question, but it was still nowhere the amazement I felt first playing the Sega Megadrive, or going on the Internet full stop in the 1990s.
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Old 23-12-2016, 21:37
Chortle
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Watching a horizon programme recently about a huge concrete arch being erected over the Chernobyl power station. the arch is twice the height of Nelson's column, was erected close to the power station and then moved over it. It's the biggest man made object ever moved on land.
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Old 23-12-2016, 21:42
solarflare
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Probably the first time I saw wi-fi in action.
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Old 23-12-2016, 21:46
CravenHaven
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I don't know about "amazed" but the first time I saw a GPS was on a mobile and heard it call out "take the second exit" or something a couple of hundred metres before roundabouts, I though that was way cool
(ツ)
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Old 23-12-2016, 21:48
Rodney
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I think that receiving satellite TV is pretty amazing. Basically picking up a signal that's the power of a light bulb from 23,000 miles away with a piece of shaped metal and some electronics, still amazes me!
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Old 23-12-2016, 21:51
Majik1
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I was looking after my friends dog when she was in America.I Skyped her and the dog went wild, seeing and hearing her, but not being with her. From the dog's point of view, It made me realise how crazy modern living has become the norm
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Old 23-12-2016, 21:55
Dotheboyshall
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First time using a touch screen in an aircraft - yes it was that long ago
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Old 23-12-2016, 22:01
RiDsTeR
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Contactless bank cards
Didn't take much.
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Old 23-12-2016, 22:05
treefr0g
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I've always been amazed at how forward thinking the original Sky boxes were. They could change the physical makeup of the Sky card inserted and at the time that was pretty cool.

In fact the whole Sky TV concept was a huge undertaking encompassing humorous strands of technology and appeared to go without a hitch.
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Old 23-12-2016, 22:36
JimothyD
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Probably the concept of being able to go on the internet on a mobile phone. It's frightening how quickly it became something 'normal' that people now take for granted.

That was the last time, which was the question, but it was still nowhere the amazement I felt first playing the Sega Megadrive, or going on the Internet full stop in the 1990s.
I was going to mention my first usage of t'internet, but I know that I didn't truly appreciate how revolutionary it would be or what it was capable of, even than. Yes, it was something very new, but I use it in school and at home gradually until it became vital to every day life, so 'the internet' never gave me a big 'eureka' moment in itself.
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Old 23-12-2016, 23:15
Jeeooorghhhbbb
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I recently tried out virtual reality with a cardboard headset recently. That genuinely amazed me. As well as that, finding out that I can transfer old VHS tapes onto my PC, then stream them to my PS4 to watch on my TV. I was watching Central TV from Christmas Day 1987 the other day. Blind-d-d-d-Date and then Coronation Street (Hilda's last episode). Very surreal.
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Old 24-12-2016, 00:29
Vegeta
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Probably the first time seeing a video game running in 3D back in 1995. Super Mario 64
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Old 24-12-2016, 01:54
MartinJ
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Seeing this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbX1t9dfgVE

Was amazed
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Old 24-12-2016, 02:19
GloriaSnockers
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It won't seem like much to a lot of people, but every time I tax the car online I think of my dad (who couldn't walk very far) driving endlessly round the block in the early 1990s, trying to find somewhere to park close to the post office on car taxing day. This wasn't really that long ago in the scheme of things, but he'd be amazed to know that you can tax the car without even leaving your house now, in less time than it takes to boil the kettle.

I often think too of the equally not-so-long-ago pre-digital camera era, when taking photos meant having twenty four or so of them that you'd never seen, recorded on an expensive roll of film and stuffed into an 'offer' envelope that had dropped out of one of the Sunday papers, taking it to the chemists, sending it off, waiting a week for the prints to come back and finding that half of them had been obscured by a blurry image of your thumb. We've come a very long way in a very short time really, but the 'instant selfie' generation has no idea
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Old 24-12-2016, 05:38
SegaGamer
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I don't think i get amazed by technology anymore. I think it's because i feel like we are behind where i would prefer us to be at this point in our history.

I find it so disappointing that we STILL haven't gone to Mars or haven't built a permanent base on the moon.
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Old 24-12-2016, 05:45
annette kurten
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a couple of weeks ago when i got a steam mop.

i know.
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Old 24-12-2016, 07:18
eggchen
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It won't seem like much to a lot of people, but every time I tax the car online I think of my dad (who couldn't walk very far) driving endlessly round the block in the early 1990s, trying to find somewhere to park close to the post office on car taxing day. This wasn't really that long ago in the scheme of things, but he'd be amazed to know that you can tax the car without even leaving your house now, in less time than it takes to boil the kettle.
Same with car insurance pre-internet, where you would have to spend hours and hours ringing round and answering the same questions over and over to get a quote.
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Old 24-12-2016, 07:26
Lee_Smith2
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Probably the 2Pac hologram performance a few years back.

I'm thinking when I try out VR will be the next wow.
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Old 24-12-2016, 07:57
zx50
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I think the only technology that I've been amazed by, or thrilled that I finally got to use all those years ago, was the internet. It still, even though I'm used to it now, amazes me a bit at just how big it's ended up being. I bet there's not many people out there who don't use it. It's went from being very slow to incredibly fast indeed. A lot of websites have went from being very basic to very pleasing to the eye because of being stuffed with images and whatnot. I thought Google Maps was quite impressive when I first started using it. Being able to see what almost anywhere in the world looked like. Also, being able to watch a live stream showing Times Square in New York, somewhere in Miami, and other places as well. That blew my mind quite a bit. Being able to see people walking about thousands of miles away.
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Old 24-12-2016, 08:15
shackfan
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When my tom tom sat nav broke so used Google maps and it showed me that just up the road there was congestion. As I approached the red line on the map, sure enough the traffic was at a standstill. Brilliant. Look forward to live satellite coverage of it in future.
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Old 24-12-2016, 09:41
Princessxxxx
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In 2005 when my dad bought a brand new Jag XJ6 and it had a proper televison in the front of the car, ie in the same screen as the sat nav. Soon after that a wlaking hologram in Disneyland
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Old 24-12-2016, 10:02
RobinOfLoxley
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They didn't realise how dangerous TVs in Sports Cars was in 2005
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Old 24-12-2016, 10:03
Richard46
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Yesterday; my phone which was on standby suddenly said "Did you say something? I ddn't catch that".

Creepy; appears my phone is listening to everything I say.
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