These Science Fiction Scenarios Could Become a Reality in the Next 20 Years

Everyone must know by now that many inventions today in many fields were once just stories or predictions in science fiction. For instance, the debit card predicted by Edward Bellamy in 1887, the battle tank by H.G. Wells in 1903, and the electric car and cell phone is credited to Star Trek.


So, today, are there science fiction scenarios that may become reality in the next 20 years or so? You bet, and some are even beginning to become reality slowly. Some may even be used in real life predictably in the next 5 years or even less. Here's a rundown of some of the common ones:

Star Trek Replicators
It can be somewhat scary to see that the replicators in Star Trek resemble real 3D printers today, and the job they're supposed to do is exactly the same: To replicate or print out anything using certain materials on hand. 3D printers today can replicate jewelry, replacement body parts, spare parts, and even weapons.

Star Trek PADD
The Personal Access Display Device (PADD) looks and functions exactly like iPads and tablets of today, although the ones on Star Trek use a stylus. But some tablets today have optional styluses for writing or drawing options.

The Virtual Display Device
First used in Star Trek, this is now the common staple for most space pilots driving hyperspace ships. The simplest on seen in movies is the VDD used by the TIE fighter pilots in Star Wars. In about 5 to 10 years, the Google glass and other such devices will be perfected so the tiny screen just outside your direct vision can plug into everything from e-mailing to internet browsing, and more.

Minority Report Air Touch Technology

While touch-screen display has already been perfected and even improving ever since it came out in sci-fi films, a headset is being created to mimic the air touch technology seen in the film, Minority Report, though it may take some more years to make it as smooth as Tom Cruise makes of it in the film.

Hoverbikes and Hoverboards
Hoverbikes were first seen in Star Wars while the hoverboards was first seen in Back to the Future. By 2017, a hoverbike could start flying, though not as deft as the one used by the Stormtroopers. The hoverboards now being sold commercially took their cue from Back to the Future, though a more realistic one using four disc-shaped magnetic engines that pushed against each other could also make a commercial appearance by 2017.

Driverless Cars
Logan's Run in 1975 is credited with the first concept of a driverless vehicle, though these also came out in films like Total Recall, Judge Dredd, and Minority Report. Google is the first to attempt the concept, with Audi and Ford also attempting the reality, though the technology is a bit awkward.

How Useful is Online Tech Support for Any Startup Business

In today's society full of technological wonders, gadgets and the Internet are used 24/7 in every corner and aspect of any business, company, or corporation. Thus, a startup business isn't exempted from this no matter what type of business is opening. In reality, many startup businesses don't have the resources or inclination to have the latest computer software, be updated on the latest gadgets, online security threats, or even how to repair of fix common computer issues. Naturally, not all startup businesses have the capacity to maintain a separate IT tech department to care care of all this.

To avoid falling into these technological mistakes and traps, startup businesses needed to immediately include an online technical support as part of their operating expenses. The reality of the situation is that if a startup business has insufficient technical support, when a grave computer problem strikes, this may have the potential to wipe out all the businesses' data. Depending on novice technicians or a fellow employee "who has some tech skills" is not being cost-efficient.

Any startup business needs to a knowledgeable and trusted tech support company that has proficient, current, trained, and licensed professionals.

Hardware and Software Issues

Many startups don't realize that a computer's service life is there to four years at the most. The reason for this is the normal computer's lifespan, and when a computer is around five to six years old, support expenses increase. Thus, a startup business with the proper tech support company will be well-informed of this, and in the long run, and as the business grows, incompatibilities due to license terms, renewal dates, and mismatched components and software applications are avoided. Naturally, on the other side of the long run, older and more obsolete hardware will make office work less efficient, increases downtime likelihood, and will endanger sales.

Insufficient Power Protection

Tech support professionals will definitely inform clients that a single power outage, power surge, or power spike will damage the electronic components in a computer and result in critical data loss. This consistent power problems will definitely shorten the lifespan of computers and even peripherals like printers. A strong lightning strike or electric outage has the potential to greatly damage computer systems, corrupt data, and cause lost data if the business has no proper power outage suppressors.

Using Unlicensed Software

Unfortunately, many startups, in order to save cost, will resort illegal software that are cheaper and carry no licensing fees. It also means that should the business owner realize too late that proper tech support sorely needed; "prated" or illegal programs will render the business "suspect" since the online support of the legitimate software companies will detect the illegal programs online and trace it to the computers concerned.

Poor Security

Startups that fail to get tech support will not immediately be advised to make computer and Internet security a priority to protect the new business. Having a good tech support company means that the startup will be advised to implement and enforce strong password security policies for all IT equipment.

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Some Reasons Why Your Internet is Slow All of a Sudden

Sometimes a suddenly slow internet is the universe’s way of telling you to go play outside. On other occasions it’s the same universe’s cruel joke to disrupt your productivity.

On a more serious note, a slow internet connection may sometimes be the fault of the internet service provider (ISP). Sometimes though, the culprit is simply the user.

It may be your Wi-Fi

Most internet connections with plans are pretty fast. The same can’t be said for Wi-Fi. In truth, wireless Wi-Fi reception is much slower than other connections. Before you assume you aren’t getting the speeds you pay for, make sure your expectations are correct. Try and download a small file (like music) or run a speed test from a computer that’s hard-wired, and compare the results. If that machine provides the speeds you expect, you have a Wi-Fi problem. If that’s happening in a part of your home prone to bad reception, move somewhere else.

It could be the server

Just because a speed test reveals your connection is capable of certain data rates doesn’t mean you’ll always get them. For example, if your connection provides 25mbps downstream, the server you’re connected to has to provide the same speed upstream just to you. Remember that you’re not the only one connecting, so that’s a lot of bandwidth. Major sites do have large amounts of bandwidth and can match your speeds on numerous occasions, but many simply cannot. This doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with your connection, but that the server you’re connecting to just can’t match your speeds.

Did you leave the torrent on?

Since we tend to love to download a lot of things these days, remember that the larger the torrent you’re downloading the more it takes from the bandwidth. So your connection might tend to slow down while working if you’re downloading that 8GB Blu-ray movie as compared to downloading an 800mb music album. Of course a torrent isn’t the only thing that bogs down your connection. Lots of other apps may be running in the background and slow things down, either briefly or a long time. Apps often automatically update themselves. Be sure to check on everything capable of utilizing your connection in the event a slowdown occurs.

Your router is sleeping on the job

Routers are tiny little computers that manage your network. Sometimes they require a bit too much and may cause problems. That’s why many routers require a regular restart. Sometimes you can easily fix this problem, but other times you may just have a bad router. Unfortunately, routers often don’t fail by completely dying. Rather, they’ll stop working well and you won't notice immediately. If your router is becoming a problem, perhaps you’ll need the help of your local tech support company.

5 Awesome Remote Tricks That Could Supercharge Your Apple TV

Do you know that you can find one of the fastest growing niches of the consumer technology space in your living room? Nowadays, almost everyone wants to have their own piece -- Apple, Google, Amazon, and Roku. The reason for this is because HDTVs are usually expensive; therefore it's not something an average consumer can buy. There's a lot to love about the new Apple TV. And to help you get the best out of your new Apple TV remote, check out these tips to find out more.

Adjust the sensitivity of the Touch surface

The Touch surface on the new remote is a great addition, but it can feel fairly imprecise while performing a text input. A part of the problem is that everyone swipes a little differently, and fingers of varying sizes fit differently on the Touch surface. To compensate for this, Apple allows us to adjust the sensitivity of the Touch surface. Just go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Touch Surface Tracking and then choose Fast,Medium, or Slow.

Use the remote to control your TV or receiver

Did you know the new remote can control the basic functions of compatible TVs and receivers? If your equipment supports HDMI CEC (which is often referred to by manufacturer-specific names such as SimpLink, EasyLink, Bravia Link, Anycast, or CEC), the remote can be used to adjust the volume, turn everything off when the Apple TV is placed into sleep mode, or turn it all on and switch to the TV's correct HDMI input when the Apple TV is woken up. Your Apple TV should set this all up automatically, and the remote's volume buttons should work even on tech that don't support HDMI-CEC.

Manually start the screensaver

Press the Menu button with the first app highlighted on the Home screen in order to manually trigger one of the Apple TV's swooping cityscape screensavers. If you're deep into an app, simply continue tapping on the Menu button -- paging backward through as many menus as necessary -- until the screensaver shows up.

Zoom in on the action

If you'd like to have a closer look at a movie, game, etc., you can use the remote to zoom in and magnify a section of the screen. Once you've turned on this feature by heading to Settings > General > Accessibility, it can be triggered by clicking the Touch surface three times. With zoom activated, simply slide your finger across the Touch surface to move your magnification area across the screen. To return the screen to its normal setting, just do another three clicks.

Extra video controls

You may already be aware that you can swipe left or right on the Touch to slide the scrub bar to the exact scene you want, but did you know you can also click the right or left edge to jump 10 seconds or backward? Aside from that, you can also click and hold an edge to rewind or fast-forward the video clip. These tips are useful especially if you want to go back to a specific part of a long video clip that you're currently watching.