"Lance Corporal \"Hammer\" Schultz"
 wrote:
> Doug Freyburger wrote:
> > "Lance Corporal \"Hammer\" Schultz"
 wrote:
> >> Doug Freyburger wrote:
>
> >>> Star Trek TOS predicted cell phones. =A0Or rather cell phones
> >>> were invented based on inspiration from ST communicators.
>
> >> Nonsense. =A0Cell phones were invented out of need, and the first
> >> several generations of cell phones looked a lot more like radios the
> >> military used than ST communicators.
>
> > Watch video interviewers by the Motorola folks who built
> > the "brick" cellphone. =A0They are quite clear their progress
> > was inspired by Star Trek. =A0They also mention that as soon
> > as they had a proof of concept that worked they knew the
> > eventual evolution would be bone implanted phones. =A0Given
> > how the iPhone and such are going it doesn't look like it
> > will actually progress to that end ...
>
> And I still say it's total nonsense.

Sure thing.  Consider the quote from the page posted by Kay
Shapero that says I it's material I've seeen before that you
hadn't, so you called it nonsense ...

"Cooper later revealed that watching Captain Kirk talking in his
communicator on the television show Star Trek inspired him to
research the mobile phone."

The man widely viewed as the inventor of the cell phone
explicitly stating his was inspired to do it by watching Star
Trek.  Now that's nonsense straight from the horses mouth.
I've seen the statement on TV on one of the educational
channels so it should be on Utube somewhere if you want
it in video form instead of written.

> ST communicators had nothing in
> common with cell phones.

The space shuttle Enterprise has nothing to in common
the warp ships Enterprise.  So clearly there's zero
correlation between the names ...

For space stations there isn't such a link.  They were
discussed long ago and appeared in plenty of fiction
before B5.

>=A0For one thing, we never see civilians with
> communicators on their belts -- only Starfleet officers on missions

Right.  Since we know that the military has never
used and will never use items available to cilivians.

> (they even turn them in when they get back to the ship).

The ship is so wired for sound there's no need for
any mobile.  Their communications have far exceeded
the need for mobile units while on the ship.

> I can see someone building these things and thinking "hey, it will be
> nice when these are finally as small as ST communicators." =A0And mine
> is already smaller than they were. =A0But ST communicators didn't have
> squat to do with the invention of the cell phone. =A0You're telling me
> that before ST came along, nobody thought that a phone without wires
> would be handy? =A0Sorry, not buyin' it!

Which isn't what the word inspired means.  Marconi had a
say on that wireless issue.  Rather long before Star Trek
in fact.  Doesn't change the quote by the inventor of the brick
model first cellular phone.
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32