Government Technology - September 2007 - (Page 26)

WAYBACK Government Technology’s MACHINE Revisiting 20 years of Government Technology magazine. 1993 1 There were, of course, some miscues; like the story that promised the Internet would enable widespread telecommuting. The Internet does, of course, make telecommuting an easily achievable reality. Unfortunately it’s the employers — public and private — that have not kept pace with the technology. WAY BACK FACT Along with the birth of the Web, the early 1990s heralded another digital revolution. For the previous decade and a half, video gaming was generally considered child’s play — save for the occasional quarters spent on Ms. Pac-Man at the local pub. By the dawn of the decade, however, industry giant Nintendo was secretly working on a new home video game console that would be powered by an advanced processor designed by Sony’s Ken Kutaragi. Ensuing contract and technology disputes would doom the Nintendo-Sony partnership, however, and by 1993 the two companies had severed all ties. Two years later, using technology developed for the proposed Nintendo-Sony machine, Sony launched the PlayStation, ushering in a new era of immersive, three-dimensional virtual worlds. 26 BY CHAD VANDER VEEN | TECHNOLOGY AND POLITICS EDITOR Forgive the lack of modesty, but we really nailed some of the day’s emerging technologies. For instance, contributor Jim Warren wrote a feature titled The Year of the Internet. Indeed it was. Warren presented a brief yet comprehensive history of the Internet and explained the mysterious new tools that we, a mere 14 years later, cannot imagine life without. That same issue also featured a story by Tod Newcombe that looked at the future of highway transportation. The article began by describing a scene set in 2013 Chicago recounting a typical morning for a commuter. Newcombe told readers of dashmounted navigation systems, complete with voice, video, touchscreens and GPS. Now travelers also have access to other tools, such as real-time traffic information, collision-avoidance alarms and automated toll systems that sync with transponders on cars. Our July 1993 issue rocked. Our ability to sense the future was unusually well honed in 1993. Our August issue featured a story that predicted many local governments would ﬁnd themselves “unprepared for their pivotal role in the high-stakes wiring of America’s neighborhoods,” and the story warned that many could “make mistakes that could plague them for decades.” Contributor David Aden told readers of new audio triangulation techniques that would enable law enforcement to use acoustic data to pinpoint the location of gunshots. Such technology is still making headlines. It was featured recently in our magazine and in the April 2007 issue of Wired. 2

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - September 2007

Contents Point of View Big Picture ESRI Insert The Last Mile GT Spectrum Profile Nuclear Revival Way Back Machine Intel Insert Tale of TIERS Joining Forces Saving Seniors Site Seeing Quarter Miles Two Cents Products Signal: Noise Digital Communities Contents Our Road Ahead Course of Action Shared Interests Special Report: Foundation for the Future Using Wireless to Save Lives Smart Grids for Energy Conservation Community Governing and Wizards

Government Technology - September 2007

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