>>>But even here, somewhat ironically, he still scores, in that while the crew are discussing the likes of Jules Vernes and the eponymous author's older work`, it's stated (somewhat smugly to my mind) that nothing dates quicker than old SF that's been superceded by subsequent discoveries, or when the fiction becomes fact (e.g like when Man has gone to the Moon)
>>>
>>>Or is he hoist by his own petards? :-)
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>>In one of Larry Niven's RingWorld books (1970+) he describes a device that is striped to your wrist like a watch. This device (I beleive) was called a Joy-box. It not only told you the time, but was your phone, access to the central computer system, and even could make you a drink, and more. When I see what is continuously being added to the PDA these day, I can not help but think of the Joy-Boxes.
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>That was too late. :)
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>1959, "The 100 parsec road" - short science fiction stories book:
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>Victor Saparin. "The last cabman"
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>Described the personal hand-held device (fits in the pocket) called "universal bloc" that provides: videophone, sound and video recording, voice recognition, book/magazine/news/any information reading ("any book can be ordered and received within 3 minutes")and movie-on-demand capabilities. Can be connected to "the printing device". "Universal blocs" are used by everybody everywhere, including on the planes. Information recording is done on "a tiny hair-like element". One of the highlighted features is transferring the sound from the device to the individual user ears wirelessly and without headphones, silently to the others (we are not there yet :) Mentioned "a thousand other things you can do with this universal bloc".
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>To me it is the most complete "dream PDA" description. No coffee making capabilities though :) However, one probably can dig out other SF book references like this.
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>BTW, the individual flying mashines there are contolled by mind.
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>Here is the full text of the story (in Russian).
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http://books.rusf.ru/unzip/add-on/xussr_s/saparv22.htm?1/2But of course it all started outside of SF when Dick Tracy got his wrist-radio in the mid 1940s.
