1980-1989: Computer Craze

In 1982, the editors of Science World worked with scientists to create a special issue that explored how a new technology—the personal computer—might change our future. The magazine predicted “computerized homes” that could respond to voice commands, electronic “wristbands” that could track your health, and “entire libraries of books” stored in digital formats. Sound familiar?

There’s one prediction Science World got wrong, though: In 1984, we wrote that video game consoles might be a passing fad. “That was completely incorrect,” says Dag Spicer, a curator at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. “The computing power of today’s game systems is astronomical. They are like small supercomputers in disguise.”