Computer in Science Fiction
(Technovelgy items at top: skip down to News)

Name

Author (Publication Date)

David Brin (1994)
Robert Heinlein (1966)
Charles Stross (2007)
Vernor Vinge (2006)
Robert Heinlein (1982)
David Brin (1994)
Greg Bear (1984)
Charles Stross (2007)
James P. Hogan (1977)
Jerry Pournelle (w/L. Niven) (1981)
Isaac Asimov (1951)
Murray Leinster (1946)
Neal Stephenson (1992)
Frank Herbert (1984)
William Gibson (1996)
John Brunner (1975)
William Gibson (1984)
Charles Stross (2007)
Richard Morgan (2003)
William Gibson (1982)
Robert Heinlein (1966)
Frank Herbert (1984)
David Brin (1990)
Robert J. Sawyer (1998)
Vernor Vinge (1999)
Rusty Lemorande (1984)
John Brunner (1975)
John Brunner (1975)
Robert J. Sawyer (2009)
Alastair Reynolds (2005)
Jonathan Swift (1726)
Stanislaw Lem (1965)
Stanislaw Lem (1965)
John Brunner (1975)
Ray Cummings (1928)
Stanislaw Lem (1983)
Frank Herbert (1984)
William Gibson (1984)
Arthur C. Clarke (1968)
William Gibson (1984)
Greg Bear (1984)
Bruce Sterling (1988)
Bruce Sterling (1998)
William Gibson (1984)
Cordwainer Smith (1962)
Vernor Vinge (1999)
Murray Leinster (1946)
James Blish (1957)
Isaac Asimov (1951)
William Gibson (1982)
Isaac Asimov (1951)
Greg Bear (1984)
Clifford Simak (1949)
Jack Vance (1952)
Isaac Asimov (1955)
Iain M Banks (2004)
Frank Herbert (1977)
Ray Bradbury (1951)
Stanislaw Lem (1961)
Cory Doctorow (2008)
David Brin (1990)
Frank Herbert (1977)
Larry Niven (w/J. Pournelle) (1974)
David Brin (1990)
William Gibson (1996)
Cory Doctorow (2008)
Robert Heinlein (1961)
Robert Heinlein (1951)
William Gibson (1993)
William Gibson (1984)
Isaac Asimov (1951)
Robert Heinlein (1956)
Greg Bear (2003)
Philip K. Dick (1963)
Robert Heinlein (1956)
Robert Heinlein (1954)
Jack Vance (1964)
H. Beam Piper (1962)
Frederik Pohl (1965)
Damien Broderick (1982)
Charles Stross (2007)
Bruce Sterling (1994)
David Brin (1990)
Rudy Rucker (1988)
Vernor Vinge (2001)
Robert J. Sawyer (2009)

Related Science Fiction in the News

Muscle-Controlled Interface Is Hands-Free
Research could lead to completely hands-free gaming interfaces.
(re: Ian Banks, 10/30/2009 )
Online Banking Malware Rewrites Your Statements
This is a very sneaky trojan program - it sits in your PC and rewrites bank statements on-the-fly, as you're looking at them.
(re: Various, 10/5/2009 )
Courier Tablet Computer Video Reveals Features
This short video shows off the capabilities of Microsoft's Courier tablet prototype. Do you see features here that are worth having?
(re: Neal Stephenson, 9/30/2009 )
'Mechanical Tumor' Meatspace Expression Of Computer Stress
Would you really want to visualize your computer's level of activity in terms you can really, I mean viscerally, understand?
(re: Philip K. Dick, 9/29/2009 )
Doctorow's SchoolBook Computers Created By Australian Govt
Waving a red flag in front of the world's hackers, the New South Wales schools will be handing out 'unhackable' computers to high school students.
(re: Cory Doctorow, 9/28/2009 )
Courier Tablet Computer - Microsoft's Prototype
Interesting two-page tablet computer prototype from Microsoft is very similar to a Toshiba prototype from almost five years ago. Does it make you think of a runcible?
(re: Neal Stephenson, 9/22/2009 )
Computers Now Lip Read Like Humans
Remember that very far-fetched scene in 2001 where a computer reads lips? Not so far-fetched anymore.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 9/18/2009 )
Hot Ice Computer
Can you create a massively-parallel computer with a solution of super-saturated sodium acetate? Watch the video.
(re: Various, 9/6/2009 )
Computers May Crack Ancient Texts
Is it a language or is it just a bunch of little pictures? National pride fuels the debate between scholars on the Indus Valley script. Those who enjoyed the movie Blade may have seen this idea before.
(re: Various, 9/1/2009 )
WAHHA GO GO Laughing Head
This baroque device recreates the sound of the human laugh by means of clever clockwork and reconstructions of human pipes and lips. Why make such a thing when synth chips cost nothing.
(re: William Gibson, 8/27/2009 )
Sentiment Analysis: Hypercorps Need Emotion Chips
It turns out that big companies really want to know how you feel about them. Really?
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 8/25/2009 )
Buying a Tablet Computer?
I think that tablet computers might just make it this time around. Here's why.
(re: Arthur C. Clarke, 8/5/2009 )
U.S. Cyber Challenge - Greetings, Starfighter!
It's time for all good geeks to come to the defense of their country. The DoD hopes to attract and train at least 10,000 students to help defend our national cyberspace.
(re: Various, 7/27/2009 )
Bacterial 'Computer' Solves Math Problem
Genetically modified bacteria solve yet another math problem. It takes a while to program them, but when you can double your number of processors every few hours, the calculations go faster.
(re: Greg Bear, 7/26/2009 )
'Nearest Tube' Augmented Reality iPhone App
Newest decal required on the iPhone: 'Please don't attempt to drive or walk based on the image you see on your iPhone, held right up against your eyes.'
(re: Vernor Vinge, 7/18/2009 )
HTC Magic Smartphone At Google IO
Take a look at what they gave us at Google IO 2009; maybe the most remarkable pocket-sized computer you ever owned.
(re: Niven and Pournelle, 5/28/2009 )
WolframAlpha Is Not A Search Engine
I see the WolframAlpha computational knowledge engine in two science-fictional ways, but their engineers might be seeing another.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 5/20/2009 )
Rity Software Agent Has 'Genomic' Personality
The Sirius Cybernetics Corporation may own the patent on this idea; this software agent is back in the news with a much more complex personality.
(re: Douglas Adams, 5/20/2009 )
iVisit SeeScan Cell Phone 'Seeing Eye' Camera For Blind
This remarkable demo video shows some very impressive object recognition; very useful for the blind or people with low vision or other visual impairment.
(re: Various, 5/19/2009 )
Universities Irrelevant By 2020
A Brigham Young University professor foresees the end of the university as we know it. But will it come soon enough?
(re: Isaac Asimov, 4/22/2009 )
The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 Could Shut Down Your Internet
The Cybersecurity Act may need a way to shut down all or part of the Internet - Brunner, who first introduced the term 'computer tapeworm', is ahead of everyone once again.
(re: John Brunner, 4/17/2009 )
Brain Chip Hardware Neurons And Synapses
Finally, robots will be able to get the brains they really need, not just some sort of microprocessor.
(re: Isaac Asimov, 3/26/2009 )
MindCite Data Mining Crime Fighting BatComputer
This computer effort combines information from many different sources. Object: crime-fighting.
(re: Bob Kane, 3/24/2009 )
Evidence.com Virtual Evidence Warehouse By TASER
This company seems to be building what Charles Stross called 'CopSpace' and all of the hardware and software needed to store police 'lifelogs' and geospatial analytics.
(re: Charles Stross, 3/11/2009 )
RealView 3D Scanner - For Your Desk
This handy little desktop wonder can bring at least the external details of any object (that fits) right in to the digital world.
(re: Jack Vance, 1/12/2009 )
SCIgen - Computer Generates CS Papers
Read about this paper-generating program and wonder at a brand new, ground-breaking paper by five science fiction titans - Asimov, Gallun, Herbert, Russell and Heinlein.
(re: Robert Heinlein, 12/27/2008 )
NSA Patents Herbert's Network Snooper Catcher
The NSA apparently forgot to search for prior art when patenting ways to determine if someone is tampering with network communication.
(re: Frank Herbert, 12/22/2008 )
Virtual Philadelphia More Interactive Than Street View
Walking through Virtual Philadelphia is so real, you can talk with shopkeepers. You can even make your avatar fly, just like in The Matrix.
(re: Various, 12/16/2008 )
Virtual Faces With Personality And Emotion
Computer personalities get a leg up on reality using this new model developed by Diana Arellano, a PhD student.
(re: William Gibson, 12/9/2008 )
DoD Computers Penetrated In Cyber-Attack
Attacks on DoD computers forced military leaders to brief President Bush this week; I wonder if they read to him from Neuromancer to help him understand it?
(re: William Gibson, 11/28/2008 )
Artist Blogger Vlach Wants Webcam Eye
This one-eyed San Francisco artist wants to replace her blind prosthesis with a working web cam.
(re: Various, 11/17/2008 )
G-Speak Compared To Minority Report Gesture Interface
This software platform looks a lot like the one in the movie, and there is a good reason for that.
(re: Steven Spielberg, 11/17/2008 )
RESURRECT High-Fidelity Computer Battlefield Simulations
How would you face the no-win scenario? DARPA wants to know, and I think they want a very visceral kind of test.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 11/11/2008 )
The Digital Dark Age And Bene Gesserit House Records
Fortunately, Frank Herbert has given us a glimpse of what this future will be like.
(re: Frank Herbert, 11/10/2008 )
Integrated Cyber Defense To Recode Cyberspace
The US military, father of the Internet, is trying to rewire its child. For protection.
(re: Various, 11/4/2008 )
SideSight Virtual Touchpad - But Does It Have Air Quotes?
Interesting development brings gesture to control to very small devices.
(re: Various, 11/2/2008 )
Online Death Leads To Offline Arrest
Bizarre case of broken hearts and avatar erasure.
(re: Various, 10/27/2008 )
Spam Kiwi Kings Of Spam Sent Third Of All Spam Emails
Two men stand accused of being the kings of spam; shutting them down may decrease world spam by one-third.
(re: Greg Egan, 10/17/2008 )
OLO iPhone-based Laptops
This is a really slick idea if you haven't seen it; at the right price point, this would be a great answer to those small net-surfing laptops.
(re: Various, 10/14/2008 )
The Evolution Of Spore
Fascinating computer game has many roots in both science and fiction.
(re: Stanislaw Lem, 9/11/2008 )
Google Navy: Water-Based Data Centers
Avast, there: Google has filed a patent application for a sea-going Internet of sustainable data havens.
(re: Bruce Sterling, 9/6/2008 )
MS InPrivate Browsing May Cut Off Google's Air Supply
The endless struggle between Google and Microsoft goes on; this little-known feature could have big effects.
(re: Various, 8/27/2008 )
Seek Map Wrist Navigation Concept
Interesting visual fiction (a concept design) has much earlier roots in sf.
(re: Stanislaw Lem, 8/26/2008 )
Crime Mapping Website - Your Own Batcomputer
Scotland Yard Google mashup brings us closer to the Batcomputer, and, I believe, certain Justice League of America technologies.
(re: Various, 8/18/2008 )
Lookalike 'Wanted' Leaflet Features Harry Potter Actor
This is not a real compliment for actors; however, it's a technique that police hope will work.
(re: William Gibson, 8/11/2008 )
I-9/11 Event Would Bring iPatriot Act
Interesting argument by Lessig regarding the free Internet that we all use, and how easily our freedom might be lost.
(re: John Brunner, 8/6/2008 )
Cuil Search Engine Optimization (Cuil Tuil No Juil)
Cuil shows a different first page of results than Google, but different isn't necessarily better. You'll need to read the first sentence to understand the title.
(re: Various, 7/29/2008 )
ST-2 Shooting Simulator Like Simak's Virtual Rifle Range
Clifford Simak had a pretty good vision of this forty years ago; see the ST-2 video and check it against Simak's ideas.
(re: Clifford Simak, 7/9/2008 )
Sensor Vest For Computer Games?
Prototype uses sensors woven into the fabric to sense stress and muscle excitation levels.
(re: Various, 7/8/2008 )
Electronic Voting Banned In Netherlands
Someday, Americans will figure out how to conduct uniformly democratic elections.
(re: John Brunner, 6/5/2008 )
ParanoidLinux Escaping From Doctorow Book 'Little Brother'
Interesting idea from Doctorow's novel may be seen in the wild sometime this year.
(re: Cory Doctorow, 6/5/2008 )
Humans! Tutor Computers And Robots In Your Spare Time
Harry Harrison first described this in 1956; I notice that in the real future, no one is getting paid for it.
(re: Harry Harrison, 5/21/2008 )
Toriton Plus Like Cylon Datastream
Humans seem to be catching up with Cylon tech; at least this music controller seems to have more going on than simply the production of music.
(re: Various, 5/17/2008 )
Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE)
Of course, the computers of the future might also have lawyer programs to detect the use of this kind of device.
(re: Various, 4/29/2008 )
200,000 Computer-Generated Books
I don't understand why this guy doesn't take his idea to the logical conclusion.
(re: J.G. Ballard, 4/15/2008 )
Cyberwalk CyberCarpet VR Locomotion
This 'magic carpet' is the latest in a continuing effort to create the floor for a ST:TNG-style holodeck.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 4/12/2008 )
Software Helps Computers Find Attractive Women
This software application can tell what beauty looks like - in women, anyway. Men are described as 'too difficult' by researchers.
(re: Various, 4/8/2008 )
Hackers Induce Epileptic Seizure Like 'Press Enter'
John Varley suggested this idea a quarter-century ago. I can't believe that people would actually try this.
(re: John Varley, 3/30/2008 )
MindMentor Computer-Based Psychotherapy
Does the Eliza computer therapy method actually work? Two Dutch psychiatrists think so.
(re: James Blish, 3/27/2008 )
Virtusphere Videos
This ultimate gaming environment has been installed in a number of places; good videos are now available.
(re: , 3/20/2008 )
Cyber-Crime Cops Get Organized
Cyber-cops are getting organized; the cyber-criminals already have mature crime-kit markets.
(re: Various, 3/19/2008 )
Duroquinone Molecule Nano-Brain
Absurdly small computer can outperform the typical transistor.
(re: Neal Stephenson, 3/12/2008 )
Codename 'Reynard' - Hunt Terrorists In Virtual Worlds
Terrorists are expanding their efforts on the 'net; al Qaeda alone has at least 5,600 websites online.
(re: John Brunner, 3/6/2008 )
Momenta PC Lifelog For Most Exciting Moments
This interesting concept has a neat twist on the lifelog idea.
(re: Charles Stross, 2/21/2008 )
Military To Create Human, Social And Cultural Simulations
The military is showing a greater interest in the value of simulation technology to prepare personnel for insurgencies.
(re: Frank Herbert, 2/8/2008 )
MacBook Air: What Vision Is This?
Oh, yes, you can buy your own MacBook Air and take it home. But why are you going to?
(re: Various, 2/1/2008 )
Pizza Computer Is One Smart Box
Outrageous case mod made me think immediately of an sf classic.
(re: Neal Stephenson, 12/20/2007 )
Fictional Interfaces By Mark Coleran
Coleran created some of the most futuristic interfaces for the good guys - and the bad guys - in some of your favorite movies.
(re: Various, 12/10/2007 )
Sentilla Smart Drink Coasters Pervasive Pub Computing
I'm very impressed with the idea of an ad hoc network that you can set up right in front of yourself and your friends at the pub.
(re: Larry Niven, 12/8/2007 )
19th Century Steampunk Laptop Runs Windows, Linux
Take a step back into the future in this remarkable creation from Datamancer.
(re: Various, 12/6/2007 )
Aleutia E1 Solar-Powered Linux Computer
This little unit is maybe the most green computer you can buy; is there a smaller (or another) unit that is sold as a solar-powered computer?
(re: Various, 12/4/2007 )
Air Hockey Table Made From iPhone
This little app just sort of struck me as cool; perhaps it is because I'm hoping that an iPhone might appear for me this Christmas.
(re: Various, 11/21/2007 )
Draw A World Where Physical Laws Apply
Create a world in which physical laws apply as soon as you pick up your crayon.
(re: Various, 11/20/2007 )
Easy With Eve Virtual Teacher Understands Student Emotions
Easy with Eve is a pretty good match for a standard sf cybernetic teaching system; can you think of a better example than mine?
(re: Bruce Sterling, 11/19/2007 )
Virtual Theft From Habbo Hotel
When there is a theft of virtal goods in a virtual world, does your avatar spend time in a virtual jail? Interesting tie-in with an excellent new Charles Stross novel.
(re: Charles Stross, 11/17/2007 )
Kindle E-Book Reader From Amazon
Yet another e-book reader, you say? Maybe, but this one has online book powerhouse Amazon.com behind it.
(re: Stanislaw Lem, 11/17/2007 )
Hancock, Mass Surveillance Programming Language From AT&T
Is it illegal for phone companies to aid the government as it searches through the records of tens of thousands of innocent Americans? Legal or not, AT&T is good at it - they've got patents.
(re: Various, 10/30/2007 )
British Intelligence Pays For Ads In Video Games
Cheaper than putting together a whole new game, British intelligence is looking for a few good, uh, first person shooters.
(re: Various, 10/19/2007 )
Augmented Reality Humanoid Robot U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi
I'm not sure why I think this is so disturbing, but I think that it's the sensitive featureless robot used as the substrate that gets me...
(re: Vernor Vinge, 10/12/2007 )
Japanese Researchers Jack Halfway Into The Matrix
It appears that we are getting much closer to implementing that consensual hallucination known as the Matrix.
(re: Vernor Vinge, 10/12/2007 )
America's Army Arcade Game
Looks like the US Army is finally getting the picture - the motion picture 'The Last Starfighter,' that is.
(re: Various, 7/26/2007 )
Chinese Cyberwar Units Prepare For Netwar
Science fiction authors warned us and gave us the weapon concepts we needed - the Pentagon now tells us about Chinese netwar capabilities.
(re: William Gibson, 5/29/2007 )
iEarth From Google, Nasa... Snow Crash?
New application effectively implements application envisaged in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash.
(re: Neal Stephenson, 12/20/2006 )
RoomRender Futuristic Smart Room
The smart room has moved beyond prototype to a product that is now available.
(re: Ray Bradbury, 12/10/2006 )
Augmented Reality Shopping In Osaka
Using this system, you could see how you looked in different items of apparel without that tedious dressing and undressing.
(re: Vernor Vinge, 12/7/2006 )
Optimus OLED(Not!) Keyboard Chameleon
This keyboard changes its colors (or its keys) for every occasion.
(re: Various, 11/20/2006 )
Electric Voting From Home Via Internet
John Brunner wrote about electronic voting in a very revealing way in 1975
(re: John Brunner, 11/15/2006 )
UK SimCity-Style Social Policy Model - A Kingdom In A Box
UK social science researchers make an old idea new again - Stanislaw Lem's 'kingdom in a box.'
(re: Stanislaw Lem, 11/14/2006 )
Electronic Typewriter Rouses Shub-Internet
Unknowing artist may bring the wrath of the Beast of 1024 Processors down upon us all.
(re: Various, 10/17/2006 )
Polar Rose Face-Recognition Search Engine
Someday, the images on the web will be as searchable as the text.
(re: Various, 10/3/2006 )
Virtual Arms Dealers Arrested
Virtual gun-running now a problem in China.
(re: Various, 9/6/2006 )
Soap Optical Mouse And eXistenZ Metaflesh Game Pod
Wash your hands of that carpal-tunnel-syndrome-creating mouse of yours and make yourself a wireless pointing device.
(re: David Cronenberg, 8/1/2006 )
Games Of Tomorrow Built By Players Wiki-Style
The world's megacorporations are counting on you to do the work in the next round of online game creation.
(re: Neal Stephenson, 2/3/2006 )
The Real ICT Scent Collar
Here's the real scent collar.
(re: Frank Herbert, 1/18/2006 )
VirtuSphere Immersive Virtual Reality
A key enabling technology for a working star trek holodeck.
(re: Gene Roddenberry, 9/21/2005 )
The Vacuum Tube Supercomputer Centre
Offering 'true vector computing at competitive prices', the Supercomputing Centre 'makes maintenance possible with a fork lift instead of tweezers and a magnifier.'
(re: Jack Haldeman, 7/21/2005 )
Google Earth And VPlanet Explorer
These two products provide functionality similar to the CIC Earth software in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash.
(re: Neal Stephenson, 6/30/2005 )
Minority Report Glove Interface From Raytheon
Defence contractor Raytheon is working on a computer interface taken from the movie Minority Report, which starred Tom Cruise.
(re: Stephen Spielberg, 4/18/2005 )
Sony Patents Ultrasound Brain Beam Matrix
Now entertainment giant Sony has patented a method of beaming an artificial world of experience - The Matrix - directly into your brain using ultrasound.
(re: Vernor Vinge, 4/7/2005 )
The Origins Of Cyberspace Up For Auction At Christie's
If you happen to be in NYC on February 23rd, you might want to bid on the amazing items in Christie's The Origins of Cyberspace: A Library on the History of Computing, Networking and Telecommunications.
(re: William Gibson, 2/2/2005 )
Kaori Web: Odorophonics Comes To A PC Near You
Kaori web creates odorophonics - a science fiction idea of the fifties.
(re: Ray Bradbury, 8/7/2004 )
Can Computer Tapeworms And Viruses Be Your Friends
Computer tapeworms and viruses are feared by computer users today. But the creator of the term "computer virus" conceived of them as being helpful (as well as potentially harmful).
(re: John Brunner, 8/6/2004 )
PC Case Mod Contest: Sandbenda Contenda
The ExtemeTech extreme case mod contest heats up - see the dragon.
(re: William Gibson, 8/3/2004 )
Calling All Sandbenders - PC Case Mod Contest!
Liked the idea of sandbenders from William Gibson novels? Check out the extreme case modification contest.
(re: William Gibson, 7/1/2004 )
Electric Sheep Distributed Screen-Saver: Collective Computer Unconsious
The Electric Sheep Distributed Screen-Saver taps into the collective unconscious of sleeping computers all over the world. When your computer sleeps, does it dream of electric sheep?
(re: Philip K. Dick, 6/16/2004 )
The Latest In Quantum-Dot Switches
Quantum dot switches made up of pairs of tiny puddles of forty to sixty paired electrons show promise as the building blocks for quantum computers.
(re: Greg Bear, 4/30/2004 )
FlashMob I Supercomputer Takes On Linpack Update
University of San Francisco students attemtp to create an "instant supercomputer" with their FlashMob I Supercomputer software.
(re: Larry Niven, 4/5/2004 )
Cypak Disposable Paper Computer With RFID Antenna
The company uses conductive ink and adhesives to print electronic circuits and antennas on paper and plastic. The RFID antenna allows for transmission over short distances.
(re: Frank Herbert, 3/24/2004 )
Siemens PenPhone Watches While You Write
The PenPhone has an integrated handwriting recognition facility; the device will interpret hand movements during the act of writing and translate them directly into SMS.
(re: Frank Herbert, 2/9/2004 )
Mydoom Email Worm (aka Novarg Mimail)
Virus protection makers are scrambling to keep the Mydoom email worm from spreading quickly over the Internet.
(re: John Brunner, 1/30/2004 )
ARPANET Turns 30
The ARPANET (Advanced Research Project Agency NETwork) turns thirty this week. The original network was used to pioneer many of the techniques and protocols we take for granted on the Internet.
(re: William Gibson, 11/20/2003 )

 

 

 

 

 

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