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"[Science fiction is] nightmares and visions, always outlined by the barely possible."
- Gregory Benford
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| Padloid | ||
| A tawdry news publication on a PDA, or notepad, device. |
Just a passing mention, but if you don't see anything like this on AvantGo, you're not looking hard enough.
The word itself is a contraction of "newspad" or "pad computer" (like a tablet pc) and "tabloid journalism" (meaning a newspaper that presents material in a condensed and lurid form). The word "Tabloid" is a registered trademark for a method of delivering drugs or chemicals in a condensed form.
| My office was in Mall Twelve, level thirty-six, 120 degrees. It's in the editorial offices of The News Nipple, the padloid with the largest circulation in Luna. |
| From Steel Beach,
by John Varley. Published by Ace Putnam in 1992 Additional resources -
|
Only if you want your news fresh; this is a good newspaper name for those who remember The Glass Teat (by Harlan Ellison).
The term newspad is borrowed from Arthur C. Clarke's 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey; Varley uses this term himself in his 1979 short story Options:
Through it all Jules was an island of calm at the other end of the table, his nose in his newspad, sipping his second cup of coffee... He finished his coffee, folded his newspad and tucked it under his arm...
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| Meeting Wendy Of Wendy's |
| Narrative Science And Phil Dick's Homeostatic Newspaper |
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Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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'But when Old Father Sun departs, the chromoplastic reverts to transparency in the dark.'
'It extended three of its tiny arms sideways to lock onto the registration pins...'
'The grey gas not only cut off his vision, but also his other senses...'
'Mass-produced in the orbiting factories...'
'I enjoy watching this way, but - He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
SF writers popularized and elaborated on this idea a generation before the first patents were filed.
'The autopilot would need data before it could begin a translation...'
'Sealed to the ground along all the sides, Honey, he growled...'
