A few predictions TW got right
Kieran and the touch screen In 1982 Kieran Prendiville showcased an early type of touchscreen, playing a game of noughts and crosses.
He said: “Now for a little bit of magic. One finger and one extraordinary TV screen.”
The prototype he was using worked with light, whereas those screens today are touch-sensitive.
■ In 1969 Tomorrow’s World showed a computerised card machine that could take money directly from a customer’s account.
It worked in the same way as chip and pin, but with a much bulkier machine and the shop assistant would dial in their own code to make the sale. The programme explained: “The customer’s magnetically coded card links his bank account with that of the shop.”
■ An episode in 1968 featured a rooftop garden from the future made entirely of plastic flowers and grass.
Presenter James Burke says: “You don’t have to have green fingers anymore to make your garden the envy of the neighbourhood.”