You do realize that the Enterprise and its computer were and are still pure fantasy? There was no massive amount of data, just a woman reading from a script. The other error is to equate "old technology" with "outdated". The hammer example clearly explaining the difference. If I need to pound in a few nails, I'm not going for the nail gun.

The one time I used my impact hammer on lug nuts, I lost two days of vacation thanks to one boat trailer wheel flying off, never to be found. A cross wrench with my well-tuned, right arm for torque feel would have saved me about $2,000 and those two days of grief. The right tool for the job. If I was going to run my dbs on a phone or over the Internet, well then Access wouldn't be my choice.

Wait... what? The Enterprise computer is fantasy!? Noooo.....!!!!!

Calm down Richard. Thomas is obviously a Klingon spy paid to distract you while the Ferengi steal Computer to sell for a profit. Be the Captain you are and see right through this. LLAPmm

I use copper wired network cable.  Some of it is still cat 5, too.

Matt You got Cat 5?!!!! I'm still running Cat 3 with a 10/100Mbps hub. It bumps along.

I thought Computer Learning Zone was the Enterprise

Richard Not that Star Trek hasn't influenced some technology, as did Dick Tracey with his watch communicator, but projects like the Moon Landing and war (unfortunately) tend to provide concrete results, not just fantasy. Fantasies are nice, I have a few, but when dealing with real world problems, we need real world solutions.

Thomas I think we're actually mostly in agreement. I'm well aware that Star Trek is fiction. What I've always loved about it wasn't the gadgets so much as the ideas behind it.

Sure, Star Trek inspired some real-world technology. Communicators, tablets, voice-controlled computers, and so on. But for me, that's never been the important part. What made Star Trek special was its vision of an optimistic future. A future where humanity learned to move beyond tribal divisions, prejudice, religious conflicts, and endless wars. A future where problems are solved through science, reason, diplomacy, and cooperation instead of fear and ignorance.

That's why I connected it to AI and databases in the article. The lesson isn't that the Enterprise computer was real. The lesson is that organized knowledge, critical thinking, and scientific inquiry matter. The computer was a storytelling device that reflected those values.

In fact, that's one of my biggest criticisms of some of the newer Trek series. The original series, Next Generation, Voyager, and even Deep Space Nine generally presented a future worth aspiring to. The newer shows often feel much darker and more focused on humanity's failures than its potential. That's a separate discussion, of course.

When it comes to real-world problems, I absolutely agree that we need real-world solutions. But part of finding those solutions is having a vision of what we're trying to become. For me, Star Trek has always been less about predicting technology and more about encouraging us to think bigger, trust science, and believe that humanity can do better.

Richard I know, I'm just busting your chops.

Richard One of the things I liked about the "old" Star Trek series was its "respect".  Respect for pre-warp cultures as codified in the Prime Directive (and yes I know that sometimes Star Fleet "broke" it).  Respect for peoples beliefs even when they thought it was "superstition".  Respect for peoples decisions even when they hated those decisions.  I wonder if in our society/culture, if people just had more "respect", we might be able to make Gene Rodenberry's vision for the future come true.  But alas, it looks like we are going in the opposite direction.  May we all "Live Long and Prosper!"  and embrace "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations".  

Sam agreed

I just paid $50 for a TV antenna. Plugged it in and voila! Local channels for a one-time $50. No friggin’ subscription fees, just the commercials I get anyway.

And I know it’s totally off topic but the image to follow if for Rick

I still pay cash for all of my face to face purchases.

Michael oh yeah, I've been watching all of the posts of the video clips and stuff from the concert Sunday night on social media, and they look and sound amazing. Can't wait to see them. It only sucks that I have to wait till November because I've got tickets to see them in Tampa.

Access fits my need very well.  As a matter of fact, I might be outdated for Access technology, lol!