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MY DIARY

TEN THINGS THAT WENT RIGHT IN "BACK TO THE FUTURE"

Wednesday October 21 is the date that Back to the Future stars Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd visited in the second film. But what did they get right and wrong when they travelled to October 21, 2015?

What Back to the Future II got right about 2015?  

• Wearable technology
  
  
  
  
  Back to the Future II saw Marty's future children wearing headsets at the dinner table which made and received calls, and let them watch TV.
  
  
  Today, Google Glass already exists. It is a wearable computer that is worn on a person's head, with a screen sitting in front of the eyes that displays information like a smartphone
  Microsoft have also launched their idea of the HoloLens, a flashy headset with transparent lenses. You can see the world around you, but suddenly that world is transformed -- with 3D objects floating in midair, virtual screens on the wall and your living room covered in virtual characters .
  
  
  
  
  Video calls
  
  
      
   We saw Marty make a video call to his colleague Needles in the futuristic film.
  
  
  
  
  And now we've got FaceTime and Skype which are hugely popular, connecting us via video call with people all over the world.
    
   Hands free gaming
  
  
  It mightn't have appeared in the film, but kids at Cafe 80s made fun of Marty for having to use his hands to play an arcade game as though hands-free games were normal.
  
  
  
  
  
  And today, they are. There are plenty of interactive hands-free games such as Xbox's Kinect which allows you to play your favourite games hands free through a sensor feature.
  
  
  3D movies
  
  
  Back to the Future II saw Marty transported into a world where there were 3D movies, with Jaws being the film that was on in the cinema with the 3D animated shark giving him a fright as it threatened to eat him!
  And today, 3D films are very much the norm with many movies coming out in IMAX 3D in the cinemas with viewers given special glasses to wear.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Tablets
  
  
  
  
  Doc Brown is seen working with a tablet device in Back to the Future II, and now  iPads and tables are an  accessory in many households and among business workers.
   
  Up-to-date weather information
  
  
  Doc Brown was able to see what the weather would be like down to the second using his device and although our accessible weather information isn't exactly accurate to the minute or second, we can see how the weather will be hourly on our mobile phones and online.

  
  

   What Back to the Future II got wrong about 2015?   

  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hoverboards
  
  We saw Marty steal a hoverboard from a little girl in Back to the Future II and the hovering scooter/scateboard device worked everywhere, except on water.
  We don't actually have real hovering boards that can fly above anything.
  
  
  
  Flying cars
  
  
  
  
  In Back to the Future II, Doc Brown told Marty "we don't need roads". But in our 2015, there are still no signs of flying cars, even though they'd solve our rush hour problems!
  
  
  Dehydrated food
  
  
  Marty's mum Lorraine made a large pizza for her family out of a tiny pocket sized dehydrated one with just a push of a button. She put the mini pizza into a transforming machine to make a full-sized one, but unfortunately, we don't have the ability to do this yet. A mini pizza will still be a mini pizza for us in 2015.
  
  
  Powerlaces
  
  
  Marty had a smart pair of Nike trainers with power laces. He simply slid his feet into the trainers and they instantly tightened without him having to lift a finger. But for us, we're still lacing our own shoes and will be for the foreseeable future as there aren't any self-lacing trainers out yet.