The Star Trek future is now

When I was a kid, I was loved Star Trek. I didn't think there was anything cooler than the crew of the USS Enterprise and residents of Deep Space 9. I used to dream of the day when our technology would catch up to the futuristic gadgets and devices the members of Star Fleet used on a daily basis.

Well, the future is here, and it's kinda anti-climatic.

It's a strange time we live in. While we haven't master warp technology or made contact with any extraterrestrial beings, we've somehow managed to catch up to the world of Star Trek in a lot of other ways. Many of Star Trek's most impressive gadgets have real world analogs today, but they never quite seem to be as cool as they seemed on the show.

Communicators – Cell Phones and Bluetooth headsets.

Captain Kirk looked soooo cool back in the day with his black and gold communicator. A quick flick of his wrist, and he could be in contact with an orbiting starship or any member of his away team. Now, in the age of smart phones, Kirk's "futuristic” communicator seems quaint.

Of course, The Next Generation upped the ante with wearable com badges. These hands-free communicators could be activated with a single tap or just a specific voice command, allowing Picard to freely make dinner plans without never missing a beat. We have these in real life too. They're called Bluetooth headsets and most people will mistake you for a lunatic if you go around carrying on a conversation with one. Kirk's flip phone might seem antiquated, but at least he never looked like he was talking to himself.

Universal Translators – Google translator

One of the coolest pieces of tech to ever appear on Star Trek was the universal translator. A computer program that could learn and translate vastly different languages in real time. Sure, it's the kind of sci-fi conceit any show about space travel needs just to keep the plot moving forward, but on Star Trek, it meant something different. It seemed like an expression of Gene Roddenberry's optimistic and inclusive view of the future, that no matter how different we might be, we can all communicate and come to mutual understanding.

Well, we haven't quite caught up to that yet. Instead, we have Google translator a service that offers up gems like translating the English version of KFC's "finger lickin' good” slogan, to the Chinese for "eat your fingers off."

It's a work in progress.

The Padd – iPad

Wow, The Next Generation really nailed this one eh? At the time, the idea of a flexible mini-computer no thicker than an airplane paperback was an incredibly futuristic notion. But, less than 15 years after TNG wrapped up on television, Apple brought that future into living rooms across the world.

More than that, our current tablet computers actually seem better than the Star Trek equivalent. In a rare case, we've not only matched the technology of the fictional future, but improved on the design. While Picard's Padd might have been little more than a fancy notebook to keep track of duty rosters and treaties negotiations, our tablets are flexible multimedia devices capable of just about anything a computer is. Chalk one up for reality.

Voice activated computers – Siri

The computer of the Enterprise-D seemed like the stuff of sci-fi magic back in 1987 when the show began. An infinitely knowledgeable database of information that the crew didn't even need a keyboard of monitor to interact with, they could just say their request and the computer would talk right back to them. You'd be forgiven for thinking that computers would never become that powerful or adaptable while still plugging away on an ancient Commodore 64 at the time.

Of course, now we have Siri, and Oracle, and a whole host of other voice activated computer assistants ready and able to answer our most pressing questions. Questions like "when does Taco Bell close?”

The future is wasted on us.

The Viewscreen - Videocalls

One of the most impressive elements of the Enterprise's bridge is it's magnificent viewscreen. A massive monitor that can display what's going on outside the ship, any data the crew might need, and most importantly, the Captain's of other ships while talking to them. Many of Star Trek's best moments happen during tense conversations and negotiations over the view screen while Picard plays hardball with some enemy of the Federation.

Of course, anyone with a webcam, or a Microsoft Kinect can turn their living room and TV into a bridge now. And it suuuuuucks. Because here's the big secret, while Picard playing power politics and staring down a scowling Romulan looks cool, talking to your boss in your housecoat and boxers does not. People HATE videocalls. There's a reason telecom companies have never made the concept stick despite introducing iterations on the idea since the early '70s, people just don't want to look at each other when they talk.

Phasers – Metal cutting laser

Okay, this one is actually kind of cool. We might not have portable laser pistols, but industrial cutting lasers have their own kind of charm.

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