We were listening to the radio the other day, and over the airwaves came a bank advertisement. Beside the usual pronouncement of low interest rates and free consultations, the bank touted a seemingly unusual feature. With excitement and clear enthusiasm that this offer would surely draw in new customers, the voice over announced, “Now with real, live, human tellers!” It was at this moment we burst out laughing at the absurdity our real, live, human ears just heard. Do we really live in a world where human interaction in bank transactions are so rare, that they are worthy of advertisement? Suppose so. Yet it got us thinking from that small nugget of humor - we really do live in the future. Sure we don’t have a civilization on Mars or flying cars yet, but the dreams of storytellers in the past are undoubtedly coming true. Surely it is just a matter of time before we have robot maids and flying cars, living life like the Jetson’s and enjoying our meals encapsulated in small little pills. Technology has taken many steps closer to making these dreams come true. Let’s take a look at the fictitious gadgets our heros of the past had, and today are our reality. Dick Tracy’s Watch | Apple Watch Every kid wanted the Dick Tracy “2-way wrist radio.” And who wouldn’t...making a call from your watch was just as silly as making a call from your car. An idea ahead of its time, the watch was first introduced in 1946, and was even rejected by the first publishers Dick Tracy creator Chester Gould pitched the idea to. His employer, The Chicago Tribune, turned down the watch as a cheat. Fortunately other papers gave it a chance, wowing decades of kids through adventures helping Tracy solve crimes and get out of jams. The concept was exciting and extraordinary, seeming unbelievable to viewers following the famous spy. Apple CEO Tim Cook thought the same thing. At the unveiling of the Apple Watch, he harkened back to his youth. “I have been wanting to do this since I was 5 years old,” Cook enthusiastically said. “The day is finally here.” Indeed it is, as the Apple Watch was released to the public in April 2015, making those with around $549 real life detective spies. The Jetson’s Alice the Robot Maid | Mahru-Z Judy and George Jetson made living in the future seem nearly unimaginable. This fun with fantasy cartoon series featured a happy family complete with kids, a family pet and even a bonus maid. Alice, the wise-cracking housekeeper, was not only efficient and a delight to talk to - she was a robot. Korean scientists may not have been inspired by the American cartoon, but they did get together to create Mahru-Z - a real robot maid able to fetch toast and coffee for its owner. While slow she might be, we are more excited for the snarky comments we can only hope are on deck in version 2.0. Star Trek Replicator | 3D Printers The sci-fi series was packed with unbelievable gadgets, most of which seemed too good to be true. One such device was the Replicator, introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation as a device that could create food or beverages out of thin air. In a giant leap forward catching up to the dreams of Star Trek writers, we now have the 3D printer. No, its creations don’t appear out of thin air, but 3D printers are currently able to create items ranging from spare body parts to jewelry to most importantly, the greatest creation known to humankind - pizza. Computerized Batarang | GPS Batman doesn’t get enough credit for the gadgets he and his comic strip creators have invented over the years. Many of our cars have similar features as the Batmobile, and a standard man cave now has just about as much technology as the Batcave. One invention that premiered in 1992’s Batman Returns was the Batarang. This handy device helped our beloved caped crusader locate enemies’ whereabouts via this location tracker. Today, this concept has taken steroids and is available to the everyday smart device user in a myriad of ways. From “checking in” on Facebook to Tinder locating daters in your local vicinity to actual location services that track people via the location trackers on most smartphones, we know where you are most of the time, evildoers. Those are just a few of the inventions we have always wanted, and barely scratches the surface of what is now available. What are some of the inventions that were dreamy fiction in the past, but are today’s reality? Let us know in the comments below.

This is likely not the first time you’ve heard about the war over net neutrality and it certainly won’t be the last. The long debated issue is still being fought as talks have recently heated up in the White House, among the FCC, and throughout large corporations. But what is really happening? Why are we still talking about this and is there anything we can do to preserve the open Internet as we know it? We decided to take a look into the furious net neutrality argument and go over why you should deeply care. What is Net Neutrality? The current Internet as Americans use it today is a neutral place for the free exchange of ideas to fly across your computer screen and mobile device. You can liken today’s Internet to a Reddit thread or the comments in any news article as good examples to demonstrate the absolute freedom we have on the interwebs. Tim WU, the Columbia University professor credited with coining the term, describes net neutrality in these terms: “Network neutrality is best defined as a network design principle. The idea is that a maximally useful public information network aspires to treat all content, sites, and platforms equally. This allows the network to carry every form of information and support every kind of application. The principle suggests that information networks are often more valuable when they are less specialized — when they are a platform for multiple uses, present and future.”   Sounds Good, Who Would Threaten That? As the open Internet climbed to the raging popularity it mightily commands today, capitalists of all kinds pitched the idea of creating a sort of a tiered system to the Internet. This would give preferential treatment to those who have more cash. For example, a large corporation with a boat-load of money could pay to have their site send information faster than those who can’t afford it. The topic for and against net neutrality has been a fiercely fought issue for well over a decade, but recently became a bit more complicated. Those in favor of shifting the Internet to a tiered service argue that if there are companies that can afford faster data delivery, they should be given that option. Again, ending net neutrality is simply a matter of how fast the information is delivered. Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) see this idea as a win because they could separate preferred sites - sites in the “fast lane” - so that users would blame the actual site rather than the ISP for the poor performance of sites not in the fast lane. The reason the issue became even more hotly debated is because in 2014 politicians became more involved than ever before. In April 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took a stab at net neutrality by releasing a proposal that suggested broadband companies could provide Internet “fast lanes” for those, like large corporations, that could afford to pay a higher fee. As previously stated, this would mean that smaller companies with littler wallets unable to afford the higher fee would suffer in terms of content delivery speeds and would therefore have to compete with a significant disadvantage. Crap. So What’s Next? The issue caught the attention of the White House, which seemingly supports the principle of net neutrality. In a statement released in November 2014, President Barack Obama took a side: “We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas. That is why today, I am asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to answer the call of almost 4 million public comments, and implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality.”   Since then the FCC has responded and allegedly will be revising their proposal. They will soon vote on new terms yet to be determined, but FCC chairman Tom Wheeler suggested in an op-ed just days ago that he will push for net neutrality. “These enforceable, bright-line rules [in the new proposal] will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services. I propose to fully apply — for the first time ever — those bright-line rules to mobile broadband. My proposal assures the rights of Internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone’s permission.” And now, we wait. The future of net neutrality now rests in the hands of the FCC, which will meet on February 26th to vote on the next phase of the battle over open Internet. Wheeler has proposed that, “the FCC use its Title II authority to implement and enforce open internet protections. Using this authority, I am submitting to my colleagues the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the FCC.” We will soon see if this will become a reality when they vote on the 26th.

It’s happening– a world where we control everyday items in the palm of our hands and sound of our voice is finally here. From a fridge that lets you know you’re out of milk to finding your keys with an app, here are 10 days of smart products you need for this holiday season. 1) Samsung Smart Fridge  The first on our list for IoT Devices for the Holidays, is the Samsung Smart Fridge, there isn’t much it can’t do. With voice activation you can add items to your shopping list and check what you’re out of. In addition, while you are at the store, you can check the inside of your fridge from any mobile device with it’s 3 built in cameras. For home entertainment, this fridge can even stream music and television while connected to other smart devices. 2) Wemo Smart Crockpot The holidays are times for good food and good times. On day 2 of IoT Devices for the Holidays, make sure your meals come out just right with the Wemo smart crock pot. It connects to a mobile application where you can adjust cooks times and temperatures even when you’re not home. You can program customized cook settings and come home to a meal made just right, every time. 3) Smartypans With day 3 of IoT Devices for the Holidays, cooking just got a lot easier and way more fun. Smartypans is a smart cooking pan that comes with an interactive mobile application. It allows you to adjust temperature, track weight and other measurements as you cook. But it gets better, you can even speak and create recipes as you go, and send over to friends and family to share your masterpieces with step by step instructions. 4) Tile Everything is a little more hectic during the holidays, but with day 4 of IoT Devices for the Holidays, losing your necessities is no longer a worry. Tiles can be place on keychains, inside a wallet or on anything else you can’t lose, but always misplace. From the mobile app, you can sound an alarm when you’ve misplaced it, and even track your items in the world’s largest lost and found network. 5) Behmor Coffee Maker There is nothing better than a nice cup of hot coffee on a chilly morning during the holidays. Day 5 of IoT Devices for the Holidays takes care of it for you. With the Behmor smart coffee maker, you can control the timer with their mobile app and adjust temperature and pre-soak settings. You will even gain access to recipes and other personalized settings. 6) LIFX Smart Lights On day 6 of IoT Devices for the Holidays, set the mood with color changing lights from LIFX . Control from any mobile device - red lights for the holidays or dimmed lights for movie time. Transform your space with over 16 million colors and create personalized home automation settings. You can even set wakeup and nighttime shifts for your desired times. 7) Kala Ukelele Bring the holiday cheer on day 7 of IoT Devices for the Holidays this season with the Kala Ukulele. Get access to their mobile app that helps players of all levels. It listens as you play and provides feedback. You will also have access to thousands of songs and tutorials. 8) HAPIfork Stay on top of your health on day 8 of IoT Devices for the Holidays with HAPIfork, a connected smart fork that lets you adopt healthy eating habits. With a connected mobile device, it makes sure you eat at the right time and eat at the right pace. You can even follow a coaching program and share with the community. 9) Hoist Indoor Cycle Bike Keep off the holiday treats on day 9 of IoT Devices for the Holidays. The Hoist Indoor Cycle bike keeps you on top of your fitness, and tracks it in the palm of your hand. The mobile application connected to the indoor cycle bike, allows you to track workout data including setting personal records. You can track total calories burned, max speed, and tons of other great data. It also features a rich data display with interactive graphs. 10) Kholer Numi Smart Toilet It’s day 10 of IoT Devices for the Holidays, here's something you didn’t know you needed to improve your bathroom, the Kholer Numi smart toilet. With Kholer Konnect, you can fine-tune every aspect of your toilet experience. From heated seats to foot warmers and automated ambient colored lighting. This will keep you and the family content with your bathroom experiences this holiday season and beyond.