The Future in Old Computer Magazines: Fourteen Visions of the Computer Age, 1984–2004

T. Udell surveys fourteen visions of the future from old computer magazines published between 1984 and 2004, including an Apple computer preparing dinner, a CompuServe online party spanning nine states, and Sony launching its AIBO robot pet in the United States in 1999 for $2,500. These advertisements and reviews document the early forms of concepts such as the smart home, online socializing, and AI gameplay, while also exposing the limitations of the era's hardware configurations and software compatibility.