What I remembered most from the movie, “Minority Report” was not Tom Cruise but the touch screen interface. The movie was made in 2002 and I remembered thinking, we were probably 8 – 10 years away from achieving that. Only a few years later, I saw touch screen interface being demo’d online via a video from a university think-tank and now in Microsoft Surface, and I thought, wow the future is here.

Last night, as I watched election coverage on CNN, I was amazed when Jessica Yellin, a CNN correspondent, “beamed in” to speak to Wolf Blitzer.  At first, I thought  the halo around  Ms. Yellin was some technical glitch; perhaps there was something wrong with  the  broadcast. But, no, she was a real hologram.  

It was  just like  princess Lea saying, “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Star Wars technology is here. I was also impressed with what CNN called, “The Why Wall,” where the pundits analyzed the demographics of each state wide result. Having just completed a grueling week of user testing, I fully appreciated the visual breakdown.

Obviously, when I think back on this election, it will not be just CNN’s special effects wizardry that I remember, but that’s a topic for another blog. Now if only I can have a C3PO to around the house to take out the garbage for me.