The Jetsons

When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was Hanna Barbara's cartoon sitcom about family life in the future - complete with flying cars, a robot maid, a conveyor belt that helps you get dressed in the morning - and 'picture phones' that let you see people that you're talking to on the 'phone.

As a teenager, my fascination with gadgets drew me to the James Bond movies, Star Trek and then Star Wars.

I wanted to live in that future and I wanted to use those gadgets. So a decade or so later, when I was a young journalist looking for a job, I naturally gravitated to one where I could test and play with the latest Jetson-like technologies. And play with them I did. I tested and wrote about early laptop computers, mobile phones, email, online news, online banking - as well as really basic robots and electric cars - and did all of that back in the 1980s.

At the time, I felt that I was getting a peek into the future - a glimpse of what everyone's lives might be like only a few years hence. I felt that I was living "ten minutes into the future". The biggest surprise to me in all of this, however, was not the gadgets. It was the people who dreamed them up.

And that's - as much as anything else - what this blog is about. It's about the many fascinating characters I've met over the years who came up with the ideas, technologies, gadgets and innovations that have changed our lives. Some of those people are well-known. Many are not.

I wonder how many people have heard of Martin Cooper, inventor of the cellphone? Or Seymour Rubenstein - the man behind the first popular word-processor (WordStar) - or Dan Bricklin, who pioneered the spreadsheet with VisiCalc?

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to meet and talk to many of these fascinating people. In this blog, I'll give you my take on some of the insights they've given me - about the future, about technology - and about what makes a great entrepreneur or inventor (they're rarely the same thing).

And I'd like to invite you to comment with any stories and insights you have about great inventors, innovators or entrepreneurs that you've had the chance to meet or work with.

My first story - which you'll have to wait until the next post to read - is about Sir George Martin, producer of The Beatles staggering volume of work (and still very much a keeper of the flame). Some years ago, I had the chance to hear him speak about invention and innovation in the context of the classic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It was - and still is - an inspiring tale..