Skip to main content

star trek - What prompted such a dramatic change in computing technology in the ST reboot universe?



I know the obvious out of universe reason for the discrepancy in the computing systems in the reboot universe and TOS universe in ST, but is there an in-universe account for the substantial difference in the computing systems?


TOS bridge


Reboot bridge



Answer



The change in terminal interfaces on star ships must have occurred some time before Nero arrived in the alternate timeline. What drove the change is unknown, and will likely remain unknown. However, you can see that there are significant differences between the Original Series bridge and the bridge on the USS Kelvin.


Here we can see that the Kelvin has multiple large screens all around the bridge, view screens in front and random displays at the side/aft stations. Most controls, however, remain as individual key, switches and levers. Kelvin Bridge view front Kelvin Bridge view aft


Later, when the USS Enterprise's bridge is revealed, although the aesthetic has changed dramatically, interface-wise the biggest change is to replace the physical switches and toggles with touch-panels. There are still some physical manipulators, even at stations that wouldn't seem to obviously need them, such as communications (see the big sliding lever right in the middle of Uhura's panel). Enterprise Bridge view front Enterprise Bridge view aft


Thus, from the Kelvin to the Enterprise the only major change was from physical to virtual buttons, and some holographic display upgrades. Keep in mind too that it is unknown how old the USS Kelvin's bridge was, but at minimum we know that the roughly 20 years passed between the two bridge designs. In the modern world of computers that would more than account for the changes and improvements in technology (think of a laptop from 20 years ago compared to a modern one with a touch screen).


So, as I said earlier the change in computer tech started before the Narada arrived, it's cause is unknown at this time, and the cause is likely to stay unknown for the foreseeable future.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...