I've recently gone on a Back To The Future kick, watching the trilogy in my spare time and enjoying the nostalgic feelings they bring. I was watching the second movie today and couldn't help but get this feeling of déjà-vu. After a closer inspection, I noticed some striking similarities between the guesses that Back To The Future Part II made and the world we're living in, just five years shy of 2015.

Below is my analysis on just a few of the guesses the second Back To The Future movie made. 

Back To The Future says:

Fingerprint access will be widely used by the average person for simple, everyday tasks. 

Accuracy: Close.

While fingerprint scanning isn't used for everyday purposes by every person in America, many businesses secure their company laptops with a USB thumbprint scanner to prevent unauthorized access.

The employees who use these laptops are likely to use them every day to access their company's network from home to perform job related tasks on the fly. This means they will have to use that thumbprint scanner to access their computer every time they need to use it. 

Back To The Future says:

Video calls are nothing special and are used frequently. 

Accuracy:  Getting colder.

Video calls haven't completely replaced telephones, and that's for damn sure.  Everyone has a cell phone these days!  However, video calls are becoming more mainstream now that webcam broadcasting technology has caught up with us.

It used to be that a webcam broadcast was choppy at best and the picture was fuzzy and low-quality, but in the last 10 years most people have migrated to Internet services that can handle a webcam broadcast and display the picture smoothly. Now, with cheap netbooks making their way into people's homes (most of them sporting a built-in webcam), and with free video calling services like Skype, video calls have become easy and much more affordable to use, too! 

Back To The Future says:

The average home will have at least one flat-panel big screen TV with the ability to watch multiple channels at once. 

Accuracy: Dead on.

Around Christmas time, electronics get very, very cheap.  Most electronics stores have 42"-72" Plasma or LCD screens on sale at almost half their normal retail value.  It's not out of the ordinary to see a 52" LCD TV on sale during Black Friday in the US for around $499. 

Most of these modern TVs also have a Picture-In-Picture display that will allow a viewer to watch their normal cable channels and a movie or videogame in the corner of the screen at the same time. 

Back To The Future says:

Kids will be using floating skateboards. 

Accuracy: I wish. 

We're probably a good 15-20 years away from using recreational hoverboards, though I have to give us credit; while we still use them, the number of wheels we use on a skateboard has gone down. Those looking to enjoy an extreme sport like skating now have the option to buy the Rip Stick.

Using a back and forth motion, kids gain momentum by swiveling the wheels of the board, almost slithering like a snake. 

Back To The Future says:

Two words: Mr. Fusion

Accuracy: Not quite.

Mr. Fusion converted matter into electrical energy. While fusion reactors have yet to make their way into our homes and cars, people have looked for ways to use trash to power their cars because of the oil hike. The picture above and to the right shows a primitive system that turns organic waste into biodiesel fuel that you can use to fuel certain cars.

Back To The Future says:

Everything from the 80s became antiques. 

Accuracy: Nailed it.

The last time I saw a lava lamp was at a garage sale. Not even stores carry those anymore. 

Back To The Future says:

Holographic movies will replace their 2D ancestors. 

Accuracy: So close I can taste it.

We don't have beams of light jumping from the screen at us, but we have those funny glasses that make it seem like they do. We definitely don't have commercial holograms yet, but 3D has definitely made a come-back!  3D technology has advanced so far beyond the red and blue cardboard glasses that only the creepy kid from your sophomore math class that still listens to The Beatles wears them now.

We haven't quite made that leap into the 2015 we wanted back in 1985, but all in all, I'd say the movie had us down pat.  Yeah, we still don't have hovercars and devices that force us to sleep, but we still have five years to get there...