Technology in a world without 9/11

[athgtq16129]

The title is self-explanatory, really nothing much to add besides this question.

In a world where 9/11 never occurs, how different does technology looks like today as of 2023?

I would like your opinions on all tech, such as - computers, cellphones, artificial intelligence, buildings, vehicles, security equipment, firearms, explosives, airplanes, helicopters, I heard someone on this forum say that the only technology that would be drastically different would be drones, not sure who this user is though.

You can cite any kind of tech, even if it has little to do with 9/11 and its aftermath, even television, video games, arcades, and most tech related to entertainment, however, remember that this thread is specifically about the technological components, not how 9/11 would affect pop culture, there already is a very recent thread about this here made by @woweed:

WI: Pop Culture in a world without 9/11?

For a solid POD, let's say Clinton kills Bin Laden sometime around 1998. What does pop culture look like without the massive cultural shock of 9/11? Your thoughts?

www.alternatehistory.com

 

[baliebox4916]

ok let me bump this thread so that i dont make the mistakes i did with the last posts on my account (my reputation on this form is kinda screwed up and i wanna regain it)

so heres what my theory about what technology might be like if 9/11 never happened
to start off simple

motorola (as the pager, brick phone and cpu company from the 80s and 90s) might still exist and may still be making powerpc cpus (which the last one developed the G5 was developed back in 2002) possibly even a powerpc or 68000 successor they also may still be making pagers and smartphones in their classic dynatac/microtac/startac line (lets call them palmtac and deluxe pagemaster for simplicity)

palm os may still exist as well as the iphone was only really created because of how cheap phones were getting after 9/11 (especially compared to pocket pcs and palm devices from years prior with crap like the motorola razr and 2000s era nokia phones) we might see smartphones become a thing a decade earlier and palm os replacing android or eventually merging with it

the ipod may still exist but may not be as successful without apple trying to regain the money lost after the second dot com crash after 9/11

as a result mp3s would still be free (but sadly also still illegal) and steam may look very different without itunes and the war on terror being a thing (being more like msn gaming zone, gametap or mplayer on steroids rather than deviantart the game client)

streaming platforms like youtube, netflix and later disney plus, plutotv and hbo max may still exist but will run entirely off external clients like an alternate version of realplayer, after 9/11 realplayer became bloatware when just like with motorola being bought out by some chinese or korean company, realplayer was merged with some russian software company which ruined realplayer to the point where realplayer after realplayer 7 and 8 became completely unrecognizable and went to hell

without 9/11 youtube might be ran like geocities video pages or myspace with different domains with their own videos and you click on them and it loads lets call it realplayer G2 version 9 and version 10 for simplicity to watch the videos

disney plus and netflix might also use this technology but through realplayer G2 9 and 10s browser and pluto tv might be a plugin that allows real player to run live tv (kinda like the old take 5 sidebar they had when the orignal realplayer G2 was at its peak)

also the y2k aesthetic may last until 2012 with fruteger aero essentially being y2k 2.0 instead of becoming its own boring thing and minimalism may not exist without 9/11 and the rise of futuristic design after windows 8 and the construction of the freedom tower

thats just my theory but now you guys think about other things (games, a.i, archetecture, weapons,cars, robotics etc)
share your opinion

 

[marathag]

The only tech that would change would be no new radios for first responders in the Eastern Seaboard.
There was little tech development in the Twin Towers themselves, it was Commerce, and not even much venture capital at that. So that leaves the butterfly effects of 4000+ not being killed, and money spent on cleanup and rebuilding, and change of Afghanistan policy.
That leads to fewer in the Armed Services WIA/KIA, and slightly lower National Debt.

2004, possible that Dubya loses reelection, possible Lurch doesn't get the D nomination either. So question mark there.
iPhone was done, as Steve Jobs hated physical buttons, so no stopping Smartphones as they are today.

 

[Otakuninja2006]

Well, there's a lot that could happen......

Regardless, this is interesting and I'm watching this.

 

[Lalli]

Probably not much changes. On WTC wasn't much if any technology centers and not sure if there was killed any prominent engineers. We would have still pretty similar smartphones and other things.

 

[Catsmate]

Very little different. The 911 attacks had very little impact outside economic effects, some companies might have survived that went under, but overall little difference other than superficialities.

 

[dean6295]

A couple of things come to mind,...

1. No huge TSA. No need for all of those Federal employees.
2. Much less development and interest in security and inspection equipment.