Michael Crichton will not be down for breakfast...

[GaTechGal]

I don't think it was that big of a leap at the time.

now writing about cell phones in a SCI-FI book..in the 1950's!

That was pretty advanced.

I really felt like it was using the SAT phone to hook up the portable COMPUTER that was revolutionary.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I really felt like it was using the SAT phone to hook up the portable COMPUTER that was revolutionary.

Umm, the military has had that stuff since about that time, and before them, some of the intel services.

(one of my first jobs in the military was communications, many many years ago.)

Started out in the 70's with LF/HF/UHF/SHF 100WPM teletype. (and yes, I had to learn morse code!)

about ten years later was using high speed satcom.

(always tell the story about the first "computer" used was about half the size of a refrigerator, and had a whopping 128K of memory. We had to use 8 level teletype paper tape to "program" it!)