Related to De Anander's diary, in a way, I found this column by Michael Chabon moving. I didn't live through this period of technooptimism personally, although as a kid I did spend a lot of time in the library looking at books on the stars, forms of space travel etc. So I can relate.

Back to the column, this quote is great:

The Sex Pistols, strictly speaking, were right: there is no future, for you or for me. The future, by definition, does not exist. "The Future," whether you capitalize it or not, is always just an idea, a proposal, a scenario, a sketch for a mad contraption that may or may not work. "The Future" is a story we tell, a narrative of hope, dread or wonder. And it's a story that, for a while now, we've been pretty much living without.