What's your favorite piece of technology from the last decade?

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I never bought a smartphone or tablet because I cannot find 1 good use or need for them so I'm going to have to go with something more basic like HDTVs or PS3 *shrug*.

Now that I really think about all of the big tech stuff from the last decade I really don't have a lot of them. Even something like a MP3 player, I never jumped to that either.
 
i think media streaming is an important invention.

although, i suppose smart phones have granted accessibility to the internet on a scale that was never available before, so its taken the internet in a new direction, as well as having "utilities on the go" with apps.
 
cooltrainer said:
I'm really struggling to understand how smartphones are "gamechangers". I have one and while there are some nice features they just don't justify the cost to me. I'm definitely considering "downgrading" when my contract expires.
Click to expand...

-I know where I am on a map. I can find any business or address in a second.

-I know exactly how to get from here to there, and I know how long it will take via car, bus, or by foot. No more memorizing addresses or guesswork. "here to there" conversations are a thing of the past. I laugh when people try to have the conversation about address/directions and I'm like, dude, you don't need to discuss that stuff anymore.

-No more buying newspapers... I have thousands of news sources available to me at all times.

-social networking becoming live "always connected" utilities as opposed to just something that you check when you sit down at a PC. At this very moment I am connected to childhood friends who I haven't seen in over a decade. No, they would have never called me, and I would have never called them, but we frequently chat during our daily lives... either in a live chat sense, or in a passive back-and-forth messaging sense... whatever works for us.

-Touchscreen remotes always on your person, for things like iTunes or TVs.

-Being able to Google any answer. People running their mouth about topics is a thing of the past. The real answer is at everyone's fingertips.

-THE INTERNET with you all the time.

-Internet banking with you all the time.

-Games with you all the time.

-Youtube with you all the time.

-GAF WITH YOU ALL THE TIME

If you can give them up so lightly, you aren't using them like hundreds of millions of people are right now... or you're just a minimalist by comparison. That's why they've sold in the hundreds of millions. Kids these days would rather have an iPhone than a car, and I agree with them.

I mean like... what the hell, lol. How could it not be considered a game changer? It's a game changer to my luddite 60 year old parents!
 
Smartphones! So much knowledge at my fingertips it's incredible. Plus you're never bored with a smartphone. The Galaxy Nexus is my first 4g phone and oh man it's so sweet.
 
BocoDragon said:
-I know where I am on a map. I can find any business or address in a second.

-I know exactly how to get from here to there, and I know how long it will take via car, bus, or by foot. No more memorizing addresses or guesswork. "here to there" conversations are a thing of the past. I laugh when people try to have the conversation about address/directions and I'm like, dude, you don't need to discuss that stuff anymore.

-No more buying newspapers... I have thousands of news sources available to me at all times.

-social networking becoming live "always connected" utilities as opposed to just something that you check when you sit down at a PC. At this very moment I am connected to childhood friends who I haven't seen in over a decade. No, they would have never called me, and I would have never called them, but we frequently chat during our daily lives... either in a live chat sense, or in a passive back-and-forth messaging sense... whatever works for us.

-Touchscreen remotes always on your person, for things like iTunes or TVs.

-Being able to Google any answer. People running their mnouth about topics is a thing of the past. The real answer is at everyone's fingertips.

-THE INTERNET with you all the time.

-Internet banking with you all the time.

-Games with you all the time.

-Youtube with you all the time.

-GAF WITH YOU ALL THE TIME

You aren't using them like hundreds of millions of people are right now... or you're just a minimalist by comparison. That's why they've sold in the hundreds of millions. I mean like... what the hell, lol. How could it not be considered a game changer? It's a game changer to my luddite 60 year old parents!
Click to expand...

It really depends on the person. I'm your typical anti-luddite in that I adopt most tech instantly. I've written applications for smartphones for work/fun. But I don't find them particularly useful at all, and probably will not purchase one until the fees for data plans are next to nothing. I'm away from a PC for about all of an hour during the week days, and if it's more than that it's when I'm doing something I wouldn't give a damn about having a smartphone for, like at a bar, restaurant, museum, etc. I have basically no reason to get one other than for the novelty of having one, and that's not worth the hundreds of dollars you pay for the ridiculously overpriced data plans. So yeah, it's nowhere near a game changer for me, and I can see how it might not be for a lot of people.

But it certainly is in terms of flat out capabilities. Honestly though, the bigger deal is honestly the wireless access to the internet, rather than the capabilities of the phones themselves. Technology will come along that will disrupt smart phones, whether it be AR or something else, but I don't think you're ever going to get around the fact that wireless data access from anywhere is a huge deal.
 
Gotta go with the digital camera.
I carry one everywhere I go. I use it to take notes of places I need to come back and visit, whiteboards I don't have time to transcribe, bus schedules and of course, practice photography.
I bought my first one 10 years ago. It was mind blowing to be able to take a picture anywhere, at any time, at virtually no cost. I remember the first time I zoomed in on a corner of a picture, I felt like Deckard in Blade Runner: "Enhance. Pull back. Stop. " . Mindblowing stuff!
 
Smartphones are awesome because outside work or creative pursuits, most people use their computers exclusively as internet-accessing devices. Now that device fits in your pocket and goes with you everywhere.
 
BocoDragon said:
-I know where I am on a map. I can find any business or address in a second.

-I know exactly how to get from here to there, and I know how long it will take via car, bus, or by foot. No more memorizing addresses or guesswork. "here to there" conversations are a thing of the past. I laugh when people try to have the conversation about address/directions and I'm like, dude, you don't need to discuss that stuff anymore.

-No more buying newspapers... I have thousands of news sources available to me at all times.

-social networking becoming live "always connected" utilities as opposed to just something that you check when you sit down at a PC. At this very moment I am connected to childhood friends who I haven't seen in over a decade. No, they would have never called me, and I would have never called them, but we frequently chat during our daily lives... either in a live chat sense, or in a passive back-and-forth messaging sense... whatever works for us.

-Touchscreen remotes always on your person, for things like iTunes or TVs.

-Being able to Google any answer. People running their mnouth about topics is a thing of the past. The real answer is at everyone's fingertips.

-THE INTERNET with you all the time.

-Internet banking with you all the time.

-Games with you all the time.

-Youtube with you all the time.

-GAF WITH YOU ALL THE TIME

If you can give them up so lightly, you aren't using them like hundreds of millions of people are right now... or you're just a minimalist by comparison. That's why they've sold in the hundreds of millions. Kids these days would rather have an iPhone than a car, and I agree with them.

I mean like... what the hell, lol. How could it not be considered a game changer? It's a game changer to my luddite 60 year old parents!
Click to expand...


I realized that having the internet with my at all times really isn't that great. I'm rarely away from a computer which i would rather use and if I'm not I really don't need to be. I really don't see my friends using them in such a way that justifies the added costs.
 
iPhone, definitely.

Also the iPad in that I thought it was useless until I tried it. Now it's essential in my school work.
 
Seriously, getting this and Twilight Princess on midnight launch and swinging the sword and airming the slingshot was one of those moments where I will always remember for the rest of my life.

Then Skyward Sword perfected it...

I hope alot of Wii U games use the wiimote. WiiMote FTW!

Edit: Whoops meant to quote the pic of the WiiMote lol. To bad I'm on a iPad and can't edit that in...
 
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
It really depends on the person. I'm your typical anti-luddite in that I adopt most tech instantly. I've written applications for smartphones for work/fun. But I don't find them particularly useful at all, and probably will not purchase one until the fees for data plans are next to nothing. I'm away from a PC for about all of an hour during the week days, and if it's more than that it's when I'm doing something I wouldn't give a damn about having a smartphone for, like at a bar, restaurant, museum, etc. I have basically no reason to get one other than for the novelty of having one, and that's not worth the hundreds of dollars you pay for the ridiculously overpriced data plans. So yeah, it's nowhere near a game changer for me, and I can see how it might not be for a lot of people.

But it certainly is in terms of flat out capabilities. Honestly though, the bigger deal is honestly the wireless access to the internet, rather than the capabilities of the phones themselves. Technology will come along that will disrupt smart phones, whether it be AR or something else, but I don't think you're ever going to get around the fact that wireless data access from anywhere is a huge deal.
Click to expand...
Even though I can understand -barely- someone not wanting to use a smartphone, I still don't see how anyone could dispute fact that it's a game changer for society.

More than half of people in the US have smartphones. They didn't exist 5 years ago. The game has changed.

It's a game changer: like the automobile, TV or computing + and the internet.

(and if you want to argue that it's just an extension of computers/the internet, then that's fine, I can agree.... but the fact is that it is gonna take over from home PCs as the dominant method of using the internet, and it will be the gateway through which most of this planet will interact with the internet). Having it with you 24/7 is like halfway to the Matrix, in terms of how it now infiltrates our entire lives, rather than being an appliance in the corner of your living room.


cooltrainer said:
I realized that having the internet with my at all times really isn't that great. I'm rarely away from a computer which i would rather use and if I'm not I really don't need to be. I really don't see my friends using them in such a way that justifies the added costs.
Click to expand...

I can respect that. But again, if not a game changer for you, I think you can appreciate the point that it is a game changer for a vast multitude of others?
 
Also, the smartphone significantly decreases the barrier of entry for accessing the internet. The majority of the developing world will be going online for the first time by using their phones, because PC's and landline infrastructure have proven too expensive and difficult to roll out. This is incredibly game-changing and has far-ranging implications for our society, politics, economy...
 
Definitely the iPhone.

It's my music/media player, camera, games device, GPS, phone. I have it on me at all times and couldn't live without it. Game changer for sure.
 
Smartphones are really amazing, they affect pretty much everything you do wrt communication and media consumption.

But they are the runner-up to streaming porn sites.
 
mltplkxr said:
Gotta go with the digital camera.
I carry one everywhere I go. I use it to take notes of places I need to come back and visit, whiteboards I don't have time to transcribe, bus schedules and of course, practice photography.
I bought my first one 10 years ago. It was mind blowing to be able to take a picture anywhere, at any time, at virtually no cost. I remember the first time I zoomed in on a corner of a picture, I felt like Deckard in Blade Runner: "Enhance. Pull back. Stop. " . Mindblowing stuff!
Click to expand...

I can definitely respect the digital camera.

Being able to shoot what you want without abandon is pretty amazing. We were once limited to a handful of photos than we had to wait for a few days to see? We couldn't share them or back them up in any meaningful way? damn.
 
BocoDragon said:
-I know where I am on a map. I can find any business or address in a second.

-I know exactly how to get from here to there, and I know how long it will take via car, bus, or by foot. No more memorizing addresses or guesswork. "here to there" conversations are a thing of the past. I laugh when people try to have the conversation about address/directions and I'm like, dude, you don't need to discuss that stuff anymore.

-No more buying newspapers... I have thousands of news sources available to me at all times.

-social networking becoming live "always connected" utilities as opposed to just something that you check when you sit down at a PC. At this very moment I am connected to childhood friends who I haven't seen in over a decade. No, they would have never called me, and I would have never called them, but we frequently chat during our daily lives... either in a live chat sense, or in a passive back-and-forth messaging sense... whatever works for us.

-Touchscreen remotes always on your person, for things like iTunes or TVs.

-Being able to Google any answer. People running their mouth about topics is a thing of the past. The real answer is at everyone's fingertips.

-THE INTERNET with you all the time.

-Internet banking with you all the time.

-Games with you all the time.

-Youtube with you all the time.

-GAF WITH YOU ALL THE TIME

If you can give them up so lightly, you aren't using them like hundreds of millions of people are right now... or you're just a minimalist by comparison. That's why they've sold in the hundreds of millions. Kids these days would rather have an iPhone than a car, and I agree with them.

I mean like... what the hell, lol. How could it not be considered a game changer? It's a game changer to my luddite 60 year old parents!
Click to expand...

Plus I can deposit checks to my bank account by taking a picture of them with my phone. That's amazing.
 
BocoDragon said:
Even though I can understand -barely- someone not wanting to use a smartphone, I still don't see how anyone could dispute fact that it's a game changer for society.

More than half of people in the US have smartphones. They didn't exist 5 years ago. The game has changed.

It's a game changer: like the automobile, TV or computing + and the internet.

(and if you want to argue that it's just an extension of computers/the internet, then that's fine, I can agree.... but the fact is that it is gonna take over from home PCs as the dominant method of using the internet, and it will be the gateway through which most of this planet will interact with the internet). Having it with you 24/7 is like halfway to the Matrix, in terms of how it now infiltrates our entire lives, rather than being an appliance in the corner of your living room.

I can respect that. But again, if not a game changer for you, I think you can appreciate the point that it is a game changer for a vast multitude of others?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I pretty much already agreed that it's a game changer, I just don't necessarily attribute it to the smartphone as much as the concept of mobile data access. It's going to be mobile data access that stays with us after the smartphone is gone.

voodoojohn said:
Also, the smartphone significantly lowers the barrier of entry for accessing the internet. The majority of the developing world will be going online for the first time by using their phones. That is incredibly game-changing and has far-ranging implications for our society, politics, economy...
Click to expand...

I can't see it as lowering the barrier of entry when the monthly costs are so high. I guess if a person doesn't have any other form of internet access other than a mobile it does.
 
FQfoQ.jpg

Kindle <3
 
Yeah, gotta say my HTC EVO 4G.

I would constantly be looking something up or reading something productive. After an unfortunate gym accident, I'm using an old Samsung flip phone and I find myself looking to google something, but can't.
 
ClovingSteam said:
iphon4-100607-1.jpg


I have to go with the iPhone (4s) to be exact.
The design is simply beautiful
The iPhone alone was revolutionary
Carrying the Internet in your pocket and throw in the app store.

What's yours?
Click to expand...

Same. Perfect realization of the iPhone. My favourite gadget of all time.
 
Still don't have a smart phone, so probably just the iPod, and if you're a stickler on within the last decade, then iPod Nano.
 
Not really one invention, but I like the fact that portable devices have picked up in popularity and functionality. I always thought things like my gameboy were cool when I was growing up because we took stupidly long car trips (okay, three hours, but that's a long time when you're a kid). Sure I don't go nearly as many places now, but having something that I can hold in my bed with me and be able to toss and turn as I please while I'm watching a show or browsing the net is really awesome to me.

Also, in that same vein, external hard-drives. I hated having to burn things to a CD or *gasp* a floppy disk to move them to the computer in my room when I was younger and didn't have internet.
 
easily smartphones

north america went from being 2 years behind the rest of the world in phone tech to 50 years ahead. smartphones are a triumph. I can take pictures, surf the web, have a GPS, email app, games, all of my music, videos, record interviews, etc. in a little phone that responds crisply to the touch of my fingers??? these things are incredible!
JRA1k.jpg

Yes, these and SD Cards are also mind blowing. 32 GB on a little flash stick? 16 GB on a micro SD card that is smaller than my fingernail? are you fucking kidding me? My comp from ~2000, which was top of the line at the time, had a 30 GB hard drive...

Kabouter said:
FQfoQ.jpg

Kindle <3
Click to expand...

yeah, this is another amazing invention...
 
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
Yeah, I pretty much already agreed that it's a game changer, I just don't necessarily attribute it to the smartphone as much as the concept of mobile data access. It's going to be mobile data access that stays with us after the smartphone is gone.



I can't see it as lowering the barrier of entry when the monthly costs are so high. I guess if a person doesn't have any other form of internet access other than a mobile it does.
Click to expand...

This is a barrier that is created by the phone company, not the device itself. As I understand it the cost of phone contracts in the US are very exorbitant.

I'm on a plan for $60 a month and this is one of the higher end plans in Australia.
 
lexi said:
This is a barrier that is created by the phone company, not the device itself. As I understand it the cost of phone contracts in the US are very exorbitant.

I'm on a plan for $60 a month and this is one of the higher end plans in Australia.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree. I can't believe there isn't more outrage over it, honestly, especially over throttling.
 
iPad



Theres something about iPad that pushes it over the phone IMO. For me the phone is still mostly a phone;mp3 player but the iPad really does change how I consume content and interact. I could probably dump the phone and go with a simple normal phone but the iPad, I can't see myself going without.

Twitter FaceTime emails.. Etc all better on the iPad
 
BocoDragon said:
I can respect that. But again, if not a game changer for you, I think you can appreciate the point that it is a game changer for a vast multitude of others?
Click to expand...

Yeah I suppose so. I use mine in mostly the same ways as other people I think but I guess it's just more meaningful/amazing to them. I'm excited to see where they go from here as they become more integrated with society.
 
high speed internet no question

all your fancy phone features are useless garbage without it

and so is everything else
 
Duki said:
high speed internet no question

all your fancy phone features are useless garbage without it

and so is everything else
Click to expand...

Not really within the last decade, though, is it? I had friends with cable modems in the late 90s.

Wireless internet, though, yeah.
 
Advanced game engines

821ca8bebdf2485cc1dc73b55d67f.jpg


gdc-see-what-next-gen-games-will-look-like-20110302082144966.jpg


I think Smartphones are detrimental to human social interaction. I swear, nowadays, you can't have a conversation with people anymore because they simply can't maintain eye contact, they have to be doing something with their phones.
 
The iPhone.

The frequency with which I use it and the variety of things I can do with it is unmatched by anything else I've owned (except for maybe a PC I guess, but that's older than this last decade). Amazing product.
 
Well since the OP already won it with the iPhone (or to be more general, smartphones), my choice goes to cloud computing/storage. I know that might be considered cheating but something like Dropbox would have seemed really futuristic if you had told me about it 10 years ago. It's just so nifty.
 
Gotta be smartphones on a consumer level.

Also, its funny how clear you can see who owns an iPhone and who doesn't in this thread.
 
Everyone saying smart phones is correct of course, but I'd like to submit the concept of cloud computing.

I think it has had a significant impact already and over the next decade I wouldn't be surprised if it is incorporated into every device on the planet in a significant way, such as turning smart phones into simple terminals.
 
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