What's your favorite piece of technology from the last decade?
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The iPhone is absolutely and indisputably the most influential piece of consumer tech from the past ten years, whether or not haters admit it.
Still, I am a Droid user. I
await the day smartphones become truly open platforms.
I'd also like to toss in the concept of cloud computing, even though I don't think we are quite there yet in terms of its potential.
As a personal note, I am looking forward to seeing how the Lytro camera tech will be incorporated into future devices.
What are the biggest medical advances of the past ten years?
Still, I am a Droid user. I
foolishly
I'd also like to toss in the concept of cloud computing, even though I don't think we are quite there yet in terms of its potential.
As a personal note, I am looking forward to seeing how the Lytro camera tech will be incorporated into future devices.
What are the biggest medical advances of the past ten years?
Going to sound boring but I'm gonna say iPhone as well.
Not only is the UI awesome, the design of the phone is great and it's awesome to use. The only thing I'd want more is a slide out keyboard.
It's totally transformed my life, or rather made it better and enriched it.
There really is an app for everything!
Not only is the UI awesome, the design of the phone is great and it's awesome to use. The only thing I'd want more is a slide out keyboard.
It's totally transformed my life, or rather made it better and enriched it.
There really is an app for everything!
Come on guys, I like the iPhone too but this just shows that the other smart phones also decided to go for touchscreens, nothing more.iPhone hands down. It's influence on phones and mobile tech is patently evident.
The iphone 4. For the first time, I truely feel like we have our own pipboy. The interface is perfect, the integration is perfect; everything just works fine. The app store is incredible.
I just can't get over how primitive other phone systems are. They all feel clunky, slapped together, like a mashups of different ideas made by different groups working at different companies. It's TERRIBLE.
They all feel like bootleg phones from China
I just can't get over how primitive other phone systems are. They all feel clunky, slapped together, like a mashups of different ideas made by different groups working at different companies. It's TERRIBLE.
They all feel like bootleg phones from China
crazy monkey
Banned
for me personally nothing has changes much. Everything did got improved but nothing that changed my life drastically may be because I rely less on tech toys. Computer is essential and I love laptop I have. I bought first computer in 1997. I still have non-smart phone a nokia 5230 so I am out of touch with other things. I still play games on console.Even there I only have wii so no knowledge or cravings of hd much. If I have to say what was my favorite based on what I used the most is laptop. I did not like desktop that much. I do not like tablet either because they are hard to grab on too for long time and typing is chore on them.
Seraphinianus
Banned
Like the hat?
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My personal favorite? Nintendo DS
specifically DSiXL
specifically DSiXL
PuppetSlave
Member
Really love my kindle. Cheaper books, can carry hundreds of books with me and don't have to worry about getting rid of books so my bookcases don't get too full.
Glass Rebel
Member
Oh I forgot Google Docs. Definitely the best Google service.
Yeah I would second this. Never had an interest in still photography, nevermind DSLRs, but after using a 5DmkII on a short video project, I fell in love. All I'd used up that point were 16mm or mini-DV cameras, and the 5D blew them away.
I spent basically my life savings and took out another student loan to buy a 7D about a month after.
Man, that is such a completely wrong statement. Are you being sarcastic?
AwayFromInfinityx
Member
Gaming wise - Playstation 3. no more going to friends house to play the latest games. Online play made life much easier
Everything else - IPhone 4. I did have an HTC evo which was my 1st touchscreen phone.
Everything else - IPhone 4. I did have an HTC evo which was my 1st touchscreen phone.
I can't believe I forgot Steam in my first post. I mean I'm not sure if that counts here, it seems like we're all mentioning physical products, but Steam changed a lot of my gaming and purchasing habits and it revitalized PC gaming. I'll take that over my lame HDTV or PS3 choices in my first post.
Prophet Steve
Member
Probably this, maybe Netflix. Or increased internet speeds.
When seeing physical technology maybe HDTV, SSD or my Xbox. Never was a fan of smart phones and stuff, so not that.
Am I the only person who gets confused when people say the iPhone changed everything? Dont get me wrong, the iPhone was revolutionary, but not in the way people think.
In my opinion the iPhone was revolutionary in two ways, the OS design and the design of the hardware itself. Before the iPhone, I think its fair to say that the OSs on other phones were abysmal; they were (mostly) ugly and for an average user, hard to use. The iPhone certainly did change that.
But when I hear people say things like:
The iPhone changed everything; with the iPhone I can check the weather forecast.
The iPhone changed everything; with the iPhone I have the internet in my pocket and can browse at 3G speeds.
The iPhone changed everything; with the iPhone I can use GPS to get a map of my current location and find local restaurants etc
The iPhone changed everything; with the iPhone I can video chat with my friends.
It boggles my mind. I mean did these people just have no interest in smartphones pre iPhone?
This was the second smartphone that I owned:
As you can see, its certainly not the prettiest looking phone, and the OS does look confusing. Like I said these are two aspects where the iPhone was revolutionary. But it could do everything an iPhone can do.
Yes I know the iPhone has the app store now, which means that you can download an app that adds certain other functionality. But the main things that people often list when discussing how the iPhone changed everything are all possible on this smartphone from 2004.
Sorry for the ranting post, and I do like the iPhone (I even owned the first two), but its just something that (rightly or wrongly) annoys me.
To answer the OP, I guess it would be broadband/Wi-Fi. Even though both pre date the last ten years, they only really became viable to average consumers recently.
In my opinion the iPhone was revolutionary in two ways, the OS design and the design of the hardware itself. Before the iPhone, I think its fair to say that the OSs on other phones were abysmal; they were (mostly) ugly and for an average user, hard to use. The iPhone certainly did change that.
But when I hear people say things like:
The iPhone changed everything; with the iPhone I can check the weather forecast.
The iPhone changed everything; with the iPhone I have the internet in my pocket and can browse at 3G speeds.
The iPhone changed everything; with the iPhone I can use GPS to get a map of my current location and find local restaurants etc
The iPhone changed everything; with the iPhone I can video chat with my friends.
It boggles my mind. I mean did these people just have no interest in smartphones pre iPhone?
This was the second smartphone that I owned:
As you can see, its certainly not the prettiest looking phone, and the OS does look confusing. Like I said these are two aspects where the iPhone was revolutionary. But it could do everything an iPhone can do.
Yes I know the iPhone has the app store now, which means that you can download an app that adds certain other functionality. But the main things that people often list when discussing how the iPhone changed everything are all possible on this smartphone from 2004.
Sorry for the ranting post, and I do like the iPhone (I even owned the first two), but its just something that (rightly or wrongly) annoys me.
To answer the OP, I guess it would be broadband/Wi-Fi. Even though both pre date the last ten years, they only really became viable to average consumers recently.
Shalashaska161
Member
Had this laptop for almost 5 years now and I've used it everyday since I've bought it. It's getting a little older now, and I'll probably replace it this summer with an Air but man this thing has served me well.
If everyone's going to name something as blatantly obvious as a device from last year, do we really even need the 'last decade' part? Of course the iPhone 4S is better than the iPhone 4 is better than the iPhone 3GS, etc...
My favourite gadget is, in fact my smartphone, but a smartphone on its own is a useless piece of shit without wireless high speed technology, so I'm going to go ahead and say WiFi and 3G are mine.
My favourite gadget is, in fact my smartphone, but a smartphone on its own is a useless piece of shit without wireless high speed technology, so I'm going to go ahead and say WiFi and 3G are mine.
Probably MP3s, or at least the viable method of bands streaming their music via Youtube/Myspace/Last.fm/whatever without corporate and marketing pressures. The discovery of so much music within the past decade has never felt so intense before. If the 90s was my Radiohead era, the naughts were indescribable.
Next in line would be viable laptops. An old family friend had one of those old brick ones that had a massive arse on it and it was in monochrome; in a way it is similar to comparing an original Gameboy to a 3DS/Vita.
Overall though I would like to think that the mainstream acceptance of the Internet over the past decade has all affected us deeply. It may not be an entirely new piece of technology, but it certainly changed the way we reacted toward one another. In the current ideal 1st world we are more socially liberated, perhaps more accepting to differing opinions, while throwing potatoes and playing small violins to stupidity. Of course my dreams of humanity are still far off base, but at least we're still idling on IRC while laughing at petty things on massive social websites like reddit and SA forums.
Next in line would be viable laptops. An old family friend had one of those old brick ones that had a massive arse on it and it was in monochrome; in a way it is similar to comparing an original Gameboy to a 3DS/Vita.
Overall though I would like to think that the mainstream acceptance of the Internet over the past decade has all affected us deeply. It may not be an entirely new piece of technology, but it certainly changed the way we reacted toward one another. In the current ideal 1st world we are more socially liberated, perhaps more accepting to differing opinions, while throwing potatoes and playing small violins to stupidity. Of course my dreams of humanity are still far off base, but at least we're still idling on IRC while laughing at petty things on massive social websites like reddit and SA forums.
I wonder what Jung would have said about the Internet and collective unconscious.
Houston3000
Member
I hate to be just another boring answer in this thread but I'll have to agree with Smart Phones. Having a phone, MP3 player, camera, GPS, map (plus subway map), internet browser, weather, video games, movies, etc... all on one device in my pocket is so amazing to me even years after I got my phone.
I have to give major props as well to wireless broadband routers. That's been absolutely indispensable with the advent of so many internet devices, including smart phones, not to mention the increasing popularity of laptops.
Also, it's not really a "piece" of technology but Youtube only cropped up in the last decade and really streaming videos in general. I was already almost half way through college before Youtube was even founded and it honestly blows my mind trying to think how I even watched videos on the internet before that. Similarly, Wikipedia, but I think that actually was over 10 years ago at this point (though just barely)
I have to give major props as well to wireless broadband routers. That's been absolutely indispensable with the advent of so many internet devices, including smart phones, not to mention the increasing popularity of laptops.
Also, it's not really a "piece" of technology but Youtube only cropped up in the last decade and really streaming videos in general. I was already almost half way through college before Youtube was even founded and it honestly blows my mind trying to think how I even watched videos on the internet before that. Similarly, Wikipedia, but I think that actually was over 10 years ago at this point (though just barely)
Maklershed
Member
Well I'll ignore the stuff that matters and just list the fun stuff that I interact with on a daily basis:
An opinion piece I'd give my left nut for. Maybe.
Well I'll ignore the stuff that matters and just list the fun stuff that I interact with on a daily basis:
E-readers are definitely up there. Who knew that the relaxing smell of slightly crisp yet discoloured paper at 2am could be substituted with the cold hard reality of technology and ease of use?
No? Sure was the iPhone the reason why they made them with touchscreens, but when you're making a phone without buttons it's almost bound to to look like this.
Ooh, great choice. Kindle is definitely right up there with my iPhone. I read so much more because of it.Well I'll ignore the stuff that matters and just list the fun stuff that I interact with on a daily basis:
Baron Doggystyle von Woof
Member
Smartphones in general are the biggest breaktrough last ten years.
EleventhDoctor
Banned
facepalm.jpg
Kong Fisso
Banned
My favorite piece of technology would be the personal computer becoming powerful enough to edit video on the cheap.
In comparison, I don't give a fuck about smartphones.
In comparison, I don't give a fuck about smartphones.
Being an absolute headphone nut, naturally my answer is going to be a pair of headphones!
The Audeze LCD-2's:
Shame I don't have the money to actually own a pair...
If you owned them, you may not like the weight and extreme clamping force for extended periods. one reason why I had them - and then sold them quickly.
For headphone awesomeness, nothing I have heard beats this:
CHEEZMO
Obsidian fan
In 2004, I got this little baby, a Nokia 6230.
In 2001 phones didn't even have colour displays and only offered ugly mono sounds, and suddenly I could take videos and have mp3 songs as ringtones and play decent games.
This phone really blew me away and it became clear that a revolution was starting.
This is my phone!
Edit: I need to get a smartphone some time.
I really didn't think they clamped very hard. I've owned many headphones that clamp worse, in fact.
As far a weight goes, it's true I probably didn't listen to them enough to be bothered by it. But I also think there's a lot worse things than heavy headphones. Like hearing damage. Anything that forces me to take a break from my headphones is good for my long term hearing!
It's not though, it's important but phones would have kept advancing without it anyway, I would say to me my favorite piece of technology is my ipod classic or LCD displays both are
The iPhone not only popularized touchscreens, it single handedly killed the non-Wacom stylus and paved the way for modern tablet computing. It was literally a paradigm shift. Variable digital keyboards, clean UIs, and the app economy are all thanks to the iPhone. At the time of its release it redefined what a post PC convergence device could be.
If you look at what "smartphones" existed around the time of the iPhone's release, you get the impression that Apple reached ten years into the future and grabbed the coolest thing they could find.
Yea, I wonder if because they are so ubiquitous (in smartphones and in new cars) that people have taken it for granted.
Wiktor
Member
Umm..no. iPhone as a who.e changed the whole landscape, but LG Prada was released earlier. At launch iPhone was just a smoother version of Prada, nothing truly new or game changing. Definitely nowhere near "10 years in the future".
The true paradigm shift that iPhone caused happened a year after it launched, when appstore opened. Before that it was just sleeker dumbphone.
The way I look at it is: in twenty years, who will remember the LG Prada?
Now how about the iPhone?
Wiktor
Member
Yeah, but it won't make them any less wrong. So I will be able to feel all elitist and special
That said I'm not disputing iPhone's influence, just the "so much ahead at launch" part.
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