Technology has and continues to make a big impact on our lives – at home and at the workplace. In the last few years, the pace of change has accelerated dramatically, in part fueled by the easy availability of lots of venture capital. Which are the technological wonders of life in the last decade or so which have made a big impact on our lives? What’s the future like for these modern-day wonders?
I have picked 7 TechnoWonders which have made a big difference in the past ten years. They were not necessarily invented or created in the past decade, but they have made a big impact on how we live and do business. And, hopefully, will continue to do so. I will explain each of my choices in an article over the next 7 editions. I would also like to hear from you about your selections.
Before I talk about my choices, I’d like to talk about seven other TechnoWonders which I did not pick, but which nevertheless have made a positive impact and continue to hold great promise going ahead.
- Gaming Consoles from Sony, Nintendo and Sega have captured the imagination of millions worldwide. In the years to come, online gaming (Everquest, Ultima Online) promises to revolutionise interactive entertainment.
- Satellites, have been the communications bridge for long. Only of late, are they being replaced by undersea optical fibre cables. But, satellites still hold potential for rural communications for much of the developing world.
- Databases: The ability to store and remember everything about an individual offers personalization and recommendations hitherto considered impossible. The 1:1 world is coming!
- Search Engines: they still remain the best way to find stuff on the Net. Just when people thought search engines could not get better, along came Google.
- MS-Office: besides the browser and the email application, what we still probably spend most of the time on the desktop is in Microsoft’s Office suite, which came from behind to demolish all competition.
- Linux: the harbinger of the open-source revolution is no longer just a niche OS. In countries like Mexico and China, it is increasingly being preferred for the mass market.
- ECommerce: Okay, so ecommerce companies have been panned this year. But the fact remains that this has the ability to make a difference to people’s lives – either from a convenience and time-saving point of view, or by offering access to a variety of products which was not possible earlier, by cutting across geographical boundaries.
Here, then, are my choices for the 7 TechnoWonders of the Modern World: Computer, Internet, Email, Cellphone, Cable TV, Fibre Optics and Streaming.
