Most Influential Gizmos According to Time

I recently read an article on Time.com where they offered their opinion of the top 12 most influential gadgets and gizmos (http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,1638782,00.html). I’ll recap this interesting list for you (in chronological order):

1. (1976) JVC HR-3300 videocassette recorder. This Betamax-killer was available for a mere $1400 (gee what’s that in today’s dollars?).
2. (1977) Atari 2600 video game. I remember playing pong…for hours. How easily we were entertained back then…and yes, I was very young.
3. (1979) Sony Walkman. I’m sure joggers everywhere rejoiced, but only if they could afford the $200 price tag.
4. (1982) Commodore 64. Just 64K of RAM, but the precursor to our modern business lives nonetheless.
5. (1984) Apple Macintosh. One of the first mainstream desktops to employ the beloved mouse. Takes me back to my first “real” job.
6. (1989) Nintendo Game Boy. My DS-using son is grateful.
7. (1993) Apple Newton Messagepad. Its $700 price and cumbersome size prevented it from gaining popularity. My first foray into the PDA marketplace was the Palm Pilot (still have it!).
8. (1999) Blackberry. I have to admit I had no idea the Blackberry was invented so early. Of course this $400 version looks and acts nothing like the savvy ones of today.
9. (1999) TiVo. Thank them for the DVR technology you get from cable and satellite today. A must-have in my house.
10. (2001) Apple iPod. Amen to that. I remember my first pre-iPod MP3 player. It was given to me on a company reward trip, and I can’t even remember the name of it. It held only about an hour’s worth of music and was so difficult to figure out that it ended up stuffed in a junk drawer.
11. (2002) Sanyo SCP-5300. The very first cell phone with a built-in camera. It went for $400. How far we’ve come in such a short time.
12. (2007) Apple iPhone. ‘Nuf said.

I’m sure we could add a few more to the list: the cassette player (see ya 8-track), the telephone answering machine, fax machine. What do you think they missed?

What’s shocking to me is where we’ve come in just over 30 years. Imagine where we’ll be in another 30.


Erika Moskal