11 Gadgets That Changed The World. What's Missing?

viv1969 said:
Yes there were smaller versions which followed, but the originals don't qualify by that definition
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Well that's has really upset Colossus now
And there he was thinking how important he was to computing :(
 
Ricardodaforce said:
Just a reminder, I didn't create the list. If you feel it's badly named why not take it up with T3.
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'Cause you bought up the definition, not the list ;)
 
Ricardodaforce said:
Just a reminder, I didn't create the list. If you feel it's badly named why not take it up with T3.
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Not having a pop at you or anyone else. Just expanding your original post which I assume you were debating
 
viv1969 said:
'Cause you bought up the definition, not the list ;)
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So, if you feel it's badly named as by definition, in your opinion, some of the items aren't gadgets, take it up with T3. No point wasting your time writing to me about it.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
So, if you feel it's badly named as by definition, in your opinion, some of the items aren't gadgets, take it up with T3. No point wasting your time writing to me about it.
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Oh dear.
What's the definition of lighten up Ric? :rolleyes:
 
Maybe they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with iphones and kindles and wot not because they are restricted by the definition of a gadget.
Maybe the truth is that very few gagets changed the World by the same magnitude that the car, TV or internet has.
 
microwave
 
As it is a magazine covering 'gadgets' that changed the world and the list given is fairly narrow, I would question the wider issue of how the world was changed. Most are not inventions but are innovations of tech already at a long line of innovations.

The iPhone evolved from the convergence of radio, microelectronics, LED, telecommunications, satellite systems, gps, typewriters, computers, digital coding software etc - all of which existed before the iPhone magically appeared.

Not an invention as such but by the use of 'Convergence Technology', bringing elements together that already existed in other times, used for different purposes we get the 'new' feel.

It also did not,8 and cannot, exist on it's own to deliver it's primary purpose. It has to mesh with other convegent technologies within a global structure.

So my premise is that there is little invention of the actual product itself.

I would contend that the real 'invention' that has changed the world is seen in the science and technology is the discovery and subsequent decoding of the structure of DNA and how mapping the genome has created and is still creating truly world changing technology and the tools that can reprogramme mutated, damaged and errant gene codes to 'repair' DNA strings which can halt certain medical conditions.

The technology is changing all the time in those industries through innovation.

So a question

Is a 3D printer an innovation?

I love the technology we have, photography is a hobby I started in 1962 with a Box Brownie - I have an EOS70D - the both take an image of what I looked at with 53 years between them. There was a time when the Box Brownie was the 70D of it's time. Hence I see innovation not invention. Long live innovation.
 
Sorry for the spelling errors

Apparently I cannot edit my post. I do not have permission!

Is it my Galaxy S6 Edge?
 
You can on androids too, including Samsung.
 
viv1969 said:
You can on androids too, including Samsung.
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True but smart phones for the masses were insignificant prior to the introduction of the iPhone. Sure feels like myself had all sorts of devices often WindowsCE based. But mobile data for everyone and on the move like it is today was actually unheard off.

Following its introduction it did revolution the market place and opened it up for alternatives as well.

Ofcourse it's convergence technology, but done in a way that nobody did before and it appealed to a very large group of people.

I think it is deservedly there and still holding its place seven years on.
 
dejongj said:
True but smart phones for the masses were insignificant prior to the introduction of the iPhone. Sure feels like myself had all sorts of devices often WindowsCE based. But mobile data for everyone and on the move like it is today was actually unheard off.

Following its introduction it did revolution the market place and opened it up for alternatives as well.

Ofcourse it's convergence technology, but done in a way that nobody did before and it appealed to a very large group of people.

I think it is deservedly there and still holding its place seven years on.
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OK….but my post….

viv1969 said:
You can on androids too, including Samsung.
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Was in response to this post…….

Ricardodaforce said:
You can on an iPhone. :D
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Following this post……

Hugh Jarse said:
Sorry for the spelling errors

Apparently I cannot edit my post. I do not have permission!

Is it my Galaxy S6 Edge?
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Confused.com
 
strumstrum said:
I would put pacemaker and cochlear implant on the list, both amazing gadgets.
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To me a gadget in the context of T3 Magazine as per the OP is non-essential, perhaps even bought from a little toy fund....Not something I would class essential medical devices in...
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I would contend that the real 'invention' that has changed the wlrld is seen in the science and technology is the discovery and subsequent decoding of the structure of DNA and how mapping the genome has created and is still creating truly world changing technology and the tools that can reprogramme mutated, damaged and errant gene codes to 'repair' DNA strings which can halt certain medical conditions.
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But that's not a gadget or an invention it is a huge collection of scientific discovery and experiment but relies on a lot of inventions to allow genome sequencing. It also depends on a lot of other science and invention and it is all part of a continuum that starts with fire and agriculture and runs on through things like water purification and steam power. I find it hard to single out one things as more important than any other in the continuum.

norters said:
The electric guitar.
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You are on to something there but the game changer was the amplifier surely? Once we had amps the world went from orchestras, big bands and small venues to small bands in big venues.
 
sirch said:
But that's not a gadget or an invention it is a huge collection of scientific discovery and experiment but relies on a lot of inventions to allow genome sequencing. It also depends on a lot of other science and invention and it is all part of a continuum that starts with fire and agriculture and runs on through things like water purification and steam power. I find it hard to single out one things as more important than any other in the continuum.
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Not disgreeing but, as you have stated, the discovery and the tools that enabled the genome sequencing involved both invention and innovation wrapped up with an almost religious fervout to deliver a truly world changing process.

As good as it is, there is still much more to come.

I would never dismiss all the inventions from the past, it is why scientists were seen as 'inventors and engineers (which was my calling) were the innovators.

As a part time OU tutor for technology courses, one of the most interesting part of working with 'mature' students, was the wealth of experience and ideas were available from a mainly 35-70 yo age group.

A common question in the 1990's was "What was the last invention?" It was debates of that nature which mirrored much of the study texts which detailed a wider view of 'convergence' of different technologies. The OU was a leading academic teaching academy in the use of IT/telephony convergence. In the rearly 1980s we were converging landline telephony with an expensive 'modulator/demodulator (ie a MODEM) to conference between tutors, staff and students on some courses through a conference 'app' called Wigwam later Teepee. A 2400bps modem cost £299 then. Now most households have them as a must have.

That again used known technologies.

So 2 questions to any interested party - What do you think the last real invention was? Why is it an invention?
 
The synthesiser would be a musical game changer and it's almost gadgety enough...
 
srichards said:
The synthesiser would be a musical game changer and it's almost gadgety enough...
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Oh it's gadgetry and not almost.

Both as stand alone Moog type synthesisers and later Korg etc till where we can pick them up fairly cheaply and what we did at college...."bump" a Hammond organ and tape record the sound!

Was a favourite of mine, led by Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Walter later Wendy Carlos with "Switched on Bach" Pink Floyd.... the list goes on. Take one sine wave generator and add......
 
Hugh Jarse said:
Oh it's gadgetry and not almost.

Both as stand alone Moog type synthesisers and later Korg etc till where we can pick them up fairly cheaply and what we did at college...."bump" a Hammond organ and tape record the sound!

Was a favourite of mine, led by Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Walter later Wendy Carlos with "Switched on Bach" Pink Floyd.... the list goes on. Take one sine wave generator and add......
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Oooooo Kraftwerk. I've seen them 3 times.
 
Hugh Jarse said:
Was a favourite of mine, led by Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Walter later Wendy Carlos with "Switched on Bach" Pink Floyd....
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Don't forget Keith Emerson, who reportedly "Climbed inside his organ, but following a shock, never did it again" :D
 
Ricardodaforce said:
Oooooo Kraftwerk. I've seen them 3 times.
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Few more times for me. Would have loved to be a fly on the wall at their Kling Klang studios while they worked on RadioAktivity and Autobahn. They are all quite old now. Time to send the robots back on tour... again.

If you have a chance and have never heard La Dusseldorf.. Have a listen. I still have the vinyl I picked up when I heard it while I was working in Munich too many years ago.

View: https://youtu.be/pVGcwy8B-UY
 
Cobra said:
Don't forget Keith Emerson, who reportedly "Climbed inside his organ, but following a shock, never did it again" :D
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ELP were ace!

As for KE climbing inside his organ.... It will be on the internet somewhere under NSFW ;-)

Mind you Rick Wakeman was weird at times!
 
Steep said:
Not really, you just don't have to wait till the end of the program before watching it, hardly world changing.
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It has changed the way I watch tv
I record all programs I want to watch, then do so in my own time sans adverts.
and stop and start as I wish.
some I watch weeks later,
I set up recordings a week in advance.
 
Hugh Jarse said:
Few more times for me. Would have loved to be a fly on the wall at their Kling Klang studios while they worked on RadioAktivity and Autobahn. They are all quite old now. Time to send the robots back on tour... again.

If you have a chance and have never heard La Dusseldorf.. Have a listen. I still have the vinyl I picked up when I heard it while I was working in Munich too many years ago.

View: https://youtu.be/pVGcwy8B-UY
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Saw the classic line up in 1981 in London, then in 1991 I saw them with Fernando Abrantes in place of Wolfgang Flur. Saw them again at Luton Hoo in 1997 where they did the best ever version of Numbers.
 
Drones... from many reasons, but mostly because they are fun :D

Paternoster lifts.... efficient and fun :D
 
TV remotes? Surely a contributory factor to obesity.
 
viv1969 said:
Or rather, black powder, since it was in use centuries before the gun ;)
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I agree, but gunpowder is usually taken to mean black powder. We don't know when it was first used as a propellant, but its invention led to the greatest revolution in the history of warfare.
 
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