Top 20 Most Significant Innovations In The Past 30 Years

We have witnessed many of the fastest technological innovations in the past 30 years due to life-changing creations such as the iPhone and Internet.

The Internet changed how we find and share the news with others, which eliminates the barriers in communication between different nations in the process. For instance, the iPhone redefined the way people use information and technology on a personal basis, which transforms the smartphone considered as a luxury device into a necessary daily tool.

The two advancements have built a real technology world and the following big advancement sounds it’s just around the corner. In the past two decades, the market has witnessed businesses worth billion dollars such as ride-hailing service - Uber, video streaming service - Netflix, thanks to the appearance of smartphones as well as the Internet.

Now, let’s take a look at the most significant inventions in the past 30 years to know the Internet’s influence and the essential continuous development of information.

1. Internet (1990)

The appearance of the Internet first known as world wide web has changed the life of billions of people thank to offering the ability to use a boundless information source. In addition, the Internet allows people around the world to chat with each other through messages, which entirely changes how we communicate.

2. Photoshop (1990)

Photoshop is known as a suit for editing photo and a necessary program for almost business. Photoshop is amazingly versatile, which lets professionals create as well as edit images for whatever they need. Along with the invention of the Internet which makes visual communication more significant, the program has improved how we see the world and increased skepticism about if what we see is true.

3. Portable GPS (1990)

GPS (Global Positioning Systems) was first built for the U.S military. However, it was finally available for all people worldwide. The first consumer GPS devices were launched since the 1990s. Then, thanks to the growth of mobile broadband and the Internet has helped it navigate new locations easily.

4. Caller ID (1990)

Before the appearance of caller ID, people could not know who called them, which caused much inconvenience for many people. However, after below 20 years later, phones began including their displays and showing the name of people calling.

With the common use of smartphones for private calls, many people take this new feature for granted nowadays, however, it has still changed how we deal with phone etiquette.

5.  Cloning (1996)

The sheep Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from a cell of an adult in the world in 1996, which sparks an international argument about the ethics of cloning. The sheep died in Feb 2003 due to its increasingly worse lung disease. Then she was preserved for the public exhibit at the Museum of Scotland.

6. Email and Text Messaging (1992)

Several businesses could send their internal e-messages in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the Internet led to the common use of e-mail as a standard communication form for all people across the world. Besides, SMS messages were first built to send short text messages via telephone lines. Since the use of texting started to significantly develop, people set up the infrastructure to deal with the boom.

7.  Netflix (1997)

While Netflix has been widely used as an online channel for video streaming today, the company began with significantly humble beginnings. It was first developed as a huge movies library for subscribers through mail order, which is very different from the satisfaction users have from queuing up their favorite shows on Netflix nowadays.

The company started streaming films in 2007. After that, almost big media businesses have introduced their streaming video services. The success of Netflix made technology giants such as Amazon and Apple introduce their own Amazon Instant Video and Apple TV Plus.

8. Drones (1994)

People used “Drone” word to talk about almost tiny motorized aircraft which they can carry by hand before. While they have mainly attracted the concern of many people when being used in military engagements in the War on Terror, consumer drones have been widely used by aviation enthusiasts.

9.  Mobile Broadband (1991)

The introduction of mobile broadband helped a cellphone to access the Internet. Although it took a while to make the use of the Internet in a cellphone similar to that in a computer, the convenience when being able to access to necessary information such as emails or maps has been essential for a lot of working professionals worldwide.

10.  Hybrid Cars (1997)

Since climate change has drawn much attention in the world, the demand for new kinds of transport vehicles is also increasing. Many big car makers have developed their own hybrid cars which can run on both gasoline and electricity. Other car manufacturers such as Tesla are also developing a technology which is expected to make e-cars as affordable and viable as those powered by gasoline.

11. Flat Screen Displays (1997)

The next-generation televisions not only look better, but they also save much more energy than old kinds of TVs in the 1990s. Digital imaging tech has also transformed how we scale photos, which allows for quality, sharp visual despite what your display size is.

12. MP3 Players (1997)

Users have had more control for their music thanks to the introduction of MP3 players, which lets them preload a digital song collection and swap between the songs effortlessly. Being different from CDs, vinyl records, and cassette tapes, MP3 files cannot be damaged by other physical factors. In addition, MP3 players with memory cards that are able to be removed could increase the size of your song collections constantly by adding more storage.

13. Google Search (1997)

Nearly two-thirds of Internet users take advantage of Google Search, which makes it become one of the greatest information sources on Earth.

14. ISS (1998)

The ISS (International Space Station) is known as a joint effort of 5 space agencies from Canada, Europe, the U.S, Japan, and Russia. The ISS has gradually developed since 1998. It began welcoming the first long-term residents in the year 2000. Over 200 people coming from 18 different countries have come to the ISS for their educational and research purposes.

15. DVDs (1998)

Digital versatile disc (DVD) was created to replace VHS tapes as major media for home video at the ends of the 1990s. As a media digital form, DVDs are difficult to reduce quality over time as long as they are not damaged. In addition, they have a larger capacity to hold films or data than VHS tapes.

16. Facebook (2004)

Although Facebook was created after other social media networks, now it has been the no.1 platform in the world and a major information source for a large number of people worldwide. While Facebook was first built to help families and friends to keep in contact with each other, the firm has gradually developed its own business to include a wide range of other services.

17. YouTube (2005)

The YouTube concept is simple: It is a place for anyone to become a video creator and any time of a video. It is also created based on the introduction of the Internet and has become a primary place for a lot of users to find their voices online. With a large number of audience in the world that most TV networks want to have, YouTube has created a truly unique culture.

18. iPhone (2007)

iPhone is considered as one of the most transformational devices of the past 30 years, due to its functions as well as the platform and ability to use creative tools it offers. iPhone with the following smartphones has become the major portal to the world for millions of people. Additionally, they have entirely changed how we communicate on a personal level and created a culture.

19. Bitcoin (2009)

Bitcoin appeared in 2009 to be the first completely digital currency platform in the world. It uses a complicated code to generate verifiable and unique currency that can be used in online trading. Nowadays, a single bitcoin is worth over US$8,000.

20. Self-Driving Cars (2012)

Self-driving cars use important advancements in GPS technology and artificial intelligence. While most of the current model is being tested, they could possibly automate various tasks such as public transportation and deliveries in order to make the future safer and easier.