There have been many important advancements in technology over many years. Here are 5 that might not have necessarily changed the world but have certainly made a difference, particularly as far as home PCs are concerned:
HDD To SSD
In the world of home computers, the introduction of SSDs was arguably responsible for the greatest improvement in speed and responsiveness in recent years. I remember a time when users would report their computers running slow and the common response was to add more RAM.
However, as soon as the price of SSDs dropped to a reasonable amount, there is no doubt that replacing an old spinner HDD with a new-fangled SSD took over as the best value-for-money method to improve speed and responsiveness.
Over the years I’ve replaced many an HDD with an SSD on aging PCs and have been amazed at the difference, it’s almost akin to a brand-new machine.
Miniaturization Of Electronics
The miniaturization of electronic components has led to massive advancements in almost every area of life: health, industry, aeronautics and travel, communications – you name it.
Two decades ago who could have even conceived that a computer, camera, telephone, and much more could possibly all be combined into a single 6″ x 4″ device. Many of these technological advancements have been down to the miniaturization of the humble transistor.
Back in the day when transistors became the norm, such as in transistor radios, these components were about the size of a human fingernail (roughly 1cm x 1cm or 0.40″ x 0.40″). These days transistors are so small as to be invisible to the naked eye and that same surface area can now house millions.
Skype
Now I realize that including Skype is a bit out of left field but I still marvel to this day at the ability to video chat with someone across the other side of the world, and for free. Not so very long ago this type of communication was solely within the realm of science fiction.
Just the other day I was chatting with colleague John Durso in his home in the US from my home in Queensland Australia and was once again awestruck by the very concept. Amazing stuff.
Surgical Robotics
There is no doubt that, due to advancements in medicine and surgical techniques, our life expectancy has risen dramatically. My lovely wife has endured a rugged past 5 years including 3 major surgeries.
The second surgery was to remove a cancerous kidney which we mistakenly thought could be done locally. However, the surgeon informed us that my wife would need to go to a major hospital in our nearest major city because the operation would be performed by robotics, which wasn’t available locally.
I was surprised to hear that robotics now plays an important part in delicate surgical procedures. Perhaps somewhat naively, I had no idea.
Central Processing Units
CPUs have come such a long way in such a relatively short space of time. From my first CPU, a single-core Pentium 4 to to the multi-core processors of today, providing a massive performance boost.
As you are aware, CPUs are the PC’s brain and play an integral role in speed and performance. Back in those Pentium 4 days I could not imagine the modern multi-core/multi-thread CPUs of today.
BOTTOM LINE:
As I mentioned at the very beginning, these might not be particularly earth-shattering technological advancements but they sure have made an impact in my personal sphere. Can you name any advancements in technology that have impacted you? Let us know via the comments.
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Great article Jim. Most people today either embrace modern changes or take them for granted. High speed Internet is still not available world wide. I marvel how quickly a connection and reply to a question appears on the screen, Mindblower!
Yes, I had my first microcomputer (a TRS-80) in 1980. In the same year I had rare access (by 300 baud dial-up) to embryonic “electric mail” with ‘Telecom Gold’ and ‘Prestel’ (A videotext service).
The break-through was to my mind the invention of the (dial-up) Electronic bulletin Board, offered by a vast array of volunteers, in towns all over the Globe.
I with friends ran “Log-on-the-Tyne” a Fido / Opus BBS from 1986 to 1999.
There’s definitely been some great progress and it makes me wonder what will be next.
I’d also add smartphones in general. The ability to now be able to do everything a computer does but from a device that can fit in our pocket. I’d say after the internet, this has had the biggest impact, certainly lately.
Also USB pen drives and smaller external hard drives are probably taken for granted. While I’m not as old as a lot of people on here, I do remember the days of floppy disks. And cloud backup storage services are also handy.
AI is probably going to be the next big thing. I do find chatGPT is handy but it’s hard to know how far it will go. It’s certainly handy for writing things like letters as it can suggest better ways to write things e.g. more professional looking
Hey Peter.
Smartphones are included in the article, under “Miniaturization Of Electronics”. I agree about USB flash drives, definitely changed the way we do things. I agree about AI too, almost certainly the next BIG thing.
Cheers… Jim
Along with all the things already mentioned, I will add the digitization of media, especially audio and video. For over 100 years, these media types were strictly analog, film for video and pictures, and vinyl and magnetic tape for music and other audio sources. The advances in the technology areas you highlighted, allowed us to digitize our analog world. Compact disks, DVDs for consumers, and plethora of digital photography, video and audio recorders for all content developers, professional and consumer. This has all manifested itself into the streaming world we have today of which video calls from our phones is just once result. I still remember as a kid in the 60s, helping my dad set up a projector screen so we could see 35 mm slides and 8 mm home movies he had shot. I still have about 60 Kodak slide carousels from my dad’s estate that I am slowly digitizing with a slide scanner.