SFN's Top Developments of the Decade

[DJBruce]

So the decade of the 2000's is almost over, and as it seems the popular thing to do I though it would be interesting for SFN to make a list of what members thought were the greatest or most important trends, advancements, and developments in technology, science, and life in general.

 

Some of the things which jump into my mind are:

 

- The emergence of social networks like Facebook and Myspace.

- The use of the Internet for delivering news around the globe.

- CERN finally firing up the LHC.

 

So what do you guys and gals think the most important trends, advancements, and developments in technology, science, and life in general.

[Pangloss]

Cool idea. I approve of your choices 100%. Let me see if I can add a few.

 

- Smartphones

- E-books

- Video games (becoming a bigger industry than movies)

 

Edit: Adding a couple more:

- YouTube

- iPod

Edited December 31, 2009 by Pangloss

[Mr Skeptic]

- the continued improvements of computer technology. Sure, it was neither groundbreaking nor unexpected, but nevertheless, very cool and very useful.

- the resurgence of the electric car -- for good this time, I hope.

- the completion of the Human Genome Project (though mostly done in the previous decade) and the corresponding advances in biotechnology.

 

As for the LHC, it has yet to find something (or the lack of something) for me to consider it a top development.

[ydoaPs]

-exponential increase in the awesomeness of ydoaPs

-ydoaPs becoming old enough to legally consume alcohol

-Re-imagined BSG

-Bush getting elected.....twice

 

 

 

That's about it.

[Genecks]

- Improvements in Wikipedia

- Better storage and resolution with digital cameras

- Bigger and more connected GNU/Linux communities

- Advances toward digital submission of documents

- Advances in accessing documents through digital databases

 

I think what is interesting is that we have seen throughout the 2000s the rise and fall of many Internet communities. Some have survived, while others have died. Some of us have seen how governments (and their private parts) will play into taking down Internet communities. One could say that we have begun to see how far we can stretch communication in the Internet realm. In general, however, people have established communities that keep the idea of an "information highway" alive.

Edited January 1, 2010 by Genecks

[iNow]

* Personal connectivity and technology became almost ubiquitous (laptops, iPhones, Blackberries, other SmartPhones, etc.)

 

* More political polarization... less gray area on the political spectrum and more absolutist views/ideologies than during the recent past.

 

* Greater prominence of non-believers, more willingness/acceptance for speaking openly in opposition to faith/religion.

 

* Huge scare with the economy (not over... we'll have to be cautious of mid-2010) which brought us closer to the Great Depression than ever before, but last year saw huge growth as a result of huge governmental actions across the globe.

 

* We gave up many of our freedoms in the name of protecting them, and continue to take sub-optimal (fight the last battle, forget about the next) approaches to our security.

 

* Craziness over contestant shows like American Idol.

 

* On a brighter note, huge progress in genetics and the biological sciences.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

SFN, of course!

[bascule]

In addition to what has already been listed:

 

- Massively multicore CPUs: we're now up to 100 general purpose CPUs on a single chip. Also: CUDA. Programming for Von Neumann machines will soon be dead

- Massive advances in the speed and performance of virtualization (thanks in large part to those aforementioned multicore CPUs). VMware, VirtualBox, etc

- Windows 7: finally Windows doesn't suck!

- Numenta/NuPIC and its first practical application: Vitamin D

- Real D and IMAX 3D finally elevating 3D movies beyond a gimmick, and the first batch of movies that really make use of the medium: Coraline, Up, and Avatar. This decade: 3D movies in the home

- Brain/computer interfaces finally reaching the mainstream: introducing silly Star Wars toy! Also: the Emotiv Headset

- Blogs and

- Twitter, Facebook, and the "realtime web" redefining the way information flows

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Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged

Oh, and a huge one I missed which I can't believe hasn't been mentioned yet:

 

Google: redefined how we search for information. Moved us off of installed applications and into "the cloud" with their huge suite of webapps: Gmail, Google Docs, Google Reader.

 

Beyond that: cloud computing. Computers (and storage) went from being products into being services. Computers are now a metered utility, and you can purchase as much or as little as you need to accomplish a given task.

[Pangloss]

- Improvements in Wikipedia

 

Actually I think the Wikipedia itself carries a "naughties" born-on date, and I think that may be one of the most revolutionary inventions on the list so far. Good call.