The History of Technology
The history of technology can be likened to mankind’s progress in developing tools and techniques. This started with the invention of items as simple as stone tools, which made early man’s life easier, and has expanded and grown along with the evolution of man, into the complex information technology and genetic engineering that we know today.
Technological development is largely affected by society and what their trends and traditions are. Here we take a look at some of the latest developments in the world of technology.
- Live Streaming
Before 2007, there was no such thing as holing up at home on a rainy weekend, and binge watching your favourite movies and series, unless you were happy to pay a hefty bill at your local DVD rental outlet.
Then Netflix introduced the concept of live streaming onto PC’s as an add on service it had available. 2008 saw this feature appear on the Xbox 360, TV set-top boxes and blu ray disc players.
These days there are a multitude of different companies that offer almost unlimited entertainment options through live streaming to suit a wide range of devices. From watching Twitch streams of players on Atari or Xbox and enjoying videos on YouTube, everyone benefits in one way or another from this technology.
- E-Readers
E-Books are characterised as text based publications, readable in a digital format. Although e-books have been around for many years in different shapes and forms, it was the introduction of E-Readers that made them accessible to people all over the world.
In November of 2007, Amazon released the first ever Kindle E-Reader, which sold out within 6 hours of going on sale. It too until April of 2008 for the next batch of Kindles to be available.
Nowadays, there are many different options of E-Readers available, and they have revolutionised the publishing industry completely. Independent authors no longer have to approach multiple publishing houses to get their books printed – they can make them available in a digital format to anyone who wishes to pay to read them.
- Augmented Reality Devices
Augmented reality is a computer-generated image, which can be overlaid into one’s immediate environment, giving the user a combined generated and real view of their surroundings.
Up until only a few years ago, augmented reality was considered by most people, to be something out of sci-fi movie, and yet today it has exploded into mainstream society. It is largely considered to be the future of computing and gaming.
Google introduced wearable augmented reality in 2014 with their Google glasses, but it was the advent of the popular game, Pokemon Go that really made AR a reality (excuse the pun) to the man on the street.
Since then several variations of wearable augmented reality devices have become available, including the Oculus Rift Helmet, and Merged VR goggles making this cutting-edge technology available to mainstream public. In the future we can expect to see this tch infiltrate every facet of gaming, and River Belle online casino and other top brands are sure to offer games that are AR compatible.
- Tesla Cars
Tesla was born in 2003, and was started by a group of engineers who took it upon themselves to prove that one did not have to compromise on quality a driving experience to drive a fully electric car.
A few examples of these innovative fully electric vehicles are the Tesla Roadster, which boasts the ability to drive up to 300 miles on one charge, and the Model 3, which retails at $35K, making it affordable for most middle class American citizens.
Tesla has further increased its offerings with the Model X, which is touted as the fastest and safest sport utility car ever released and holds safety ratings of the highest level from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- MaterniT21
In the past, the only way for an expecting mother to discover if her baby had any abnormalities like Down’s Syndrome before the baby was born, was through a procedure called Amniocentesis.
This involved a large needle being inserted through the abdomen, and into the uterus, then taking a sample of the amniotic fluid. Apart from being a deeply unpleasant process for the patient, the test carried a small risk of complications for both mother and child.
In 2012 however, the first ever blood test technology was developed which allowed doctors to take blood from the pregnant mother at the 10-week mark, and using the technology were able to determine if there were any issues with the foetus. The first of this technology was called MaterniT21, and although several others have become available, MaterniTy remains the most well-known.
