Evolution of technology

Katja Skylv (MAM S6daa)  

With the constant improvement of technology, we hardly ever think about how long some inventions we use daily have been around or how much technology has improved in the last century. It is hard to imagine lockdown without inventions like television, video games, laptops, and Netflix. So here is a little bit of information on each of these inventions, that have become such a big part of our lives.  

1927: Television  

The first television was invented by the American, Philo Farnsworth, who filed a patent for it in 1927. However, the first still image was sent over radio waves by Charles Jenkins in 1922. Philo Farnsworth then created the first electronic television set, which could capture moving images and send them over radio waves. After him, other inventors like Vladimir Zworykin continued to improve what we now know as the television.  

1947: Video game  

In 1947, the first video game called Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device was developed by Thomas T. Goldsmith Junior and Estle Ray Mann. This game was a missile simulator which consisted in firing at a target. The inspiration came from radar displays, that were used during the second world war.  

1981: The first portable computer  

Adam Osborne made the first portable computer. Named Osborne 1, the computer weighed 23 to 24 pounds (10,7 kg), more than eight times more than the MacBook Air – the most popular portable computer from Apple. Despite this, the Osborne 1 was a revolutionary invention that led to our modern laptop.  

1997: Netflix  

Netflix was originally a company that sold and rented out DVDs. In 2010 Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings made it into a streaming platform instead. At first, it had just under 1000 shows and movies available, but it grew more and more successful over time and is now the most popular streaming platform in the world with over 15000 titles.  

1962: The internet  

The idea of communication between computers was first initiated in 1962 by Joseph Licklider, an American computer scientist. The goal was to create a government’s network, that – unlike telephone lines – could not be damaged. The first network experiment took place in 1969, when data was successfully transferred from one computer to another for the first time.   

Years later, in 1991, the World Wide Web (www) was invented by Tim Berners-Lee. This made computers from all over the world able to access internet sites.  

Technology continues to evolve, impacting our lives and changing our world at the same time. Machines are already replacing humans in many areas, and with the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), AI dogs could soon become man’s new best friend.