26th May 2021, Kathmandu
The early years of the 2000s were not very exciting for the technology sector. Initially, Y2Z, the computer virus called the Millennium Bug, wreaked havoc on computer systems around the world. The unprecedented rise in the market value of the Internet industry (dot com bubble) with the expansion and use of the Internet collapsed in 2002, shattering all hopes of the new Internet-based era.
However, the damage to the technology world was accelerated, and within a few years, completely new technologies emerged that transformed the world’s culture, politics, and economy.
New technologies have brought innovation to people’s relationships, consumption styles, and ideas, but they also raise new concerns about mass destruction. In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, many have been revolutionized in the field of technology. Here are 10 key technologies that define these two decades:
1. iPhone:
Although, iPhone was not a new thing. Before the advent of the iPhone, mobile phones, computers, and computers were connected to phones. The iPhone was not great because the phone was slow, the internet connection did not work well, and good video could not be captured. But the iPhone was special in the sense that it ushered in the smartphone age. The iPhone revolutionized the way people communicate, listen, watch and create. There are probably no aspects of life that have not been changed by the technologies associated with the iPhone. The 2000s really became the age of mobile computers and social networking, which changed our cultural, political, and social environment. All of these radical changes were actually linked to the same little iPhone.
2. Social Media:
What most people don’t know is that social media-originated in the late 20th century. Launched in 1997, it is the first social media platform. Features like social media profiles, friend lists also became popular. With the advent of Friend’s Reunited / Myspace in the early 2000s, social networks finally became a mainstream success. However, the mentioned social media remained insignificant compared to Facebook. Launched by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, Facebook has not only monopolized the social networking site but has swallowed up all-new competitors in the social media world. Similarly, In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for 1 billion. Then in 2014, he bought WhatsApp for 19 billion dollars. Facebook has redefined the way we communicate with each other and ushered in the era of hyperconnectedness, creating a common understanding that the Internet is Facebook.
3. Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency:
The general renaissance of the world’s overall economy at the turn of the century was not what people talked about. But the global financial crisis erupted in 2007-2008. Satoshi Nakamoto’s who searched for the solutions for collapsed companies and bankrupts problem, his true identity is still shrouded in mystery. But the impact of the electronic cash system Bitcoin he created in 2009 is not limited to currency. The blockchain technology used in it, a hackable online laser, can transform everything from healthcare to real estate. However, Bitcoin has not yet established itself as a mainstream payment system and has not transformed the world economy. However, this decade of experience and impact of cryptocurrency is incomparable. Thousands of people are now learning about Bitcoin, and Facebook and China are moving in the direction of digital currency. It may take another 10 years for the real effects of cryptocurrency to be seen.
4. YouTube:
YouTube has fundamentally changed the way. Internet users consume media in the 21st century. On April 23, 2005, founder Javed Karim uploaded the first video to YouTube. A year later, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion, and that changed the fortunes of not only Javed Karim and other founders of YouTube but also countless YouTube creators.
5. Three G’s, Four G’s, and Five G’s:
Arthur C. Clarke says: No technology is sufficiently developed. But magic is not as powerful as the 21st century, which has instantly connected people and information from one part of the world to another. 3G Internet came into use at the beginning of the 21st century. About 10 years later, Four G. Every decade of this century has seen the development of new state-of-the-art, high-speed, and reliable mobile data connections. And, this rapid development of the Internet has helped to rewrite the world based on it. The breakthroughs in every technology in the world this century, from social media to citizen journalism, rely on data connections. The Five G Internet, which has been developed but is still widely used worldwide, will transform the next decade.
6. Virtual reality and augmented reality:
When stereoscopes were first developed, people were excited about the possibility of getting lost in another world before their own, and virtual reality came with the possibility of the future. But in the late 2000s, people began to search for a world that was more meaningful and real than imagined. Many of the world’s largest companies stopped producing virtual reality headsets, and consumers’ computers were able to create a believable fictional worldview in which consumers could happily spend time. In recent times, the technology world has focused on augmented reality rather than virtual reality. It presents information at the highest level in the real world and not in the fully imaginary and virtual world.
7. Amazon:
Amazon is also known as the store of everything. And, now it has become a ubiquitous store, not just the central store of the Internet. It has become a powerful force for change in what people expect from internet shopping. Amazon has revolutionized the way people shop. Amazon has revolutionized online shopping by providing the facility to order what you want online and get it in a short time. Mazen’s Alexa is a leading product in the field of smart home and voice assistant, and Amazon has physical stores, including online and whole foods. The world’s technology is determined by what Amazon, which owns most of the Internet, does.
8. Wikipedia:
It was said at the time of the development of the Internet that the world’s human community will be able to get the information they want for free and easily. But except for Google and Wikipedia, such commitments have hardly been fulfilled. Founded in 2003 by Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia is the world’s first online encyclopedia. Anyone from around the world can post and edit the content on Wikipedia. In the first year of Wikipedia, 18,000 articles were published. Currently, the English language version of Wikipedia alone has 5 million articles available in various languages worldwide, and all content is completely free and accessible.
9. Robotics:
In 2000, the Japanese company Honda built a humanoid robot. The audience was amazed when the humanoid robot named Asimo fell and entered the conference. So far, the humanoid two-legged robot has evolved rapidly and has done everything from backflips to space travel. Now, robots can do everything from industrial work to caring for the elderly at home. Technologies such as FiveG and virtual reality have also made it possible to control robots remotely in real-time.
10. Driverless and electric cars:
It took the automobile industry 50 years to displace horses and donkeys from the main means of transportation. But the transition to a new generation of road transport has been possible within a few years. For this, two new revolutions have taken place in the automotive industry: one is an electric car, and the other is a driverless car.
Of these, the use of electric cars has become widespread. Electric cars are also becoming popular among high-speed, safe, and existing fuel car users. But they are still not able to compete due to the time it takes to recharge. However, recent developments in battery technology will also solve this problem because scientists have recharged an electric car in just 10 minutes.
Progress in the field of automatic cars is still rapid. Starting with the Tesla AutoPilot mode, the technology now allows vehicles to be driven automatically from one place to another. The Volvo company has designed a car that will not have a steering wheel. This shows that shortly, automatic electric cars will become synonymous with cars.