Significant Computing Advances in the Twenty-Teens

By Volver

  • The iPad

    The iPad
    In early 2010 Apple released its first iPad. Upon its release the iPad was greeted with skepticism owing to doubts about its ultimate usefulness. Combining the app compatibility of (and nearly as portable as) a smartphone with a large screen more akin to a laptop, the tablet has carved out a ubiquitous presence in the tech marketplace.

  • IPv6 Internet Protocol

    IPv6 Internet Protocol
    IPv6 is an Internet naming protocol designed to replace its predecessor, IPv4.
    IPv4, developed in the 70's, uses 4 bytes to represent Web addresses, allowing a total of only ~4.3 billion possible combinations. IPv6 employs a string of 8 hexadecimal bytes for each address. This enables a potential total of ~340 undecillion combinations, which should suffice for the foreseeable future. The new convention was developed in the mid-90's, but went live in 2012 and became the formal standard in 2017.

  • Windows 10

    Windows 10
    Launched by Microsoft in 2014, Windows 10 finally represented an adequate successor to Windows 7, also replacing the ill-fated Windows 8 & 8.1. In addition to faster start-ups and interface refinements, Windows 10's most significant evolution includes features such as touch-screen support, app support and facial recognition to keep the world's most ubiquitous OS relevant in the 21st century.

  • USB-C

    USB-C
    Meant to eventually to replace many, if not all, the myriad data & power cable formats used to connect computers, peripherals, phones, etc., USB-C was introduced in 2014. This new standard offers backward compatibility with USB 3, an unprecedented combination of simultaneous data transfer and power capacity, and, unlike previous USB formats, is "directionless", a la Apple's Lightning: it's always facing "up". Even Apple, long a roadblock to the dream of a universal cable, is integrating USB-C.

  • AMD Ryzen CPU

    AMD Ryzen CPU
    In early 2017, AMD launched its Ryzen line of processors. These CPU's introduced highly multi-threaded performance to the mainstream market for the first time. More importantly for you and I, this affordable family of chips has proven capable of going toe-to-toe with comparable (and often far more expensive) Intel offerings. After lagging behind for years, AMD finally reestablished legitimate competition for Intel in the gaming and performance CPU markets.