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USB flash drives debuted in 2000. This was such a huge transition from its predecessor, the floppy disk. The first commercially available one was called a ThumbDrive, produced by a company in Singapore called TrekTechnology. It was a smaller, more portable alternative. The first versions had a max capacity of 256 MB, but I remember in middle school having one that was 256 GB. -
The Apple iPod debuted in October of 2001. This might go down as one of the most important tech devices of the last 20 years. The iPod had 5GB of storage. It's an essential part of how things are today as far as streaming services. Without the iPod there's no iTunes. Without iTunes there's no Apple Music, Spotify, etc. -
This next invention is my favorite of the last 3 decades. YOUTUBE! Youtube was created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. These three friends just wanted to show a video from a party to their friends. To think that would turn into the billion dollar company that we now know. Youtube is important because anything you may want to know is easily accessible. It's a digital visual library and I think it's here to stay for a long time. -
Apple's iPhone released in 2007 and is probably the technology that I use the most. This was such a great idea because it was the first time that people were able to have a computer in their pocket. There had been "smart phones" before, but nothing as powerful as the iPhone. This started the insanity of powerful mobile devices that we now have. -
Apple's iPad released a few years after the iPhone, in 2010. This was such a great idea. A mobile computer that was touch screen and had a plethora of apps and games accessible through Apple's App Store. This idea spearheaded all of the ideas that we see now which involved a touch screen computer. The iPad put a lot of pressure on Apple's competitors to compete in the 'tablet' field.