Best Invention of the Last 20 Years?

By Jake • November 18th, 2008 • View Comments

Meg’s comment on my post about TiVo (note to self, add TiVo to iPhone as a topic that gets lots of comments) got me thinking about the best of the last 20. She said:

I have said often that Tivo is the best invention of the last 20 years, in my life it is equal to the remote control and far surpasses things like wireless networking and digital cameras (which I love).

At its basest form, blogging is about opinion, i.e. your own and maybe some others for “balance”. Meg brings up an interesting point, not only about how much TiVo rocks, but also about comparison.

Is it fair to compare TiVo with wireless networking and digital cameras? So, for giggles, let’s have an good old town hall around this topic.

What is the best invention of the last 20 years? Bonus points for why. If you’re wondering, here are a few arbitrary ground rules.

There aren’t any, aside from the last 20 years bit. I tried to come up with some guidelines, but I’m pretty sure the fun (if any is to be had) of this exercise lies in an open field. I’m interested to hear thoughts.

Here are a few I like, obviously focused on stuff I use every day, not picking a favorite:

This is food for thought. Find the comments and share your thoughts.


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  • I have to vote for the WWW. It continues to be the Petri dish for sweeping technological, sociological, cultural, and economic change. I spent 25 years working in blue collar jobs until the Web made possible a rather profound career change, 11 years ago this month.

    That makes me old enough to remember life before the Web, and I can think of no other invention in the last 20 years that has had as significant an impact.
  • You make a good case. I do love my TiVo, but 'tubes makes it better. Same thing for digital photography. Good old WWW is very disruptive.
  • Frank Bradley
    i think one of the most interesting inventions of the last 20 years has been the wind-up radio (Joel's mention of the wind-up watch reminded me). It has brought radio to many parts of the world that never had it before. In the same breath the $100 wind-up laptop is an important invention.
  • Wow, I've never heard of a wind-up radio. Sounds very cool and definitely useful. How strong is its receiver? I would think that radio stations would also be in short supply in some parts of the world.
  • Frank Bradley
    for more information on the windup radio see here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_up_radio
  • joel garry
    Shoot, no editing, Gibson, William Gibson!
  • Maybe you were thinking of Peter Gibbons?

    To your point, you think Google over its reason to exist, the WWW? Odd. I'm tempted to add email to the list, the boring kind I had in the early 90s. Remember Emacs and Pine as mail clients. I have a friend who only reads email in Emacs. Not kidding.
  • joel garry
    I think Meg's comment illustrates that when it comes to stuff, applications have more uh, "killerness" than infrastructure. Yet, it's the infrastructure that makes the bigger real difference.

    I think back to 20 years ago, and scratch my head about the best thing since then. That was just about the time I was flaking out, burned out on technology and even the single life. So if you had asked the then-me based on what I know now, I probably would say facebook, which is something I don't even use, and would perhaps creep the ladies out if I did now, not to mention the wife.

    All the usual suspects, just seem to add to stress, not reduce it. I've even gone back to a (kinda cool skeleton) wind-up watch, after so many years of Data-Link stuff and thinking I'd want a Dick Tracy wrist video-phone. Effin' internet, just makes me worry about iTheft - just last week got a fraud call from business card, only used that sucker at Knott's, no I didn't buy toys in New York. I'd rather read the newspaper on the train than be connected, I'm online all day (and, rarely, half the night). Best picture in my house is on the 1980 vintage Sears 19" (with ultrasonic remote, no less), 48" HD needs adjustment. Flickr logins screwed up since Yahoo got involved. Camera's mean wife makes me do all downloads after her friends screw up USB and dueling photo apps have their way. Already had cable 20 years ago, I can still see some 12'+ dishes on concrete foundations at various neighbors. Already was working remotely with multiuser OS, so that's not new. Blogging wipes out informed debate. William Gibbons was an optimist.

    So I'll go with google, even if it scratches nails on the chalkboard of formal design and really isn't worth more than General Motors. At least I can look up William Gibbons.
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