Catching Up: The Must-Know Tech Milestones Since My Last Post
Welcome back, fellow tech enthusiasts!
Now that I’m back, as per my original post (The Great Tech Rewind (and My Return!): From Click-to-Run to AI’s Reign) I’ve curated a few things below of interesting things that have happened since 2016.
In my last post, “The Great Tech Rewind,” I talked about my long absence from blogging and how my last memory was reviewing Microsoft Office 2016’s then-futuristic “Click-to-Run” setup. Remember that feeling of magic, getting to use Word before it had even fully downloaded? Well, buckle up, because the world of technology has accelerated at a breathtaking pace since then.
As promised, and with a fresh cup of tea (sinc then I have stopped drinking coffee) in hand, I’ve dived deep into the whirlwind of advancements from the last eight years. It’s impossible to list every single breakthrough, but I’ve curated a selection of the most fascinating, impactful, and, frankly, mind-boggling developments that have caught my eye.
Consider this your quick-start guide to catching up. Let’s peel back the layers of innovation and explore some of the truly interesting things that have happened since my last sign-off!
Reusable Rockets Become a Reality
SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 first stage on a droneship, marking a pivotal moment in the development of reusable orbital rockets and significantly reducing the cost of space access.Mobile Internet Dominance
Mobile and tablet devices surpassed desktops in internet usage for the first time, signaling a major shift in how people access and interact with the web.Headphone Jack Removal
Apple controversially removed the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7, pushing the industry towards wireless audio.Fake News on Social Media
The spread of "fake news" on platforms like Facebook became a prominent issue, highlighting concerns about misinformation and its impact.AI in Everyday Life
AI began to be more seamlessly integrated into consumer products, with advancements in voice assistants (like Google Assistant) and image recognition.COVID-19 and Remote Work/Education
The pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work and online education technologies, making video conferencing and collaboration tools ubiquitous.Remote Collaboration Tools Become Essential
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated the adoption and innovation in remote collaboration software (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack).NFT Boom and Metaverse Hype
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) gained significant traction, and the concept of the "metaverse" became a major talking point in the tech world.ChatGPT's Public Release
OpenAI released ChatGPT, a powerful large language model that quickly gained viral attention for its detailed and articulate responses across various domains, democratizing access to advanced AI.Generative AI for Code (e.g., GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT)
The release of GitHub Copilot and then the widespread public awareness of ChatGPT showcased the immense potential of large language models (LLMs) to understand natural language prompts and generate significant amounts of code, offer explanations, debug, and translate between languages. This fundamentally changed how many developers workElon Musk Buys Twitter
Elon Musk acquired Twitter (later rebranded as X), a highly publicized and impactful takeover that led to significant changes on the platform.Windows 11 (Released October 2021)
A major overhaul of the Windows user interface, featuring a centered Start Menu, redesigned taskbar, rounded corners, new widgets panel, and snap layouts/groups for multitasking.iOS 18 (Announced 2024)
Expected to bring significant AI integration and enhancements, including a smarter Siri, new layout and design features, and more powerful customization options.Android 15 (Announed Feb 2024)
Expected to build on previous privacy features, further refine the user experience, and potentially integrate more generative AI capabilities into the system.ADVERTISEMENT
