Close your eyes. What would your world look like if it were 1979? Odds are it would looked significantly different.Life has changed dramatically in the past 30 years, largely because of 30 key innovations, according to experts from Public Broadcasting's Nightly Business Report and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Here's the list, ranked by importance.
- Internet, broadband, WWW (browser and html)
- PC/laptop computers
- Mobile phones
- DNA testing and sequencing/Human genome mapping
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Microprocessors
- Fiber optics
- Office software (spreadsheets, word processors)
- Non-invasive laser/robotic surgery (laparoscopy)
- Open source software and services (e.g., Linux, Wikipedia)
- Light emitting diodes
- Liquid crystal display (LCD)
- GPS systems
- Online shopping/ecommerce/auctions (e.g., eBay)
- Media file compression (jpeg, mpeg, mp3)
- Microfinance
- Photovoltaic Solar Energy
- Large scale wind turbines
- Social networking via the Internet
- Graphic user interface (GUI)
- Digital photography/videography
- RFID and applications (e.g., EZ Pass)
- Genetically modified plants
- Bio fuels
- Bar codes and scanners
- ATMs
- Stents
- SRAM flash memory
- Anti retroviral treatment for AIDS
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