Top Ten: 2000-2009 Invention & Events
Ten things we didn't have until the past decade
Lindsey Oyler
Issue date: 1/14/10 Section: A&E
Charles G. Mortimer, businessman and owner of General Foods Corporation from 1954 to 1965, predicted before his death in 1978 what the world was coming to be, according to thinkexist.com. "Today, convenience is the success factor of just about every type of product and service that is showing steady growth." That world is convenience.
The faster, easier ideas succeed in this world because they appeal to society's vices. Finishing up our most recent decade, SIUE visibly shows evidence of this trend through its students, faculty and teachers. Ten things that represent this past decade are the inventions and events debuting after 1999 that made the past decade what it is they are remembered for today.
The Mobile Device
Internet connected the world, and since the world is making more and more international connections, it only seems reasonable to make Internet more accessible through a person's handheld device. Sophomore mechanical engineering major Matt Coleman of Lincoln said he uses the Internet on his phone a couple times a week.
"The trend is getting bigger, more widespread," Coleman said. "It could get bigger if it gets better."
Despite the opinion that Internet quality is still lacking, prices do not reflect that mobile Internet is still in its prime. According to T-Mobile's Web site, an unlimited rate plan for Internet costs $39.98 per month and user.
"It's not really worth the money just yet, but eventually it will be," Coleman said. "It kind of revolutionized Internet because it made it possible to get online anywhere.
iPod
Apple plugged Americans' ears with its iPod after its introduction on Oct. 23, 2001, according to Apple's Web site. The classic now holds 160 GB, or about 40,000 songs, worth of storage. It also offers video, photos and other features with more modernized versions of the tech tool. The price for a classic is merely $250, a college student's paycheck for two weeks. CougarTech worker and senior economics and finance major Paul Prager of Dorsey said the iPod was well worth the price.
"For an iPod touch, you're getting everything. I use mine more than you can imagine here on campus because of the wireless Internet," Prager said. "Everything is with you wherever you go."
The newly improved iPod touch, according to Timesonline.com, was what Apple CEO Steve Jobs called an innovation where "listening to music will never be the same again." Prager agrees that the iPod is not just hype.
"Mainly, it's made everyone a lot more connected," Prager said. "Before now, you'd need a desktop or laptop or even hundreds of CDs to get what you do. Now you don't need a computer for what you can do with an iPod."
Social networking
Social networking boomed this decade when students discovered the connections they could share through technology. MySpace, Facebook and Twitter may reign together as some of the top social networking sites for their own individual features, but according to most-popular.net, Facebook is almighty in the social networking realm with 50.6 billion page views. SIUE has taken advantage of this, according to junior early childhood major Amanda Painter of Alton.
"Some of the classrooms encourage it," Painter said. "I have one or two classes that that's where some of the students communicate. It gives you more options so you're not limited to one form of communication."
Facebook hosts several SIUE groups, including "SIUE Texts from Last Night," "Overheard at SIUE" and many groups dedicated to graduating classes each year. Information about events is also shared through the social networking site.
YouTube
Another Web-exclusive invention that has helped launch careers, create millions for inventive people with a camera and has even helped students learn in the classroom is YouTube.
The video-hosting site that began in Nov. 2005 first fed off of homemade videos and then progressively made its way to showcase music videos, comedy sketches and documentaries, according to Forbes.com.
Freshman Brittany Fuld of O'Fallon said YouTube helps her outside of class as well.
"I dance and needed prep exercises at home," Fuld said. "I used a YouTube channel each week, and it would give me tips, and it was even done by a professional."
Through YouTube, Fuld was even able to contact this professional dance instructor thousands of miles away.
"It was great because I could e-mail her," Fuld said. "She was all the way out in Australia, but I could request a video. It proved to be a nice tool for that."
Blog
The term blog, derived from "Web Log," was introduced in 1997, but truly hit mainstream when sites such as Blogger by Pyra were launched for free use, according to Web hosting site Blockstar. SIUE exhibits several significant users of the blog, including Howard Rambsy, assistant professor in English language and literature, who writes the SIUE Black Studies Blog.
"The site provides us with opportunities to exchange ideas about the convergence of black studies, technology and active citizenship," Rambsy said in his blog. "This blog will also provide up-to-date information about the SIUE Black Studies Program: the minor, special projects and knowledge-building opportunities."
Rambsy's blog includes entries on topics such as education, media literacy, Frederick Douglass and popular culture.
GPS
Another invention simply reinvents an old tool. Global Positioning Systems make it easier to explore new places and new towns, instead of wrestling with a paper map in a cramped car. Pre-nursing freshman Mariah Phipps said she bought a GPS because it made going to school in another town easier.
"I got a GPS because I was going to school in a new town and wanted to be able to get around," Phipps said.
According to Garmin's Web site, their automotive GPS rates range anywhere from $119 to nearly $600. Phipps doubts that the GPS will ever be outdated.
"It can update," Phipps said. "It will be useful wherever I go."
Wii
Time magazine credited one video game for revolutionizing the way that habitual gamers play.
"It's a clever attempt to mask exercise as play, but it works," Anita Hamilton said according to Time magazine's Web site. "That's due in large part to Wii Fit's ability to adjust the action for your weight and equilibrium, something no other game does."
The Wii comes with a balance board and handheld remotes, encouraging gamers to stand and move around for gameplay.
"Active video games like the Wii can fight child obesity," Times magazine said about a report published by the Mayo clinic in the January issue of Pediatrics. "In that study, researchers found the children burned three times as many calories playing 'active' video games versus playing traditional hand-held video games."
Ebooks
Another invention is simply a digital makeover of an ancient one: the book. Ebooks and Kindles speckle the SIUE campus, but not nearly enough to invade the classrooms just yet. However, they are still an option according to English language and literature professor Jessica DeSpain.
"The College of Arts and Sciences has asked all professors to cease copying readings for students," DeSpain said. "We are supposed to put all readings up as PDFs or links on Blackboard. I have introduced this topic to my classes by making them aware that this type of reading requires different skills and attention spans than reading from physical books."
DeSpain does not encourage or discourage the use of Ebooks in her classroom. She allows students to analyze literature from both of the perspectives of either paper or pixels. However, DeSpain questions whether or not SIUE is ready for the leap in technology.
"I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about how for all of the technology we have developed. We aren't always, as humans, as prepared to use it as we claim to be," DeSpain said. "A good example of this is how we talk about college students as if they were born in the digital age, and yet college students, too, have trouble giving the same care to on-screen readings as they do to textbooks."
Reality TV
Everybody wants to be a celebrity. Ever since "Survivor" was launched in 2001, reality TV has adapted to suit the wishes of real people in extreme situations. Dire environments and apocalyptic events surround common people as millions of viewers make their guesses on who will be the last man or woman standing. Freshman biology major Amanda Lauko of Millstadt said she knows why people feed off of reality TV, being an avid viewer.
"People need reality shows because they get to see themselves," Lauko said. "It's comforting to know that you're kind of like that or aspiring to be like that person on TV."
Lauko said the recent switch to reality TV was necessary for society.
"Before, it was really unheard of to watch reality on TV," Lauko said. "It was like, 'Why do we need reality shows when we have reality?' Then, people needed something to look to."
Blu-ray
Another such invention was the result of collaboration between technology giants, Apple Computer, Inc., Dell Inc., Sony Corporation and many others. The DVD was the step up from the videotape, and now the new Blu-ray disc and players offer more and, according to Blu-ray's Web site, 25 GB of movie time per each disc and 50 GB per dual-layer disc. However, the amount of space may not be what appeals to the viewer, according to Blu-ray.
"If you've ever seen high-definition video on an HDTV, then you know just how incredibly sharp the picture is and how vivid the colors are," Blu-ray's Web site said. "In fact, HD offers five times the amount of detail compared to standard-definition. The problem with today's DVDs is that they only support SD and don't have the necessary storage capacity to satisfy the needs of HD. That's where Blu-ray comes in…."
Blu-rays are now supplementing DVDs at the video rental stores, and, according to Time magazine, the Blu-ray players are a good pick because of the fact that they are DVD compatible as well.
Society is represented by its accomplishments, some of those being its new inventions and others being monumental events this past decade. Either way, SIUE shows a reflection of those trends in its students, faculty and staff.
The faster, easier ideas succeed in this world because they appeal to society's vices. Finishing up our most recent decade, SIUE visibly shows evidence of this trend through its students, faculty and teachers. Ten things that represent this past decade are the inventions and events debuting after 1999 that made the past decade what it is they are remembered for today.
The Mobile Device
Internet connected the world, and since the world is making more and more international connections, it only seems reasonable to make Internet more accessible through a person's handheld device. Sophomore mechanical engineering major Matt Coleman of Lincoln said he uses the Internet on his phone a couple times a week.
"The trend is getting bigger, more widespread," Coleman said. "It could get bigger if it gets better."
Despite the opinion that Internet quality is still lacking, prices do not reflect that mobile Internet is still in its prime. According to T-Mobile's Web site, an unlimited rate plan for Internet costs $39.98 per month and user.
"It's not really worth the money just yet, but eventually it will be," Coleman said. "It kind of revolutionized Internet because it made it possible to get online anywhere.
iPod
Apple plugged Americans' ears with its iPod after its introduction on Oct. 23, 2001, according to Apple's Web site. The classic now holds 160 GB, or about 40,000 songs, worth of storage. It also offers video, photos and other features with more modernized versions of the tech tool. The price for a classic is merely $250, a college student's paycheck for two weeks. CougarTech worker and senior economics and finance major Paul Prager of Dorsey said the iPod was well worth the price.
"For an iPod touch, you're getting everything. I use mine more than you can imagine here on campus because of the wireless Internet," Prager said. "Everything is with you wherever you go."
The newly improved iPod touch, according to Timesonline.com, was what Apple CEO Steve Jobs called an innovation where "listening to music will never be the same again." Prager agrees that the iPod is not just hype.
"Mainly, it's made everyone a lot more connected," Prager said. "Before now, you'd need a desktop or laptop or even hundreds of CDs to get what you do. Now you don't need a computer for what you can do with an iPod."
Social networking
Social networking boomed this decade when students discovered the connections they could share through technology. MySpace, Facebook and Twitter may reign together as some of the top social networking sites for their own individual features, but according to most-popular.net, Facebook is almighty in the social networking realm with 50.6 billion page views. SIUE has taken advantage of this, according to junior early childhood major Amanda Painter of Alton.
"Some of the classrooms encourage it," Painter said. "I have one or two classes that that's where some of the students communicate. It gives you more options so you're not limited to one form of communication."
Facebook hosts several SIUE groups, including "SIUE Texts from Last Night," "Overheard at SIUE" and many groups dedicated to graduating classes each year. Information about events is also shared through the social networking site.
YouTube
Another Web-exclusive invention that has helped launch careers, create millions for inventive people with a camera and has even helped students learn in the classroom is YouTube.
The video-hosting site that began in Nov. 2005 first fed off of homemade videos and then progressively made its way to showcase music videos, comedy sketches and documentaries, according to Forbes.com.
Freshman Brittany Fuld of O'Fallon said YouTube helps her outside of class as well.
"I dance and needed prep exercises at home," Fuld said. "I used a YouTube channel each week, and it would give me tips, and it was even done by a professional."
Through YouTube, Fuld was even able to contact this professional dance instructor thousands of miles away.
"It was great because I could e-mail her," Fuld said. "She was all the way out in Australia, but I could request a video. It proved to be a nice tool for that."
Blog
The term blog, derived from "Web Log," was introduced in 1997, but truly hit mainstream when sites such as Blogger by Pyra were launched for free use, according to Web hosting site Blockstar. SIUE exhibits several significant users of the blog, including Howard Rambsy, assistant professor in English language and literature, who writes the SIUE Black Studies Blog.
"The site provides us with opportunities to exchange ideas about the convergence of black studies, technology and active citizenship," Rambsy said in his blog. "This blog will also provide up-to-date information about the SIUE Black Studies Program: the minor, special projects and knowledge-building opportunities."
Rambsy's blog includes entries on topics such as education, media literacy, Frederick Douglass and popular culture.
GPS
Another invention simply reinvents an old tool. Global Positioning Systems make it easier to explore new places and new towns, instead of wrestling with a paper map in a cramped car. Pre-nursing freshman Mariah Phipps said she bought a GPS because it made going to school in another town easier.
"I got a GPS because I was going to school in a new town and wanted to be able to get around," Phipps said.
According to Garmin's Web site, their automotive GPS rates range anywhere from $119 to nearly $600. Phipps doubts that the GPS will ever be outdated.
"It can update," Phipps said. "It will be useful wherever I go."
Wii
Time magazine credited one video game for revolutionizing the way that habitual gamers play.
"It's a clever attempt to mask exercise as play, but it works," Anita Hamilton said according to Time magazine's Web site. "That's due in large part to Wii Fit's ability to adjust the action for your weight and equilibrium, something no other game does."
The Wii comes with a balance board and handheld remotes, encouraging gamers to stand and move around for gameplay.
"Active video games like the Wii can fight child obesity," Times magazine said about a report published by the Mayo clinic in the January issue of Pediatrics. "In that study, researchers found the children burned three times as many calories playing 'active' video games versus playing traditional hand-held video games."
Ebooks
Another invention is simply a digital makeover of an ancient one: the book. Ebooks and Kindles speckle the SIUE campus, but not nearly enough to invade the classrooms just yet. However, they are still an option according to English language and literature professor Jessica DeSpain.
"The College of Arts and Sciences has asked all professors to cease copying readings for students," DeSpain said. "We are supposed to put all readings up as PDFs or links on Blackboard. I have introduced this topic to my classes by making them aware that this type of reading requires different skills and attention spans than reading from physical books."
DeSpain does not encourage or discourage the use of Ebooks in her classroom. She allows students to analyze literature from both of the perspectives of either paper or pixels. However, DeSpain questions whether or not SIUE is ready for the leap in technology.
"I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about how for all of the technology we have developed. We aren't always, as humans, as prepared to use it as we claim to be," DeSpain said. "A good example of this is how we talk about college students as if they were born in the digital age, and yet college students, too, have trouble giving the same care to on-screen readings as they do to textbooks."
Reality TV
Everybody wants to be a celebrity. Ever since "Survivor" was launched in 2001, reality TV has adapted to suit the wishes of real people in extreme situations. Dire environments and apocalyptic events surround common people as millions of viewers make their guesses on who will be the last man or woman standing. Freshman biology major Amanda Lauko of Millstadt said she knows why people feed off of reality TV, being an avid viewer.
"People need reality shows because they get to see themselves," Lauko said. "It's comforting to know that you're kind of like that or aspiring to be like that person on TV."
Lauko said the recent switch to reality TV was necessary for society.
"Before, it was really unheard of to watch reality on TV," Lauko said. "It was like, 'Why do we need reality shows when we have reality?' Then, people needed something to look to."
Blu-ray
Another such invention was the result of collaboration between technology giants, Apple Computer, Inc., Dell Inc., Sony Corporation and many others. The DVD was the step up from the videotape, and now the new Blu-ray disc and players offer more and, according to Blu-ray's Web site, 25 GB of movie time per each disc and 50 GB per dual-layer disc. However, the amount of space may not be what appeals to the viewer, according to Blu-ray.
"If you've ever seen high-definition video on an HDTV, then you know just how incredibly sharp the picture is and how vivid the colors are," Blu-ray's Web site said. "In fact, HD offers five times the amount of detail compared to standard-definition. The problem with today's DVDs is that they only support SD and don't have the necessary storage capacity to satisfy the needs of HD. That's where Blu-ray comes in…."
Blu-rays are now supplementing DVDs at the video rental stores, and, according to Time magazine, the Blu-ray players are a good pick because of the fact that they are DVD compatible as well.
Society is represented by its accomplishments, some of those being its new inventions and others being monumental events this past decade. Either way, SIUE shows a reflection of those trends in its students, faculty and staff.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
iPad Broken
posted 2/21/10 @ 4:56 AM CST
I cant see myself living without these things. Yet they have been around for less than 10 years. I cant believe it.
Lana Williams
posted 3/11/10 @ 6:03 AM CST
That's amazing: several decades ago we could see such inventions only in science fiction and now each of them is inseparable part of our life!
gilger
posted 8/05/10 @ 2:30 PM CST
pooop on a stick
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