Ten gadgets that changed the world
Recently in the United States, the number of televisions for the first time exceeded the number of people. In the average apartment of the screens are now more than human faces. It is not surprising that the role of the most important of the gadgets in the Wired rating was given to the TV. Namely, the RCA Model 630TS TV with a 10-inch black and white screen (1946).
When the soldiers returned from the war, they came home, where they could relax and watch TV. The 630TS model could buy any soldier for combat: it cost $ 350 (about $ 3,600 for today's money). Cute design, wooden upholstery, powerful speakers and a weight of only 45 kg made this small gadget a very desirable purchase.
The honorable second place (the list of gadgets is compiled in chronological order) is occupied by the Western Electric 500 (1949) desk phone.
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The simple, functional design of this device and the round dial for dialing have become the corporate standard for many years. Even the first push-button telephones, which appeared after 15 years, were an exact replica of the Western Electric 500.
Third place among retro gadgets is occupied by the world's first popular soap dish Kodak Brownie 127 (1953).
Before the release of this cheap camera, photo art was a lot of favorites, but it was Kodak that brought technology to the mass market. Already in the first year, more than 150 thousand copies of this camera were sold, and after a few years, sales went off scale in a million. By the end of the 50s. Many Americans are used to taking a camera with them on vacation or on their birthday.
In addition to TV, phone and camera, what other gadgets are firmly established in our lives? The fourth place is occupied by the video camera, more precisely, the movie camera (the movie camera differs from the video camera in that it shoots on a disposable film). This is an 8mm model Bell & Howell Director Series 414 (1962).
For 40 years after the invention of cinema, this technology was used exclusively to create commercial films, and the only standard was a 35 mm film format. The cameras were huge and heavy, the equipment was very expensive. The appearance of the 8 mm film format in 1932 changed everything: some time later small and cheap movie cameras appeared on the market, and by the mid-50s several companies had mastered their production, but none of them could make a model more popular than Bell & Howell Director Series 414. The “amateur video” revolution began then and continues to this day.
Anyone who has cooked at home will agree that the hit parade of the most important gadgets would be incomplete without a microwave that heats the water in any food using microwave radiation that is invisible to the eye. The first commercial microwave oven was introduced in 1947 and it weighed more than a hundred kilograms. The “microwave” as it is known to us was born in 1967. It was the Amana Radarange model.
Unlike the first microwave ovens worth several thousand dollars, the Amana Radarange model was sold for only $ 495 and found grateful buyers in the face of millions of American housewives.
The sixth place is taken by a VCR. The first household video recorder of the modern type appeared in the mid-70s: it was JVC HR-3300 (1976).
A household “recorder” made available to record TV shows on VHS tapes. It became possible to pause during a talk show, scroll through annoying ads. Cinemas have ceased to be the only place where you can watch your favorite movie in the evening.
It is impossible to imagine a modern teenager who would not play video games. The first game console of the modern type: Atari 2600 (1977).
Slot machines existed before, and a whole culture developed around them, but game consoles such as the Atari 2600 completely destroyed this culture and brought a wonderful game world right into our homes. In just two years, the Atari 2600 prefix for $ 199 became a real sensation, and with the advent of the game Space Invaders in 1980, already huge sales doubled.
Owners of modern MP3 players will experience culture shock, but their favorite gadgets are direct descendants of the cult model Sony Walkman TPS-L2 (1979).
Cassette Player Walkman brought worldwide fame to the company Sony. Like all other cult gadgets, he initiated irreversible changes in the youth culture, which is still felt. The success of the Walkman would probably not have been possible without Philips releasing a royalty-free miniature cassette format. Film cassettes quickly became the standard, and dozens of companies around the world have mastered the production of these cheap carriers. According to experts, the Walkman player is the most popular gadget in human history. In total, about 350 million cassette players and another 300 million other devices under this brand were sold. For comparison, today the "circulation" of the Apple iPod has already exceeded 65 million.
Of course, an honorable place in the charts is a personal computer, whose 25th anniversary we recently celebrated . In the photo - the famous model IBM 5150 (1981).
It should be noted that in fact, Apple has invented personal computers. For example, the famous Apple II came out in 1977, but Apple’s architecture was closed and never became standard. Starting in 1981 and so far under the name "personal computer" all over the world mean the platform created by IBM. The first IBM 5150 model was equipped with an Intel 8088 microprocessor, which worked at a clock frequency of 4.77 MHz, 64 KB of RAM and a floppy disk drive for five-inch floppy disks;
Among the most important gadgets of mankind the latest in mobile phone appeared. The historical championship here is owned by Motorola and the StarTac model (1996).
Ten years old clamshell looks about the same as its modern Asian clones, except the display is simpler. Before the advent of this model, cell phones resembled bricks in shape and weight, they were used primarily in cars. Motorola StarTac became the first phone for personal use and at the same time the first phone with vibration function, which Motorola engineers "borrowed" from the pagers they produce. The device weighed only 88 g, and the battery held 90 minutes in talk mode.
When the soldiers returned from the war, they came home, where they could relax and watch TV. The 630TS model could buy any soldier for combat: it cost $ 350 (about $ 3,600 for today's money). Cute design, wooden upholstery, powerful speakers and a weight of only 45 kg made this small gadget a very desirable purchase.
The honorable second place (the list of gadgets is compiled in chronological order) is occupied by the Western Electric 500 (1949) desk phone.
')
The simple, functional design of this device and the round dial for dialing have become the corporate standard for many years. Even the first push-button telephones, which appeared after 15 years, were an exact replica of the Western Electric 500.
Third place among retro gadgets is occupied by the world's first popular soap dish Kodak Brownie 127 (1953).
Before the release of this cheap camera, photo art was a lot of favorites, but it was Kodak that brought technology to the mass market. Already in the first year, more than 150 thousand copies of this camera were sold, and after a few years, sales went off scale in a million. By the end of the 50s. Many Americans are used to taking a camera with them on vacation or on their birthday.
In addition to TV, phone and camera, what other gadgets are firmly established in our lives? The fourth place is occupied by the video camera, more precisely, the movie camera (the movie camera differs from the video camera in that it shoots on a disposable film). This is an 8mm model Bell & Howell Director Series 414 (1962).
For 40 years after the invention of cinema, this technology was used exclusively to create commercial films, and the only standard was a 35 mm film format. The cameras were huge and heavy, the equipment was very expensive. The appearance of the 8 mm film format in 1932 changed everything: some time later small and cheap movie cameras appeared on the market, and by the mid-50s several companies had mastered their production, but none of them could make a model more popular than Bell & Howell Director Series 414. The “amateur video” revolution began then and continues to this day.
Anyone who has cooked at home will agree that the hit parade of the most important gadgets would be incomplete without a microwave that heats the water in any food using microwave radiation that is invisible to the eye. The first commercial microwave oven was introduced in 1947 and it weighed more than a hundred kilograms. The “microwave” as it is known to us was born in 1967. It was the Amana Radarange model.
Unlike the first microwave ovens worth several thousand dollars, the Amana Radarange model was sold for only $ 495 and found grateful buyers in the face of millions of American housewives.
The sixth place is taken by a VCR. The first household video recorder of the modern type appeared in the mid-70s: it was JVC HR-3300 (1976).
A household “recorder” made available to record TV shows on VHS tapes. It became possible to pause during a talk show, scroll through annoying ads. Cinemas have ceased to be the only place where you can watch your favorite movie in the evening.
It is impossible to imagine a modern teenager who would not play video games. The first game console of the modern type: Atari 2600 (1977).
Slot machines existed before, and a whole culture developed around them, but game consoles such as the Atari 2600 completely destroyed this culture and brought a wonderful game world right into our homes. In just two years, the Atari 2600 prefix for $ 199 became a real sensation, and with the advent of the game Space Invaders in 1980, already huge sales doubled.
Owners of modern MP3 players will experience culture shock, but their favorite gadgets are direct descendants of the cult model Sony Walkman TPS-L2 (1979).
Cassette Player Walkman brought worldwide fame to the company Sony. Like all other cult gadgets, he initiated irreversible changes in the youth culture, which is still felt. The success of the Walkman would probably not have been possible without Philips releasing a royalty-free miniature cassette format. Film cassettes quickly became the standard, and dozens of companies around the world have mastered the production of these cheap carriers. According to experts, the Walkman player is the most popular gadget in human history. In total, about 350 million cassette players and another 300 million other devices under this brand were sold. For comparison, today the "circulation" of the Apple iPod has already exceeded 65 million.
Of course, an honorable place in the charts is a personal computer, whose 25th anniversary we recently celebrated . In the photo - the famous model IBM 5150 (1981).
It should be noted that in fact, Apple has invented personal computers. For example, the famous Apple II came out in 1977, but Apple’s architecture was closed and never became standard. Starting in 1981 and so far under the name "personal computer" all over the world mean the platform created by IBM. The first IBM 5150 model was equipped with an Intel 8088 microprocessor, which worked at a clock frequency of 4.77 MHz, 64 KB of RAM and a floppy disk drive for five-inch floppy disks;
Among the most important gadgets of mankind the latest in mobile phone appeared. The historical championship here is owned by Motorola and the StarTac model (1996).
Ten years old clamshell looks about the same as its modern Asian clones, except the display is simpler. Before the advent of this model, cell phones resembled bricks in shape and weight, they were used primarily in cars. Motorola StarTac became the first phone for personal use and at the same time the first phone with vibration function, which Motorola engineers "borrowed" from the pagers they produce. The device weighed only 88 g, and the battery held 90 minutes in talk mode.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/4828/
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