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What tech jump in the last 20 years made you go? WOW!

CosmicPanda

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
842
2001 Going from Dreamcast to playing Halo Xbox 1 at launch.
2003 Going from Dial up to 387kb dsl.
2005 Going from owning a PS2 to playing a Xbox 360 at Walmart demo with PGR3 and COD2 on an HD monitor.
2007 seeing then iphone for the first time. Seeing Crysis at launch on my pc at 28 fps mind you.
2008 going from 500kb dsl to 8Mb cable fast download speeds.
2012 android 4.1 silky smooth android.
2019 Getting a Oneplus 7 Pro at launch a HUGE upgrade from my crappy 2017 Samsung j3
 
Bregor

Bregor

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,477
I was going to say smartphones, but really it was going from dial up to broadband.
 

Deleted member 39374

Banned
Feb 1, 2018
5,083
The jump to HD consoles that had internal hard drives and robust online services was insane, as was capacitive touch screens and how the iPhone used it to make a UX that doesnt suck

Underrated but thunderbolt 3 was also a serious game changer and made me wow
 
ps3ud0

ps3ud0

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,906
Yeah was gonna say (unmetered) broadband too, tbh anything that allowed the internet to be easily accessible across the globe (so 3G onwards)

ps3ud0 8)
 
Dozer

Dozer

Member
May 30, 2019
889
Orlando, FL
2007ish, bought my first HDTV and a PS3 at the same time.

The first LTE compatible phone I bought was a big one, although I can't remember what year or the exact phone it was. Nexus 5?

I've been using a smartphone of a some sort since a crappy Windows Mobile 6.1 phone in a 2007 or so so the iPhone / Android didn't really blow me away when I finally got one.
 
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DiipuSurotu

DiipuSurotu

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
53,148
mpuKAR7.jpg


HiIol5C.jpg
 
McNum

McNum

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,193
Denmark
I used to want a minimap in real life like you could get in video games, but I knew hat was a silly thing to want since it just wasn't possible.

I now have a thin slab of glass in my pocket that can be used to call up an interactive map and so, so much more.

It's gotta be smartphones for me.
 
turbobrick

turbobrick

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,081
Phoenix, AZ
Fast internet was amazing. We got cable internet in 2000, which coming from dial-up was a whole new world. Before I remember never being online for more than an hour, and a 5MB download taking forever. Afterwards I browsed forums and played online games all day.
 
DrewFu

DrewFu

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt-account
Banned
Apr 19, 2018
10,360
High speed internet
1080P resolution
Space X landings

Smart phones never really made a huge impression on me (though they're obviously a hugely important invention)
 
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Doctor_Thomas

Doctor_Thomas

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,651
Smartphones, and it's not even close.

A literal computer that fits in your pocket and doesn't even require a wire to allow you to access the entire depth of human knowledge... but, my goodness, you wouldn't think it.
 
KillerMan91

KillerMan91

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,355
Sure modern smartphones are impressive but the change happened over the years so it doesn't have that wow effect on me. For me it's PSP. Going from GBA to PSP was like jumping over one gen in terms of graphics. Not to mention that screen and multimedia capabilities. Ahead of its time.
 
Trieu

Trieu

Member
Feb 22, 2019
1,774
A couple of years ago I was using a friends Surface Pro (or I am not entirely sure what those expensive Microsoft laptops are called that you can detach and write on etc.) and the screen quality and the responsiveness on writing on them made me "wow this is neat and much better than I thought".
 
Post Reply

Post Reply

Member
Aug 1, 2018
4,509
1998 - Game Boy Color ... "Holy shit! Game Boy games... but in color! This is the height of hand held gaming!"
2001 - Game Boy Advance ... "Holy shit! A portable Super Nintendo! This is the height of hand held gaming!"
2004 - Nintendo DS ... "Holy shit! A portable N64! This is the height of hand held gaming!"
2011 - Nintendo 3DS ... "Holy shit! What is this 3D sorcery?! This is the height of hand held gaming!"
2017 - Nintendo Switch ... "Holy shit! An actual portable console! This is the height of hand held gaming!"

*standing by to be blown away again*
 
Josh5890

Josh5890

I'm Your Favorite Poster's Favorite Poster
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
23,224
20 years ago I could only watch live TV from a fixed box plugged into the wall and if I missed the Saturday episode of Power Rangers or Digimon I was SOL.

Now I can watch live TV anywhere in my house and record and watch shows at any time. I call that pretty awesome
 
830920

830920

Member
Oct 29, 2017
740
The iPhone presentation was probably the one thing that seemed too good to be true.
 

Airegin

Member
Dec 10, 2017
3,900
Other than the obvious, the Mars Rovers giving us high res photos of Mars and seeing Pluto for the first time.
 
Dan Thunder

Dan Thunder

Member
Nov 2, 2017
14,048
Using iPlayer on my laptop when it first came out was when I knew that the the future was going to be watching programmes when you want rather then when they're scheduled.

Smartphones. Even now if I stop and think about what they can do I'm stunned.
 
cowbanana

cowbanana

Member
Feb 2, 2018
13,694
a Socialist Utopia
Mainstream electrical cars. Meaningful from a global perspective (environment) and they drive like a dream. We bought a Nissan Leaf as a replacement for our old second car and I love driving that car - the acceleration and comfort is amazing. It's no luxury Tesla, but it doesn't need to be.
 

reKon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,736
Smartphones (speed, camera tech, and gaming capability) and jump in internet speeds to allow a sort of functionality.

An internet connected world (especially high speed) drives everything for the better and worse.

Honorable mention to the graphical improvements that we've seen in games coming from the NES to what we have now.
 
zulux21

zulux21

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,370
20 years ago
4cb689abaa81253640f1fba8613e55a7-1200-80.jpg

maxed out at around 1gb (on the consumer level)

now these things can store 1000 times more data
Mico-SD-2.jpg


the same idea is the one others have with smart phones where

30547513-2-440-overview-1.gif

this computer from 2000 is about 5% as effective as the smart phones people carry in their pocket.
 
TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
Going from renting movies at stores to never having to leave your couch?

That is the biggest wow to me

Streaming

Oh and being able to hold a 60" tv in both arms and carry it no problems, as opposed to needing 4 buddies to help move a 60" CRTV
 
jfkgoblue

jfkgoblue

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,650
We went straight from dialup to comcast in 2003 so it went from never being allowed to use the internet to having super fast internet that we could use whenever we wanted.
 
Dan Thunder

Dan Thunder

Member
Nov 2, 2017
14,048
This gif made from stitched photos of a comet that NASA landed a probe into never ceases to amaze me.

vVhAMSm8wMqZ4ZLqixvshC-1024-80.gif


The technology involved in doing that must be astounding.
 
JohnF

JohnF

Member
Jan 19, 2019
243
Broadband internet at home was undoubtedly a game changer. Having a smartphone that could deliver all information to my fingertips was pretty wild as well.

Basically unrelated, but when I was playing Uncharted 2 for the first time and the building I was in fell apart while I was inside it, my mind was *blown*. Probably the most impressive technical accomplishment I can remember in a video game.
 
hurlex

hurlex

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,143
I was going to say Mario64 but then I realized that was more than 20 years ago, and now I feel old.
 
thewienke

thewienke

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,954
So many

  • Going from VHS to DVD
  • Component video input
  • "Flat Screen" CRT TVs
  • Broadband internet
  • LCD televisions
  • HD capable televisions
  • Smartphones
  • PS2 after the rudimentary graphics of the PS1/N64
  • Netflix streaming when it first came out
  • Ultrawide PC monitors
  • Vive virtual reality
  • Wii motion controllers
As I've gotten older my sense of wonder has diminished a bit which might explain why some of those things are more early 00s than others. Either that or a lot of tech has been perfected or made "good enough" in the last 20 years. Virtual reality is really the last "big new thing" that I can remember and that's been a few years now.
 
dem

dem

Banned
Nov 3, 2017
900
iPhone and Mario 64

All phones instantly looked like trash when the iPhone was unveiled.
 
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