Historical Technology Innovations

Here are my three technological innovations: 

-Social Networking

-Television

-GPS (Global Positioning System)

Social Networking:

Social networking is a very recent historical technology innovation that has had a massive impact on the world. It is a means by which people can stay connected with each other for business purposes or simply just for socialising. This has been done through interactive websites with message boards, chat rooms or the ability to leave comments and have a discussion with other people. Much like this course.

The best example is Facebook. It is an online service that focuses on building social networks among people who share common interest, activities, backgrounds or real life connections. It enables people to share their ideas, create event and activities. Old friends are able to reunite.

I loved using Facebook while I was travelling the world. It meant I could stay connected with my family back home, but also create new networks among friends I travelled with. I was later able to meet up with some fellow travelers again. It was also a great way to get information from one another about best ways to get to a country, find hostels, sites to see etc. Made travelling so much easier.

Companies now have their own social network pages to promote products. Consumers feel like they are interacting with the company in a way. It has been used in the past to reunite family and friends after natural disasters. Someone is always just a click away. Negatives that have arisen are cases of bullying and privacy problems.

Television:

Television has been around for many years now. At the end of the 18th century, scientists had discovered a way to transmit an image from a point to another. The first successful colour TV began in the 1950’s. Even in the last decade the humble TV has come a long way. It now seems every household has one, even two or three. TV sets keep changing. We know have better images, flatter screens and new features. TVs are still rapidly evolving and prices are in a flux, requiring a lot of homework to buy the most suitable TV.

-Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) were first introduced in 1922.

-Rear Projection (RPTV) been around since the 70’s but these days are very bulky.

-Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD) First made mainstream in computer monitors. Was the best selling TV in 2007 thanks to bigger screen sizes and price drops.

-Plasma Display Panel (PDP) Had more benefits than LCD but had a large price tag when first introduced. From 2000 to 2002 Plasma TV prices plummeted more than 50% in 2 yrs. In 2010 they were 90% less than 2000.

-Light Emitting Diode Backlight (LED) most TVs sold today are LED.

-3D Technology - first TV used polarised or red/blue lenses to see the 3D image that is otherwise blurry. Alternate-frame sequencing used battery powered glasses to create the 3D effect, otherwise without the glasses the image looked normal still.

-Autostereoscopic (Auto-3D) Requires no glasses and is not blurry within the right viewing angle. Still being developed.

It is predicted that the average screen size in 2015 is going to be 60 inches.  Over the years, it has revolutionised people’s life. It has changed people’s life because the TV is seen as a mean of entertainment. TV was actually a positive effect on family togetherness when it first started spreading in the 1950's. The whole family would gather around that little picture in the middle of that big box and learned more about the world than previous generations ever had. Neighbours wanted to visit the family that had the first TV. Instead of mum sewing, kids reading or dad doing his thing, everyone was in the same room.

The striking point is that TV has become a usual good whereas in the past it was almost considered as an expensive good that not all the families could afford. By watching TV, people are easily able to escape from the routine of their everyday life, and to relax. In other words, television is a mean of discovering, exploring, learning, dreaming, and thinking. Personally I love watching sport so love spending my weekends relaxing with a beer flicking through the many sport channels.

However, even if it has changed people’s life and has a good effect on them, it has many bad effects on them too. It can destroy peoples life’s. Some people are not able to see what is true and false as have been influenced by violence from the TV screen. It can make people lazy, and many people believe can halt childrens learning abilities at younger ages.

GPS:

A GPS calculates the real-time position of a device using atomic clocks and orbital satellites. GPS satellites continuously broadcast signals that tell the satellite's location and time, accurate to a billionth of a second.

The technology has staggering significance militarily and was originally made for them in the 70’s. It helps friendly troops stay organised and find their way back to base or to targets. It can also help pinpoint enemy positions and threats.

Today, GPS is used by millions to navigate on a daily basis and can be immensely useful in mapping driving or walking directions.

Most of us would be familiar with GPS in an automobile. A GPS is perfect for anyone who deals with confusing city roads or is traveling around an unknown area. A GPS is useful for anyone that travels anywhere, whether for 200 miles or 20 miles. It is a great device that gives directions when you ask and also can help prevent you from getting tied up in traffic jams. The GPS usually is capable of letting you know when road construction has a road closed and you need to take a detour or it can tell you when there is one lane traffic causing a slow down. The GPS can give you an alternative route that will save you time and your fuel.

Aside from using GPS in an automobile or on the street to find directions, it has a variety of other important uses. GPS is used for mapping and surveying the earth. It is also able to help monitor earthquakes. Civilian pilots use GPS in flight, as do airlines to coordinate flights. The technology is also used by companies to keep track of the very satellites that make GPS possible.