Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....

I almost called this post 25 Things That Didn't Exist (Or At Least Were Not Yet In Common Use) When The Paternal Optimist Was The Same Age The Boy Wonder Is Now, but that would, of course, have been too long.

Still, it's interesting, so soon after my recent comments about the gadgetry now at the BW's disposal, to read the list below, selected by the Lemelson-MIT program in the US, of 25 non-medically related technological innovations that have become widely used since 1980, are readily recognizable by most [people], have had a direct and perceptible impact on our everyday lives, and/or could dramatically affect our lives in the future.

1. Internet
2.  Mobile phone
3.  PC
4.  Fiber optics (they're everywhere, in high-speed phone lines, cables, etc.)
5.  E-mail
6.  GPS (I have one in my car, but I only put it on when I'm lonely and want some company - what I really want is a GPS like the one on the Playstation Rally Driving game that barks things like "Look where you're going !" and "What are you doing ?")
7. Portable computer
8.  Memory storage disc (that's CDs and DVDs to you and me)
9.  Digital camera
10.  Radio frequency ID tag (used to track delivery of goods)
11. MEMS (microelectromechanical system - there's almost certainly one in the Mother Superior's car, now she's replaced that old banger she used to have)
12. DNA fingerprinting (don't think the BW's life of crime has reached that level yet)
13. Air bag (don't think the BW has actually used one yet)
14. ATM (that's those holes in the wall where the PO and the Mother Superior get their unlimited supplies of cash from)
15. Advanced battery (e.g.the nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries that make mobile phones last longer when we charge them)
16. Hybrid car
17. OLED (organic light-emitting diodes, a key component of digital cameras, apparently)
18. Display panel (better known as a plasma-screen TV - it can only be a matter of time before the PO cracks)
19. HDTV (the kind of TV you can record stuff on, with pause functions, etc. because it has a hard disk on which to save - so ditto)
20. Space shuttle
21. Nanotechnology (it's everywhere - cars are full of it)
22. Flash memory (another key component of digital cameras)
23. Voice mail (for all those messages the PO leaves when the BW is out playing in orchestras, having piano lessons or off on swash-buckling adventures)
24. Modern hearing aid (the rest of us may sometimes wonder whether the BW is in need of one, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being)
25. Short Range, High Frequency Radio (also known as Wi-Fi)
    

(Incidentally, I have been presumptuous enough to guess the number one, which will not officially be announced until tonight, around two o'clock in the morning Geneva time).

The items on the list appearing in this colour are those which I think it can safely be said have some sort of relevance or application in the Boy Wonder's life today. Isn't it hard to imagine what life would be like without them ? And yet when I was an eleven-year-old many of them did not even feature in our fantasies.

Now here's a challenge for the BW, and any other readers - can you come up with three things not on this list, but which you think will feature on a list in, say, ten years' time ?

PS If the Boy Wonder doesn't recognise the reference in the title to this post, could the Mother Superior please educate him ?

Comments

[Boy Wonder]

HI ! It's the BW here!! I'm befuddled by the question - One of the three things could be Artificial intelligence (I'm talking proper stuff here - none of this dalek business!) but I'm not so sure about the other two. Mother Superior thinks that an engine powered by waste products like methane would be a step forward! She also asked me about the title of this post (CH CH CH CH Changes) and no she doesn't need to educate me! She bought me the best of David Bowie a few years ago (just don't test me on my Leonard Cohen!) Hope to hear from the PO soon - BOY WONDER!!!!