The Past 10 Years Of Tech

There’s a vortex hitting Las Vegas right now… and not the polar variety. Get your head out of the gutter! We’re not talking about anything other than the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES. Sounds nerdy? Well, it is. But, it’s also a goldmine of the most buzzworthy technology that’s about to change your life… or be a massive flop. In CES’ honor, let’s take a look back at the last 10 years of crazy and cool technology.

2003: Blu-ray DVD

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Remember back in the day when you went over to your friend’s house and were all like, “Woah, your TV is so amazing! HD? That sounds revolutionary! But, why aren’t my DVDs extra-beautiful, too?” That’s when Blu-ray DVD came along and blu your mind. Lolz. See ya never, VHS tapes.

2004: HD Radio

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After your eyeballs fell in love with HDTV, your ears were like, “Wait, I have FOMO. Where’s my HD?” Enter: HD radio. Yeah, we don’t really get it either, but it sounded cool (literally). Hope you didn’t go out and buy one of these things, since it was 2004 and you could have saved yourself a lot of money by just using WinAmp.

2005: IPTV

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By 2005, Facebook was blowing up across college campuses worldwide. We were all “The Internet is so shiny! Look what you can do on it! Do we even need TVs anymore?”

SBC Communications answered that question with a resounding ‘no’ by unveiling TV over the Internet, complete with DVR. Just like the cable TV you steal from your parents today! #HBOGOFTW

2006: Creative Labs Zen Vision:M

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In 2006, all the cool kids had iPods. If hipsters had been invented then, they would have laughed in the face of an iPod because they obviously knew the Zen Vision:M was where it was at*. A device that could play audio files, images, and video files? Gimme.

*The Zen Vision:M was discontinued in 2007, causing sadness for some pre-hipster hipsters.

2007: LG BH100 - A DVD player that plays both Blu-ray and HD DVDs

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Remember when you showed up to a sleepover with the HD DVD of Knocked Up in 2007 and not the Blu-ray?! Luckily, LG unveiled a DVD player that could use either/or at CES, and saved you from the Burn Book.

2008: OLED TV

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It was 2008 and thin was in. Sony unveiled the OLED TV, the slimmest flatscreen in town. Which was required for your marathon True Blood binges... obviously.

2009: 3D HDTV

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HDTV was so 1999. Ten years later, HDTV got a reboot -- into 3D. That sound? It’s a mind being blown.

2010: Tablets not named iPad or Nexus

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If a computer and a smartphone had a baby, it would be the tablet. 2010 was the year of the bigger-than-a-smartphone-smaller-than-a-laptop device; HP had a tablet, Lenovo had a laptop that converted into a tablet, Asus had something called the Wave. Tablet partayyy.

2011: Motorola Atrix -- Say Whaaaat?

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In 2011, Motorola announced the Atrix, a smartphone that got everyone riled up. It was fast! It was shiny! You could hook it up to a monitor and use it as a computer! Most importantly, it helped the selfie phenomenon. Did anyone buy these things?

2012: MakerBot Replicator

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Forget TVs and phones… Makerbot stole the show in 2012 with a printer that didn’t just print in black and white, but in 3D. One word: amazeballs.

2013: Driverless Car Technology

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Welcome to the future: driverless cars. Scary? Yes. Cool? You betcha. Crazy? Of course. These probably won’t hit the mainstream anytime soon, but they’re here. And they’re coming.

2014: TBD

What will CES 2014 bring? Wearable technology? Amazing TVs? Teleportation? We can only hope. Anthony Scarsella, chief gadget officer at Gazelle.com, is keeping tabs on all the latest and greatest at CES for The Horn. Ch-ch-check it out.