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Pong
Invented by Alan Alcorn, it was only intended as a learning tool to develop video games. It just turned out to be a popular arcade game that helped kick start the future development of video games. So, in a way it still served it purpose. -
Floppy Disk
Invented by Warren L. Dalziel. The Floppy Disk was pretty much the main form of data storage all the way up into the 1990's and even into the 2000's. This impacted a lot of people because now data could be moved from place to place by hand in one small little package. Now we can store massive amounts on a little USB drive. -
Cell Phone
Invented by Martin Cooper. The first commercial cell phone wasn't released until 1983 but, Martin Cooper made the first successful cellular phone call in 1973 with his prototype Motorola phone. Funnily enough, his first call was to his competitors, AT&T Even though it took another decade for it to take off, Martin's invention is the base of what most of us all have in our pockets today. -
GPS
The U.S. Navy had developed the first GPS system in 1978. Global Positioning System (GPS) was actually invented in relation to the Space Race with Russia. Originally only limited to only the military, it became available for commercial use in the 1980's. This has had a huge impact on us because now we use it to go to a new restaurant or to travel instead of asking for directions or using a map. -
Sony Walkman
Invented by a team of engineers at Sony, the Walkman was the very first portable music player that played cassette tapes. The impact was huge because you no longer had to be at home or in the car to listen to music, It was now portable. This invention led up to portable MP3 players and today we can play music off our cellphones.