-
USB Flash Drive - Amir Ban & Team
The USB first-generation flash drive hit the market in late 2000 by M-Systems. At the time, this was a major improvement from previous options such as floppy discs or CD's. It allowed faster processing speeds, more storage space and was much more durable than its counterparts. Now, they are not as widely used as consumers are opting into the cloud storage options; however, it is still a great option to have a physical copy of your data. -
Skype - Niklas Zennström & Team
In late 2003, Niklas Zennström and his team made their video streaming app, Skype, public. The idea of having synced audio and video on a livestream was not necessarily unheard of before, but Skype made this easily accessible to all users. This was a useful tool for many, mainly used for businesses but also for public use as well. Although Skype is still widely used, it provided way to many other well-known streaming services today such as Webex and Zoom. -
Facebook - Mark Zuckerberg & Team
Facebook was made an app early 2004 by the hard work of Mark Zuckerburg. Although not quite the first social media interface, it is the first of which are widely used today. He was a young college student that saw the opportunity, and pieced together parts of other platforms that worked and fixed those that didn't. In any business, you need to adapt to consumer expectations and needs, and Zuckerburg did just that hosting a whopping 2.85 billion monthly active users to date. -
Apple iPod Shuffle - Steve Jobs & Team
In early 2005, Steve Jobs decided he want to put a spin on the tradition MP3 player. He rolled out the iPod Shuffle which was an absolute hit. Building off of his iPod that released a few years prior, Apple users could now listen to their music "shuffled" or in a random order versus the standard chronological playlists. This line has since been discontinued in 2017, but the technology still exists being worked in to popular music streaming services. -
Apple iPhone - Steve Jobs & Team
The Apple iPhone first generation was released in 2007 by Steve Jobs. This was a groundbreaking combination of many previous technological innovations that would pave way to the smartphones as we know of today. Never before would people expect to have a portable device that has a touchscreen display, camera, text and call communications, and be able to browse the web. From the previously accepted flip phones and basic cellular devices, this was a major improvement in the handheld device world. -
Post-decade : Amazon Alexa - Jeff Bezos & Team
The Amazon Alexa was unveiled in late 2014 by Jeff Bezos. Him and his team worked tirelessly creating sketches until they finally created a prototype they could all come to an agreement on. Alexa created a much easier access point to the e-commerce market. Not only could you order essentials from the comfort of your home, you could have a completely hands-free experience with Amazon's virtual assistant. She can order groceries, turn on the television, or even dim the lights.