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Playstation 2 was Introduced to North America
The PS2 was a beast in its time with a 294 MHz processor, 32 MB RAM, GPU clocked at 147 MHz, and 4MB RAM, no other console stood against it upon release. This is what fostered my love for video games that is still very much alive today.
Fun Fact: The PS2 was released with a special export permit, stopping Libya, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea from buying the console for proposed “nefarious activities.” Experts at the time suspected usage in missile control systems when paired with radar tech. -
The IPod Touch and IPhones come out
The first IPod Touch had a 400MHz Samsung ARM processor with a 3.5 inch display, sporting the brand new iPhoneOS 1.0 before it was renamed iOS.
When I first saw the ads I thought that it was the most impressive thing I had seen technologically and was obsessed with small games like Temple Run. After begging my parents for years I received one of my own in 5th grade. This is when I was first introduced to Youtubers and early internet content sharing. -
Update from 3G to 4G networks
While this pertains less to me personally, the switch from 3G to 4G networks pushed society even closer to fully integrating modern technology into our lives. With slow speeds and data caps that were prevalent prior to 2009, the internet was still not for EVERYBODY. As things got faster and it’s effectiveness became unavoidable, almost everyone now carries a phone on their person and uses it for browsing content daily. -
Counter Strike Global Offensive releases to PC market
CS:GO has proved itself over time to be one of the most influential FPS games to ever exist. With a player base still peaking at 24 million in February 2020, the competitive and ESport scene paved the way for modern day gaming. CS:GO is what pushed me to build my first PC in 8th grade after watching hours of professional gameplay on Youtube. -
Further Development of AI and Machine Learning
The term Machine Learning was first coined in 1959 by Arthur L. Samuel in a study regarding AI learning to play checkers. As time has progressed, the mass amount of things we can teach a computer through repetition has become apparent in modern technology news and developments. Concepts such as speech recognition and computer vision (what allows self driving cars to function) have become more fleshed out than original sci-fi concept designs. -
Sources
PS2: [https://lowendmac.com/2015/the-sony-playstation-2-a-true-legend/] IPOD: [https://igotoffer.com/apple/ipod-touch-1st-gen-8-16-32-gb] 3G 4G: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_site] CSGO : [https://www.statista.com/statistics/808630/csgo-number-players-steam/] [https://www.talkesport.com/news/csgo/which-country-has-largest-csgo-player-base/] AI : [https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/machine-learning] [https://universityofreston.com/certificate-programs/machine-learning/]