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Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments develops the first handheld calculator. What TI calculators could do 40 years later is amazing!
Photo credited to
https://education.ti.com/en/snapapp/timeline -
Computer is "Man of the Year"
Time Magazine names "the Computer" as their "Man of the Year" on December 26, 1982.
My parents also gave birth to their most fun child yet, born on December 23rd. That's right, I'm the Christmas gift that keeps on giving! Photo credits
https://www.historyandheadlines.com/history-december-26-1982-first-ever-non-human-time-man-of-the-year/ -
TI Calculator
While taking Calculus 1 and 2 at Bridgeport High School, I began using and became familiar with the use of a graphing calculator. Owning a TI-83, which was released in 1999, was a big deal!
Photo credited to
https://education.ti.com/en/snapapp/timeline -
Bought my first cell phone
After working and saving money for several months, I bought my first cell phone so I would have a way to communicate with my parents while traveling to and from college. I could only make calls while in West Virginia, otherwise ROAMING fees applied. -
FLASH MOBS
The instant communication ability of the Internet allowed flash mobs to be organized and they became popular in large cities around the globe. Original flash mobs consisted of arrival at a predestined location where numerous people converged and carried out silly and harmless pranks. They later became more centered around a group of people meeting to perform choreographed dances or sing songs in crowded locations.
See http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/04/flash.mob/ -
IPads in schools
1.5 million laptops are in use in the public school system. They wouldn't reach my kids until years later. -
1 Billion Views
The video "Gangham Style" is the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views. I am fairly certainly that my children accounted for several thousand of those.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 -
First used streaming service
It was in this year that I unexpectedly became a single mom. Satellite and cable were high, and the kids needed Internet for school, so we dropped the dish and began using streaming services. I would now consider myself a borderline Netflix junkie. -
My kids get connected
Upon entering middle school, both my kids were given iPads to take home to complete assignments. A good Wi-Fi connection became more important than ever. -
I have Bluetooth
After driving a car that still had a cassette player for years, I purchased a new vehicle. I can talk through my car! -
I bought a laptop
In preparation for upcoming online Master's courses, I purchased my first ever personal laptop. I was confused by things like RAM and Gigabytes, but I went with the size screen I wanted.