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Floppy Disk
David L. Noble and his team of engineers, working for IBM, were responsible for inventing the floppy disk, though the lead inventor is credited to Warren L. Dalziel. The floppy disk became commercially available in 1971, and became the primary way to save and backup data, which inspired the save icons we see today. -
Pong
Atari's Pong, made by Allan Alcorn, was an arcade game that stimulated the arcade boom in the 70's. Pong is considered the first time video gaming and sports came together. A staple of classic videogaming, and an initial step in bringing video games to every day life. -
Cell Phone
Martin Cooper, working with Motorolla, managed to successfully create a mobile phone in 1973, a prototype resembling a brick. The first call made was to their competitors, Dr. Joel S. Engel and AT&T, demonstrating their success over them. Since then, cell phones have come a long way to being more useful (and less bulky). -
Digital Camera
The Cromemco Cyclops, the first commercial digital camera, was made by Terry Walker, Harry Garland, and Roger Melen. It could give 32X32 pixel images, and could be interfaced with a microcomputer. A far cry from what our cameras are capable of now, but a first step to where we are now. -
Apple II
Though Steve Wozniak made the Apple I prior, and didn't intend to put it to market, his invention evolved into the Apple II, which kickstarted Apple's success in the market. The Apple II was a boon for personal computers, and started us down the path to making PCs a necessity in our day to day lives.