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Xbox
Members of Microsoft's multi-media DirectX team reconfigured old Dell laptops to create a window-based video game console. They brought the idea to Microsoft management, which approved the idea of a home game console. The Xbox console surprisingly sold out and was hailed for its high-quality graphics. -
Nintendo Wii
The Nintendo Wii comes to market. The Wii does not merely introduce new games and controllers, but new ways of interacting with game systems. These advances allowed for games to incorporate a wide range of player physical movements. The Wii console has sold more than a hundred million units worldwide. -
iPhone
Apple launches the iPhone. A combination of web browser, music player, and cell phone with the capability of also downloading additional functionality in the form of "apps". The touchscreen enabled smartphone also had a built-in GPS navigation, high-definition camera, texting, calendar, voice dictation, and weather reports. -
MacBook Air
Apple introduces their first ultra notebook as a light, thin laptop with a high-capacity battery. The Air incorporated many of the technologies that had been associated with Apple's MacBook line of laptops, including an integrated camera and Wi-Fi capabilities. To reduce its size, the traditional hard drive was replaced with a solid-state disk, the first mass-market computer to do so. -
Bitcoin
Satoshi Nakamoto publishes Bitcoin. A peer-to-peer electronic cash system is used to generate a form of crypto currency. In the Bitcoin system, users run software that searches for blocks of data, the discovery of which reward the users with Bitcoins. Due to its electronic and anonymous nature, some criminal organizations have adopted the currency.