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USB - Flash Drive - 2000
The actual invention of the USB is highly contested between 1999 and 2000. The actual inventor is unknown however, the official product started to be sold in 2000 in the United States. USB flash storage has dramatically impacted our daily lives as the foundation of flash storage allowed easy transfer of data between devices, made our smart phones faster with the implementation of a solid state drive which is a newer generation of flash storage, and many other applications. -
Youtube - 2005
Youtube may not be considered a typical invention. However, the creation of the website in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chard Hurley, and Jawed Karim has led to an explosion of knowledge and media. This explosion has increased the availability of free knowledge through tutorials, commerce through advertising, and general media, impacting the vast majority of people's daily lives no matter how an individual uses the site. -
Blu-ray - 2005/2006
Early blue-laser disks were made around 2000; however, the final development of the Blu-ray disc happened in 2005 and was released worldwide in June 2006. The Blu-ray disc was made by the Blue-ray Disc Association, which is composed of several electronics, hardware, and motion picture makers. Blu-ray discs have had an impact on our lives may not be as daily as a smartphone however, it has impacted the way we interpret media at home due to the substantial storage space allowed on the disc. -
iPhone - 2007
In January 2007, the first iPhone by Steve Jobs' Apple was announced. Apple was already very popular with Mac however, the introduction of the iPhone led to a massive boon in the smartphone industry and marked the massive expansion of Apple for decades to come. This had a dramatic impact to how we use our phones today. Apple implemented the first "App Store" that led to similar companies following suit and having a single place to download applications made by developers. -
Android OS - 2008
Android is the gold-standard operating system used in almost all phones outside of Apple products. It was released in September of 2008 but had been the brainchild of Android Inc. is composed of Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White. The Android OS has impacted the lives of most of the United States population due to the further expansion of the smartphone used in our daily lives. This OS brought a cheaper non-proprietary alternative that could be used as a standard.