Sholes and Glidden Remington No. 1 Type-Writer: Christopher Latham Sholes arranged the keys on this typewriter to prevent its underlying mechanics from getting stuck. The result was the first QWERTY keyboard. Today’s physical and touchscreen keyboards don't have the same internals, and yet we still use QWERTY. Illustration: Scientific American 6 (27). August 1872 via Wikipedia
Disposable Ballpoint Pen:The disposable ballpoint pen, first patented in 1884 but not manufactured until the 1940s, made the pen mobile. Photo: Roberto Fiadone/Wikimedia; Illustration: USPTO
Zenith Space Command: Not only was the Space Command the world’s first wireless remote control, it's also the reason why some people still call remotes "clickers." Instead of IR, the Space Command used ultrasound to change the channel and volume. An entirely new level of lazy was spawned and has been going strong ever since. Photo: Todd Ehlers via Wikipedia
Engelbart Mouse: Douglas Englebart created the first mouse in 1963 out of wood, and it tracked movement using two wheels on the bottom. Xerox PARC later honed the mouse and the GUI. Photo: Wikipedia
Amana Radarange Microwave: When microwave ovens first started showing up in homes in the mid-1950s, they were big and expensive. This first countertop microwave oven cost less than $500 when it first became available in 1967, and by the mid-1970s, more than half of American homes had a microwave.
Sony Trinitron KV-1310: Back when people bought CRT TVs and monitors, Sony's “Trinitron” lineup was worth paying extra for. The first Trinitron color TV, which was the first TV with an aperture-grille display and a single electron gun, first went on sale in the late 1960s. 25 years later, 100 million Trinitron sets had been sold. Photo: Sony
Sony Trinitron KV-1310: Back when people bought CRT TVs and monitors, Sony's “Trinitron” lineup was worth paying extra for. The first Trinitron color TV, which was the first TV with an aperture-grille display and a single electron gun, first went on sale in the late 1960s. 25 years later, 100 million Trinitron sets had been sold. Photo: Sony
Atari 2600 Video Computer System: While the original Nintendo sold about twice as many units as the Atari 2600 (62 million vs. 30 million), the Atari 2600 was the console that popularized the entire idea of home video-game consoles. Photo: Evan-Amos/Wikipedia
Motorola StarTAC: Motorola started the cellphone game, and the flip-phone StarTAC was the first to start gaining mass acceptance following brick-like models such as the DynaTAC. Photo: Motorola
Motorola StarTAC: Motorola started the cellphone game, and the flip-phone StarTAC was the first to start gaining mass acceptance following brick-like models such as the DynaTAC. Photo: Motorola
Sony Walkman: The Sony Walkman made music portable for the first time, and made headphones a thing everyone owned.Image: Sony
Sony Walkman: The Sony Walkman made music portable for the first time, and made headphones a thing everyone owned.Image: Sony
Apple Macintosh 128K: The Mac (the Macintosh 128K) was the first affordable computer to incorporate a mouse and graphical user interface. Photo: Wikipedia
Linksys Wireless Home Router: The wireless router brought the Internet into your home, instantaneously connecting you to the world. Or just to your friends on AIM. Photo: Jonathan Zander via Wikipedia
IBM ThinkPad Laptop: IBM introduced its first ThinkPad laptop in 1992, and it was one of the first popular laptops to reach consumers. One of its defining qualities: An iconic red pointing stick embedded in the center of the keyboard negating the need for a mouse. Image: Lenovo
IBM ThinkPad Laptop: IBM introduced its first ThinkPad laptop in 1992, and it was one of the first popular laptops to reach consumers. One of its defining qualities: An iconic red pointing stick embedded in the center of the keyboard negating the need for a mouse. Image: Lenovo
Sony Handycam CCD-M8U: Before the first Handycam was released in the mid-1980s, video cameras were either beefy shoulder-mounted units or models that needed to be hooked up to a VCR to record. The boxy CCD-M8U was light and compact enough to fit in one hand, in part because it was built around smaller Video8 cassettes. Photo: Sony
Sony Handycam CCD-M8U: Before the first Handycam was released in the mid-1980s, video cameras were either beefy shoulder-mounted units or models that needed to be hooked up to a VCR to record. The boxy CCD-M8U was light and compact enough to fit in one hand, in part because it was built around smaller Video8 cassettes. Photo: Sony
Diamond Rio PMP300: The iPod was the first massively popular MP3 player, but it stood on the shoulders of the Diamond Rio PMP300, which had to beat an injunction from the RIAA just to get to market. That win opened the doors for the era of digital music, and took it from your desktop to the streets. Photo: Diamond Multimedia
Diamond Rio PMP300: The iPod was the first massively popular MP3 player, but it stood on the shoulders of the Diamond Rio PMP300, which had to beat an injunction from the RIAA just to get to market. That win opened the doors for the era of digital music, and took it from your desktop to the streets. Photo: Diamond Multimedia
Canon EOS Digital Rebel 300D: The first digital SLR that cost less than $1,000, Canon’s introductory Digital Rebel camera was a huge leap forward for digital photography. Sure, the six-megapixel, 7-point AF Digital Rebel may seem short on specs when compared to today’s $1000 DSLRs, but it was good enough to woo film shooters over to the digital side once and for all. Photo: Canon
Canon EOS Digital Rebel 300D: The first digital SLR that cost less than $1,000, Canon’s introductory Digital Rebel camera was a huge leap forward for digital photography. Sure, the six-megapixel, 7-point AF Digital Rebel may seem short on specs when compared to today’s $1000 DSLRs, but it was good enough to woo film shooters over to the digital side once and for all. Photo: Canon
Toyota Prius: With gas prices soaring along with environmental concerns, the Prius debuted in the early oughts, becoming the first popular hybrid electric vehicle in our history. Photo: Wikipedia
Apple iPhone: Love Apple or hate it, the iPhone created the touchscreen smartphone space (and subsequent obsession) as we know it. Photo: Carl Berkeley/Flickr
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