Fifty Greatest Gadgets of the Past Fifty Years

The list is out of the The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years from PC World.  I guess to make the list it has to be electronic.

If we start with that assumption, obviously omitted works of genius are the battery driven toothbrush and the PC. Certainly the Zenith Space Command (the first TV remote control) needs to be elevated into the top ten.

Missing from their list are a bevy of kitchen devices.  Where would we be without our microwaves and coffee makers?  I know, the list is gadgets designed to entertain us.  College students are known to put tiny furry creatures in a microwave.  That's not entertainment?

And nowhere on the list do I see the technology that allows you to spy on your neighbors or someone half way across the globe, by either eavesdropping, or using a spy in the sky.

Sony Walkman TPS-L2 (1979)

Apple iPod (2001)

(Tie) ReplayTV RTV2001 and TiVo HDR110 (1999)

PalmPilot 1000 (1996)

Sony CDP-101 (1982)

Motorola StarTAC (1996)

Atari Video Computer System (1977)

M-Systems DiskOnKey (2000)

Regency TR-1 (1954)

Sony PlayStation 2 (2000)

Motorola Razr V3 (2004)

Motorola PageWriter (1996)

BlackBerry 850 Wireless Handheld (1998)

Phonemate Model 400 (1971)

Texas Instruments Speak & Spell (1978)

Texas Instruments SR-10 (1973)

Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300 %281998)

Sony Handycam DCR-VX1000 (1995)

Handspring Treo 600 (2003)

Zenith Space Command (1956)

Hamilton Pulsar (1972)

Kodak Instamatic 100 (1963)

MITS Altair 8800 (1975)

Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 (1983)

Nintendo Game Boy (1989)

Commodore 64 (1982)

Apple Newton MessagePad (1994)

Sony Betamax (1975)

Sanyo SCP-5300 (2002)

iRobot Roomba Intelligent Floorvac (2002)

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer (1999)

Franklin Rolodex Electronics REX PC Companion (1997)

Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 10 (1998)

Motorola DynaTAC 8000X (1983)

Iomega Zip Drive (1995)

Magnavox Magnavision Model 8000 DiscoVision Videodisc Player (1978)

Milton Bradley Simon (1978)

Play, Inc Snappy Video Snapshot (1996)

Connectix QuickCam (1994)

BellSouth/IBM Simon Personal Communicator (1993)

Motorola Handie Talkie HT-220 Slimline (1969)

Polaroid Swinger (1965)

Sony Aibo ERS-110 (1999)

Sony Mavica MVC-FD5 (1997)

Learjet Stereo-8 (1965)

Timex/Sinclair 1000 (1982)

Sharp Wizard OZ-7000 (1989)

Jakks Pacific TV Games (2002)

Poqet PC Model PQ-0164 (1990)

Comments

[Kenneth Burns]

The only thing better than the Sony CDP-101 was the Sony CDP-102.

Yup Ken, and now both are showing up at flea markets though there is not much of a market for them.
Paul

[Paul Cunningham]

Hi Gents,

I recently got a CDP-102 at a thrift store for $10 and that puppy is solid. Powered up right away and sounds great. When I loaded a disc, it grabbed the track info almost as soon as the drawer shut, no hestitaion, no prolonged search, etc. The coolest thing about it, aside from its' vintage Sony 70s' look, is the tray mechanism itself. It's whisper quiet thanks to the high ratio gear mechanism used for the tray transport assy. It rides on metal rails instead of plastic and its' awesome whatching the tray glide open/shut in almost absolute silence. Just another of many examples that 'they really don't make'em like that any more.