Re:Ballmer Laughs at iPhone (2007)
by a_humean on Saturday September 03, 2022 @04:18AM
(#32699856)
The iPhone was/is a good product, but I think mass indoor plumbing and the washing machine along with many other inventions ranks higher than the iPhone.
[ Parent
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Decimal, the printing press, light bulbs, the power grid, telegrams, landlines, wireless data transmission (radio, TV, cell phones), computing machines, transistors, ARPNET, WWW, etc… to name a few.
All of which revolutionised humanity and were needed for the iPhone to ever exist. But also all of which were evolutionary ideas that emerged from several inventions predating it, already inching technology in that direction.
In short, we all stand on the shoulders of giants.
Was reading the thoughts of a living old-timer the other day, and to them running water was the killer app. After that, indoor toilets.
Landlines were also important. Walkie-talkies, less so.