How much can the world change in 15 years? Here’s what’s new in tech and culture since 2001.

Personal technology:

2001 – Microsoft releases Windows XP; Apple launches the iPod and iTunes; Apple releases the well-received “New World” PowerBook and “Snow” iBook.

2002 – Verizon Wireless becomes the first U.S. carrier to adopt 3G cellular.

2003 – Motorola releases the Razr, which becomes the best-selling flip phone ever; 802.11g Wi-Fi released; Apple launches iTunes Music Store.

2004 – GoPro is founded and releases the 35mm Hero camera.

2005 – Hitachi releases the first 500 gigabyte computer hard drive.

2006 – Microsoft releases Windows Vista; GoPro releases the first Digital Hero camera, which can record 10 seconds of low-quality video; Apple releases the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

2007 – Apple releases the iPhone; Amazon launches the Kindle e-book reader; Hitachi releases the first 1 terabyte hard drive; 802.11n Wi-Fi products start shipping; The first low-cost Netbooks released.

2008 – Google launches Android; Apple launches iPhone App Store.

2009 – Microsoft releases Windows 7; Apple unveils the lightweight MacBook Air, creating the “ultrabook” laptop.

2010 – Apple releases the iPad; 4G LTE cellular arrives in the U.S.; Parrot releases its first Parrot AR Drone; GoPro releases Hero cameras that capture high-definition video.

2011 – Google releases the low-cost Chromebook that runs ChromeOS; Apple releases the Siri personal assistant for iPhone; Nest releases its first smart thermostat.

2012 – Microsoft releases Windows 8; Microsoft launches the Surface tablet; Netbooks no longer manufactured; Oculus founded to make virtual reality headsets.

2013 – DJI releases its first Phantom drone; GoPro releases Hero cameras that capture 4K video; Smartphones outsell feature phones; 802.11ac Wi-Fi approved.

2014 – FAA moves to regulate consumer drones; Facebook buys virtual-reality headset maker Oculus for $2 billion; Google acquires Nest for $3.2 billion.

2015 – Microsoft releases Windows 10; Hitachi releases first 10 terabyte hard drive; iTunes passes 1.5 million apps; Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset released.

2016 – Oculus Rift virtual reality headset released; Pokemon Go becomes a worldwide phenomenon and the most widespread augmented-reality app.

The internet:

2001 – Wikipedia goes live.

2002 – Mozilla releases the Firefox web browser.

2003- Skype is created; MySpace goes online.

2004 – Facebook goes online at Harvard; Broadband internet subscribers equal dial-up internet subscribers; Google launches Gmail.

2005 – YouTube goes live; Google launches Google Maps.

2006 – Twitter goes online; Facebook opens to the public; Google buys YouTube.

2007 – Justin.tv regularly streams live video over the internet; Google unveils Google Street View.

2008 – Google releases the Chrome web browser; Facebook overtakes MySpace in users; YouTube starts live video streaming.

2009 – Microsoft launches Bing for search; Kickstarter founded leading to the rise of crowdfunding.

2010 – Instagram goes online; WhatsApp Messenger launches.

2011- Snapchat goes online; YouTube opens live video streaming to general users.

2012 – YouTube livestreams the Olympics online; “Gangnam Style” hits 1 billion views on YouTube; Facebook hits 1 billion users; Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion.

2013- The FBI shuts down Silk Road, a Dark Web site specializing in illegal items and activities.

2014- Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19.3 billion.

2015 – Video makes up 70 percent internet traffic; Facebook launches live video streaming; FCC releases net neutrality rules and reclassifies broadband access as a telecommunication service; Pebble Time smartwatch becomes the most-funded project on Kickstarter with $20.3 million pledged from 78,417 backers.

Home entertainment:

2001 – Microsoft launches the Xbox; Nintendo release the GameCube; Plasma TVs are cutting edge and cost up to $15,000 for 50-inch models; Few LCD TVs are larger than 30 inches.

2005 – Microsoft launches the Xbox 360; Plasma TVs overtake rear-projection TVs in sales; NASCAR and NFL start broadcasting in HD.

2006 – Sony releases the PlayStation 3; Nintendo launches the Wii; Rival Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs and players officially released; Online streaming service Hulu is founded.

2007 – Netflix launches online video streaming; LCD TVs surpass Plasma and CRT TVs in sales; Apple releases Apple TV for online video streaming.

2008 – Last standalone VCR manufactured; Amazon launches its online video streaming service; Roku releases its first internet video streaming box; HD-DVD no longer supported, Blu-ray wins.

2009 – Plasma TVs no longer manufactured; U.S. television stations switch from analog to digital transmissions.

2010 – CRT TVs no longer widely manufactured; YouTube enables 4K video.

2011 – LED LCDs outsell traditional LCDs.

2012 – Nintendo launches the Wii U.

2013 – Microsoft launches the Xbox One; Sony releases the PlayStation 4.

2014- LG releases first 65-inch 4K OLED TV for $11,700; Amazon releases Fire TV streaming video box; Netflix begins streaming 4K video; Amazon begins shooting its original series in 4K; DirectTV offers 4K content.

2015 – HBO launches HBO Now streaming service; Amazon and Roku release 4K-capable video streaming boxes.

2016 – Last combination VCR/DVD player manufactured; LG sells a 65-inch 4K OLED TV for $5,000; One quarter of U.S. households primarily watch movies and TV through on-demand streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu.

Movies:

2001 – “Survivor” airs; “X-Men” is the most recent—and only recently successful—superhero movie; “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” takes the worldwide box office with $947 million.

2002 – “American Idol” airs; “Spider-man” movie released to acclaim; “Star Wars Episode II” fails to wow audiences; “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” takes the worldwide box office with $921.7 million.

2003 – Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” released to acclaim; “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” takes the worldwide box office with $1.12 billion.

2004 – DreamWorks’ “Shrek 2” takes the worldwide box office with $919.9 million.

2005 – Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” revitalizes the character; “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” takes the worldwide box office with $896.9 million.

2006 – Disney buys Pixar; Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” takes the box office with $1.06 billion.

2007 – “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” takes the box office with $963.4 million.

2008 – Marvel Studios releases “Iron Man” to acclaim; Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” takes the box office with $997 million.

2009 – James Cameron’s “Avatar” takes the box office with $2.75 billion and launches the 3-D revolution; Disney buys Marvel Studios.

2010 – Disney releases “Tangled” to acclaim; Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” takes the box office with $1 billion.

2011 – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” takes the box office with $1.34 billion.

2012 – George Lucas sells Lucasfilms (“Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones”) to Disney; Marvel Studios’ “The Avengers” takes the box office with $1.52 billion.

2013 – Disney releases “Frozen” to wide acclaim, and takes the box office with $1.28 billion.

2014 – “Transformers: Age of Extinction” takes the box office with $1.1 billion.

2015 – Disney releases “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” to worldwide acclaim and takes the box office with $2.07 billion.

2016 – Five superhero movies released in first eight months, all with high grosses; Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: Civil War” currently holds the lead at the worldwide box office at $1.15 billion.

Transportation:

2003 – Toyota releases first commercial Automatic Parking system.

2004 – DARPA holds the Grand Challenge, a desert obstacle course for self-driving cars, and there are no finishers; Toyota adds “low-speed tracking mode” to its adaptive cruise control that can automatically bring a car to a complete stop.

2005 – Five teams complete DARPA’s Grand Challenge; Bugatti launches the 253 mph, 1,001 horsepower Veyron; The first flight of the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger airline.

2007 – Six teams complete DARPA’s “Urban Challenge.”

2008 – Tesla Motors releases the Roadster electric car.

2009 – Uber ride-sharing service founded; Tesla Motors unveils the all-electric Model S sedan.

2010 – Hummer ceases production; Bugatti Veyron SuperSport hits 268 mph; Adaptive cruise control comes to mid-range vehicles.

2012 – Google starts testing self-driving cars; Lyft ride-sharing service founded.

2013 – Porsche launches the $845K 918 hybrid sports car; Ferrari unveils the $1.4 million LaFerrari hybrid sports car.

2014 – McLaren launches the $1.35 million P1 hybrid sports car; Saab ceases production; Hennessey Venom GT hits 270.49 mph.

2015 – Tesla Motors enables the semi-self-driving Autopilot on Model S sedans; Tesla Motors unveils $10,000 “Ludicrous” mode for the Model S P90D that gives it a 0-60 mph time of 2.8 seconds; Volkswagen comes under fire for lying about its diesel cars’ level of emissions.

2016 – Google self-driving cars complete 1.7 million miles of highway and city driving.

Science:

2001 – Children’s Hospital Boston is the first pediatric hospital to acquire a surgical robot; Mir space station decommissioned and brought down in the ocean.

2002 – Elon Musk founds Space X.

2003 – Human Genome Project completed.

2004 – Spirit and Opportunity rovers land on Mars; Astronomers get first infrared snapshot of a planet outside our solar system.

2006 – Pluto demoted from planet to dwarf planet; New Horizons probe launched to Pluto; Space X awarded a NASA contract for space station resupply; The first unassisted robotic surgery to correct heart arrhythmia completed.

2007 – Space probe Dawn launched.

2008 – Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator comes online; Astronomers get first visible light photo of a planet outside of our solar system.

2009 – The first all-robotic-assisted kidney transplant performed.

2010 – First life form with an entirely artificial genome created.

2011 – NASA ends space shuttle program; Space probe Dawn arrives at Vesta; IBM’s Watson supercomputer beats two human champions at the game show “Jeopardy!”

2012 – Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Large Hadron Collider detects a previously theoretical particle, the Higgs Boson; James Cameron takes the “Deepsea Challenger” to the deepest known point on earth, the Challenger Deep.

2015 – New Horizons probe arrives at Pluto and sends back pictures; Scientists detect gravitational waves for the first time; Space probe Dawn arrives at Ceres; Space X successfully lands first stage of a rocket; Google’s Alpha Go supercomputer beats the world champion at the complex and intuitive game of Go.

2016 – The odds of dying from a heart attack are 40 percent less than in 2001.

Source: East Valley Tribune, Justin Ferris
Photo: Wikipedia