April 2010, @StevenLevy hails the iPad as a radical breakthrough, the future of computing.
I’m curious whether/how much he thinks this holds up. Eight years later, tablets have pretty wide adoption. But they’re still mostly just iPhones with bigger screens. (...) #wiredarchive
I’m curious whether/how much he thinks this holds up. Eight years later, tablets have pretty wide adoption. But they’re still mostly just iPhones with bigger screens. (...) #wiredarchive
There are exceptions in specific businesses, just as wearable computers (Apple Watch, Google Glass) can play a major role when narrowly adopted in specialized professions.
But one thing that I've found striking in late 00's/early 10's WIRED is how innovation is slowing down.
But one thing that I've found striking in late 00's/early 10's WIRED is how innovation is slowing down.
It's been incredible witnessing the monthly drumbeat of technological and social transformation from 1993-2008. So many big things were introduced, took hold, and then became foundational to our daily lives.
By comparison, how much has really changed from 2008 to 2018?
By comparison, how much has really changed from 2008 to 2018?
3D printing is still a niche activity, mostly confined to hobbyists. Maybe that changes in 10 years, maybe it doesn't.
Wearables and Google Glass settled into niches too.
We keep expecting virtual reality/augmented reality to change everything soon. Soon never gets much closer.
Wearables and Google Glass settled into niches too.
We keep expecting virtual reality/augmented reality to change everything soon. Soon never gets much closer.
The big changes of the past decade, I think, are (1) peak TV, (2) big journalism outlets figuring out a semi-workable business model (paywalls), (3) Google and Facebook eating the world, and (4) weaponized disinformation/offensive internet stuff.
Those are the kinds of developments you get once you have a relatively-settled landscape, and existing industries/actors/social and economic forces settle in and take hold.
Facebook had to start actually making money from ads. Twitter had to pursue growth to satisfy investors.
Facebook had to start actually making money from ads. Twitter had to pursue growth to satisfy investors.
There's a bunch of material in 90s WIRED about Moore's Law running up through ~2010.
It seems like part of what happened here is, once we moved past the ongoing, unpredictable early-adoption curves, digital media started to behave more like, well, like media.
It seems like part of what happened here is, once we moved past the ongoing, unpredictable early-adoption curves, digital media started to behave more like, well, like media.
There might not be a radical next-big-thing coming just around the corner. (I'm genuinely not sure.)
And if there isn't, or at least if "around the corner" is now approaching slower than it used to, then expectations forged during the digital tech boom are going to be wrong.
And if there isn't, or at least if "around the corner" is now approaching slower than it used to, then expectations forged during the digital tech boom are going to be wrong.
