25 Technologies That Changed the Decade

By most measures, the last 10 years were not the best of times. Terrorism, natural disasters and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression have left many people happy to see the decade go away. In fact, given the many bad things that did happen, those who use the moniker "the Uh Ohs" to define the decade probably have it about right.

But when it comes to technology, the last 10 years were actually a very good time for innovation and progress. During the last 10 years we've seen very significant advances, especially in the areas of mobile devices and the ability to use the Web as a computing platform.

For example, if you compare a modern smartphone with a late-'90s cell phone, it seems as if a lot more than 10 or so years separate the two devices. Look at the static and uninteractive Web of 10 years ago, and then look at a modern AJAX- and social network-enabled Website. It's amazing we were able to do anything on the old Web. And across the tech spectrum, as devices have become more powerful and more useful, they've also become less expensive and more accessible.

In this special report, eWEEK Labs has put together a list of the 25 most significant technologies and products of the last decade—those that changed the way we work, play and live. Some of these products and technologies set the stage for the cutting-edge tech we use today, while others are the cutting-edge tech we use today.

Following are our picks for the top 25, in alphabetical order.

Next: Nos. 1 to 5 >>