25 Technologies That Changed the Decade - Nos. 21 to 25 (
Page 6 of 6 )
21. Treo
Looking at it today, the Treo may seem like just another smartphone. But the
early Treo set the stage for and was very influential in the development of
modern smartphones. Any phone today that isn't an iPhone or a new phone
directly influenced by the iPhone owes a huge debt to the Treo (and even the
iPhone is influenced by the Treo).
22. Twitter
Twitter is a waste of time. We'll just post that on our Facebook and
corporate collaboration system status updates. Hmm. Maybe Twitter has been
massively influential and changed the way we all communicate.
23. VMware
Virtualization has been around for more than 10 years, but it was in the
last decade that it really took off. And, to a large degree, the impetus for
this drive to virtualize was VMware technology. Offering everything from
simple-to-use products that let consumers run virtual machines to the most
robust enterprise-class virtualization platforms, VMware has made it possible
to run whole farms of servers with very little hardware involved.
24. VOIP, Skype, SIP
Like virtualization, VOIP technology has been around for more than 10 years.
However, it's only in the last 10 years that the technology has reached a real
state of usability. Skype helped show consumers how cheap and easy voice calls
can be from a PC, while SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) signaling eased
standards-based interoperability among vendors, opening the door for the
integration of many different kinds of products into the communications mix.
25. Windows XP
With all of the recent hype about Windows 7—and the bad experiences that
nearly every user has had at one time or another with Windows XP—it might seem
strange to see Windows Vista's predecessor on any top tech list. But XP is
certainly the most dominant operating system of the decade. And when Vista
proved to be a disappointment, a majority of users and businesses were happy to
stick with XP (and many still are).
What did we miss? What's on the list that shouldn't be? Let Labs Managing
Editor Jason Brooks know at jbrooks@eweek.com.
Enterprise Applications News & Reviews 
