Technology dominated the 1990s, and some of its inventions are still in use today. Many of them were based on innovations of prior decades, although refinements would hone them into desirable products. So, this fascinating decade did not only yield neon colors, boy bands, and raves. And believe it or not, the 90s also showed the world the best toys that even the kids of today would surely love. A lot of things we see as modern conveniences have their roots in the 90s. Here are some examples:
The world-wide-web
It is true, the internet was born in this decade and would forever alter history. Its recognized inventor, Sir Tim Berness-Lee, invented the internet in 1989, but by 1990 he had written three of its basic functions: HTML, URL, and HTTP.
Suddenly, sharing information became a lot easier, and borders between companies seemed to fall away when it came to communication. By 1991, Berness-Lee’s first webpage was ready, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Online gambling
As soon as internet connectivity became a reality, ideas of playing games in a casino online gained traction. Existing casinos wanted to take advantage of this possibility, and new companies sprang up to enter this market too. Today, the concept of a casino online has captured people’s imagination, especially after COVID-19 lockdowns prevented them from visiting brick-and-mortar casinos.
Text messages
When you look at how many choices you have when it comes to sending people messages, spare a thought for people in the 90s. During this time, SMS texts were regarded as the mother of all technological inventions and a massive contributor to 90’s pop culture.
Bear in mind that virtually none of this era’s cellphones had QWERTY keyboards. Therefore, composing a text was a matter of multiple buttons pushes, typos, and no emojis. Nevertheless, it became a precursor to the 21st century’s technology-driven future.
It might seem unbelievable, but Google has been around since the 90s. Today, it is the world’s most powerful search engine and an influential tech company.
Google’s first search engine algorithm was written by its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in 1996. Further refinements and increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence refined it, bringing us Google we cannot live without today.
DVDs
If your parents have told you stories of ‘Be Kind, Rewind’ or maybe even mentioned the LaserDisc, you will know that 1990s television and watching movies at home was different back then than it is today. People rented films on VHS tapes (or even for a while BetaMax) that featured magnetic strips, much like cassette tapes. There was no such thing as skipping from one chapter to another. Instead, manual rewinding or forwarding was required.
DVDs changed all that, with enhanced quality picture and sound and less bulking storage requirements. Electronic media distribution would never be the same again, with DVDs also used to store vast amounts of computer data, more than their predecessors could.