The past year has left us a lot of innovations, scientific discoveries, trends, trends and development vectors. Results of 2014 in Science and Technology we included in today's Top 10.
Smart things, pizza delivery by a drone, e-wallets and much more in a review based on the materials of the Komputerra resource.
10. Care of the personal computer
Mobile devices are crowding out desktop computers like never before. The traditional PC is becoming a thing of the past, unable to compete with tablets, laptops and smartphones. Naturally, the trend also affected the software market, where there are fewer new products for stationary PCs and more and more mobile applications.
9. Chinese smartphones
In terms of sales, the products of Chinese brands are getting closer to Apple, Samsung and HTC. On the Russian market, the increase in the exchange rate plays into the hands of the Chinese - the demand for premium brands is falling more and more, and sales budget smartphones from the Middle Kingdom - they grow.
8. New operating systems
Neither Apple, nor Microsoft, nor Google have released anything particularly new and revolutionary in their latest versions. The 2014 trend was stability and adherence to proven principles of work.
7. Protection of anonymity
Personal data protection has become a real mania among Internet users. Edward Snowden's revelations, and then a number of other revelations, did not go unnoticed. People are massively buying up "super-protected" smartphones, regularly changing passwords, etc.
6. Electronic money
In the United States, it was estimated that one in every twentieth purchase during the Christmas sales period was paid for with electronic payment systems Google Wallet and Apple Pay. The cryptocurrency market is also actively developing. Bitcoin had a strong competitor in the fall of 2014 - Ripple.
5. Global Internet
The Internet celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. And despite the scandals of data breaches and global surveillance, the world wide web is becoming an integral part of all of us. Private companies have received the right to register domain zones, and search giants predict attracting several billion new users to the network in the coming years.
4. Bionics
Flexible electronics was the discovery of 2014 in medicine. For example, contact lenses from Google allow diabetics to continuously monitor their sugar levels. Also, thanks to bionics, scientists were able to reduce bulky medical equipment, for example, to create a dialysis machine weighing only 5 kg.
3. Wearable devices
It all started last spring with augmented reality glasses. And then the world learned about the Oculus Rift helmet. Modern gadgets are buying smartwatches, fitness trackers, and electronic jewelry.
2. Drones
Miniature drones are used by DHL, Google, Facebook and even the Russian Dodo Pizza network to deliver orders. A separate area of work for drones is rescue services. Unfortunately, along with the number of drones, the number of accidents with their participation has increased.
1. Internet of Things
The so-called Internet of Things is gaining more and more adherents. The number of IoT users has grown by 25% over the year.We are no longer surprised by the "smart" Full HD TVs, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, clocks and other gadgets controlled through the worldwide network. Scientists predict that 25 billion devices will be connected to the Internet of Things in 5 years.