106 JANUARY2021|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 395
2011 2012 2013 2014
⬅Anewconceptinpublic
transport begins operation
in San Francisco,with all
mapping, logistics, pricing
and payments handled by a
simple app.Itiscalled Uber.
And anew video-streaming
service begins operating in
the UK, encouraging users
to view full-length movies
over the internet. It is called Netflix.
Snapchatisaphoto-messagingappwhere
imagesareautomaticallydeletedsecondsafter
viewing,apolicythatthenewUKcoalition
governmentadoptswithgusto.
Thenumberofebookssoldallovertheworld
overtakesthenumberofprintbooksforthefirst
time,andAppleovertakesExxonasthemost
valuablecorporationontheplanet.
SilkRoadbeginsoperationsas
anonlineblackmarketfor
popularitemssuchas
counterfeitgoodsandheroin.
➡Thetruepurposeof
computingisrevealedatlast,
as uncountable millions play
Minecraft,ajolly game in which
players build their own world
out of boredom.
⬆In London, Will Shu starts
ameals-on-wheels service
called Deliveroo forpeople
toodaft to cook or too
idle go out. The company
charges restaurants afee to
pick up,thencharges
customersanother feeto
deliver,and everything is
handled by an app.
➡Edward Snowden, aCIA
consultant working forDell,
begins to leak hundreds of
thousands of classified
documents proving
that both the
US and UK
governments
routinely spy
on private
web traffic.
⬅Although the iPhone
4was the first Apple
phone to have a
front-facing camera, it
hastakenuntilnow,with
thelaunchoftheiPhone6,
forself-obsessedhordestoignorethe
worldaroundtheminfavouroftaking
photographsofthemselves.
Augmentedrealityhitsthe
kindergarten,askidsaregiventhe
powertouploadtheirphysical
creationsintotheirownvirtualworld,
thankstoLegoFusion.
➡Microsoft
launches the
Surface Pro,a
hybridtablet,
laptop,detachhaabbllee
keyboard and
stand foraround
£800.LGintroduces the
first mass-produced truly flexible
display, an 18in OLED screen that can
be rolled intoaone-inch tube.
In the first case of itskind,
Yoshitomo Imura is sentenced to
two years imprisonment by the
Yokohama District Court forusing a
3D printer to create agun.
⬆Atiny,single-board, ultra-cheap
computer called the Raspberry Pi is
released foraslittle as £5 aunit, designed
to teach basic computer science in schools
and developing countries. It becomes one
of the best-selling computers in history.
➡AToyota Prius, controlled
by Google driverless technology,
is granted aroad licence in
Nevada, and becomes the first
robot car to be let loose on a
public highway.
Until this year,the largest
OLED monitor measures 31
inches, but now LG offers a55in,
flat-screen, Google-enabled, 3D unit
forless than £1,800.
Adating app called Tinder is trialled in a
fewcolleges. Aphoto-sharing appcalled
Pinterest hits 10 million users in record time.
The number of active Facebook users
exceeds one billion forthe first time.
➡The true purpose of computingis
revealed at last, as uncountable millions
playCandy Crush
Saga, ajolly
game in which
adults rot their
brains and
children rot
their teeth.
