ISSUE 395|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2021 107
2015 2016 2017
➡Apple’s Watchbrings
thecomputertothe
wrist, using anew
interfacethat
combinesa
touchscreenand
physicalbuttons.
Besides tellliinngg tthhee
time,the Watchcan
send messages,give
directions,track
fitnessandmake
wireless payments.
Skype’s Translator is aself-teaching artificial
intelligence utility.The more it hears dialects, accents
and slang, the smarter it gets, producing audio
translations between 50 different languages.
⬅Adrone
manufactured by
Flirtey gets the first
government approval
formedical deliveries.
Elsewhere,private
drones are used to
deliver beer to
Australians and class-A
drugs to prisoners.
RadioShack,oneofthe oldest established
electronics and computer outlets in the world, files
forbankruptcy in the US.
⬅The iPhone 7hasn’tgot aheadphone jack,
but foronly £159 you can buy apair of Apple
Airpods to make up forit.
➡UK company
Windhorse
Aerospace develops
the Pouncer
humanitarian drone,
costing £225 and
capable of feeding
100people inwar
zonesandremoteareas.Aswellas
essentialreliefitems,thewingsare
packedwithfood,andthevehiclecan
be reassembled as ashelter.
SnapchatLensesallowusersto
transformthemselvesinrealtimeinto
moving,talkingfantasyfiguresin
virtualenvironments.Meanwhile,
bomb-disposalexpertJoshuaBrown
becomes the first person to die in a
self-driving car accident while being
taken foraride by hisTesla Model S.
➡The true purpose of computing
is revealed at last, as uncountable
millions playPokémon Go,a
jolly game in which players
capture imaginary monsters
and simultaneously wet
themselves. Again.
Amaliciouswormcodenamed Wannacry attacks
computers running MicrosoftWindows in 150
countries. Victims are held to ransom forupto£1,000
in bitcoins to unlock data that has become encrypted.
⬅Amazon announces that its second-generation
cloud-based service Alexa is available for
customers in the UK. The intelligent personal
assistant is said to have been inspired by the
talking computer inStarTrek.
MoleyRobotics markets arobot chefthat
can replicatethe movement of
human hands to cook from a
choice of 2,000recipes.
➡The Samsung Gear 360 camera
handles live broadcasts, 360-degree
spherical images and 4K
resolution. It costs £139.
The true purpose of
computing is revealed at
last, as uncountable millions
playResident Evil 7, ajolly ga
in which players kill anything
moves. Sales of the franchise
78 million, and spin-offs net i
excess of £1bn.
⬅ComputerShopper
celebrates its 30th
anniversary as the
longest-running, most
popular publication of
its kind in the land.
ame
that
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