In today’s era, what some dub the “age of technology,” it’s easy to forget some of the most incredible tech available to pretty much everyone that used to be available only to wealthy people. Technology has advanced at such an astonishing rate that it’s pretty easy to forget that only a few decades ago, much of this was barely even in the realm of possibility. Here are the most striking examples of this phenomenon.
Satellite Imaging
The concept of a satellite image of the world is an incredible one. For a long time, pictures of the world from satellites were low-resolution and very expensive. However, nowadays, you can often get those pictures just by going to a mapping service like Google Maps and choosing to see the satellite image instead of the traditional one. It’s an expansive option that allows you to see how the world really looks no matter how far away you are.
Book Publishing
The world of book publishing has traditionally been a prohibitively expensive one. Starting with the printing press, the concept of printing books started to become much more affordable, but publishing was still something that was very selective and difficult to achieve. With the advent of self-publishing, which allows individuals to publish their books online, it’s become possible for literally anyone to publish something.
Drone Shots
Huge, sweeping drone shots are a staple in Hollywood movies. For a very long time, these shots could cost as much as millions of dollars; filmmakers would film them on helicopters, from planes, or using cranes. Nowadays, it’s possible to get a decent drone for less than $1,000, and many of them have either attached cameras or places to attach your own camera.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
The concept of AR and VR is one that utterly amazed and baffled people only a few decades ago. In today’s world, it’s an easily-accessible piece of technology, even though it isn’t extremely widespread. Whether you’re looking for something that enhances the reality you’re looking at right now or you want to create a completely fake space for you to play in, there’s usually something available for you. Some of it’s even available on a majority of people’s smartphones.
3D Printing
Today, 3D printing is capable of doing amazing things that were nearly unthinkable 10 years ago. There’s no doubt that in another 10 years, 3D printing will be even more incredible. Today, people are starting to be able to use 3D printing for some metal-based materials. As the technology continues to get more advanced and more thoughtful, you may see entire metal objects that you can essentially 3D print from scratch.
Public Records Searches
If you wanted to dig up public records on someone a few decades ago, you had to go to a courthouse and submit requests for public records searches. Even today, these requests often require search fees and record copy fees, which can cost quite a lot. That’s why online public search engines like PeopleFinders are so incredible. You can browse through public records from your couch, learning a significant amount about someone without ever having to ask.
Conclusion
The age of technology has delivered with it a huge variety of incredible items. These high-tech concepts are more integrated into the world than ever before, and you can probably expect to see even more of them in the years to come. As you use tech in your day-to-day life, consider how technology has changed to adapt to our current way of life and take a second to be grateful for it.
