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The 20 Biggest Advances in Technology Over the Last 20 Years
Foundation for Economic Education ^ | 01/03/2020 | Alexander Hammond

Posted on 01/03/2020 9:21:04 AM PST by SeekAndFind

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1 posted on 01/03/2020 9:21:04 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Worked at Cymer , in San Diego, for 10 years. We developed lasers for the microchip industry that made most of these advances possible. Best job I ever had.


2 posted on 01/03/2020 9:24:25 AM PST by spudville
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To: SeekAndFind

A little over 20 years, but Viagra has transformed nursing homes.


3 posted on 01/03/2020 9:26:15 AM PST by FatherofFive (Islam is EVIL and needs to be eradicated)
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To: SeekAndFind

I might have stuck to Top 20...

15. AbioCor artificial heart

However, Dr Robert Jarvik, inventor of the first artificial heart, points out that the Abiocor heart, because of its size, cannot be used on small men, children, and most women.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1120745/

The second patient, Tom Christerson, who was given less than a 20 percent chance of surviving 30 days at the time of his surgery, lived for 512 days after receiving the AbioCor, dying on February 7, 2003 due to the wearing out of an internal membrane of the AbioCor.[12] An additional 12 patients had the device implanted into 2004, resulting in an average life span of less than five months among all 14 patients. In some cases the device extended survival by several months, allowing the patients to spend valuable time with family and friends. In two cases, the device extended survival by 10 and 17 months respectively, and one patient was discharged from the hospital to go home. For a patient to be eligible for implantation with the AbioCor, the person must have had severe heart failure (with failure of both ventricles) and had to be likely to die within two weeks without transplantation.[1][2]

AbioCor was surgically introduced into 15 total patients, 14 of them during a clinical trial and one after FDA approval. However, due to insufficient evidence of its efficacy, AbioMed abandoned further development of the product.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AbioCor


4 posted on 01/03/2020 9:27:45 AM PST by treetopsandroofs
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(Oops, I might have stuck to Top 15)


5 posted on 01/03/2020 9:28:30 AM PST by treetopsandroofs
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To: SeekAndFind
What article on new technology would be complete without paying homage to the first iPhone? Of course the first iPhone was a practically useless device that came along a couple years after other more capable devices had been brought to market. I had a 3G smart phone with a touch screen that came out in 2005. The first iPhone was a “2G” device which was about a third as fast as a 56k modem. It was a joke! I remember laughing at my Apple fanboy friend when he tried to show me what it was capable of. It looked neat but it was a joke. But we wouldn't want to challenge the fanboy gospel would we?
6 posted on 01/03/2020 9:34:04 AM PST by fireman15
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To: SeekAndFind

Off topic but I need some ‘technical’ help. I don’t remember my Free Republic password and for some reason didn’t write it down the last time.

I need to clean out my cache but don’t want to lose access to FR. Suggestions?

Yes, I could have started an entire thread on this topic but I figure I could get a good answer here on this thread. Thank you in advance.


7 posted on 01/03/2020 9:35:16 AM PST by ladyjane
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To: SeekAndFind

Skype? Really???

That is ancient technology. Which very few people use anymore these days.

Skype. Right up there with 35mm cameras.


8 posted on 01/03/2020 9:39:17 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (As a matter of fact, I DID only read the excerpt. OK, I intended to. Next time for sure.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Google Maps have made getting lost virtually impossible? Hah! Never underestimate human ingenuity.


9 posted on 01/03/2020 9:39:30 AM PST by Verginius Rufus
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To: Responsibility2nd

Skype is the worst online calling software on the planet. On a scale of 1 to 10, it is a zero.


10 posted on 01/03/2020 9:41:48 AM PST by WashingtonSource
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To: SeekAndFind

He missed two biggies.

Internet technology. Including streaming TV technology.

Televisions. Yes the old TV set.


11 posted on 01/03/2020 9:42:48 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (As a matter of fact, I DID only read the excerpt. OK, I intended to. Next time for sure.)
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To: SeekAndFind

What is interesting to note is how few of those were government projects...

Free markets FTW.


12 posted on 01/03/2020 9:44:51 AM PST by Dead Corpse (A Psalm in napalm...)
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To: ladyjane; Jim Robinson; John Robinson

I’m probably wrong, but maybe Jim or John could do a password reset for you.


13 posted on 01/03/2020 9:45:49 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (As a matter of fact, I DID only read the excerpt. OK, I intended to. Next time for sure.)
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To: fireman15

First item on the list is smartphones.


14 posted on 01/03/2020 9:48:59 AM PST by Lurkina.n.Learnin (If you want a definition of "bullying" just watch the Democrats in the Senate)
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To: All

Several items on that list are candidates for the gift/curse argument.


15 posted on 01/03/2020 9:49:26 AM PST by gibsonguy
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To: Responsibility2nd
Skype? Really??? That is ancient technology. Which very few people use anymore these days.

Skype gave birth to several video communication sites.

I use FaceTime at the grocery store to call my wife and make certain I'm getting the obscure product she asked for. She uses Skype and Facebook Messenger to talk to her family in Russia, saving hundreds on what used to be our long distance phone bills. I use multiple services when I'm on deployment to talk to my family.

Skype and the comparable services that followed it have been incredibly important and are used by many people across the globe.

16 posted on 01/03/2020 9:50:32 AM PST by Drew68
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To: ladyjane
I don’t remember my Free Republic password and for some reason didn’t write it down the last time.

You don't enable your browser to save your passwords?

17 posted on 01/03/2020 9:51:34 AM PST by Drew68
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To: SeekAndFind
This didn't even make the top 100 ..??? Image result for silly inventions
18 posted on 01/03/2020 9:51:41 AM PST by Leep (Everyday is Trump Day!)
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To: ladyjane; Responsibility2nd

Click the “Account” link at the top of any of the main index pages ( https://freerepublic.com/tag/news-forum/index ) and you will see a link to edit your password or email address.


19 posted on 01/03/2020 9:53:02 AM PST by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Much of this happened in sequence or around the same time..made the internet fast and nearly seamless.
Otherwise, back in the mid-90’s before Google greatly improved search i was saying PC’s are a flash in the pan.
To bad Facebook and Google is evil.


20 posted on 01/03/2020 9:55:33 AM PST by Leep (Everyday is Trump Day!)
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